Business concentration matters for European social democracy because it has been correlated with increased income inequality, a declining income share for labour and increased corporate lobbying.... Show moreBusiness concentration matters for European social democracy because it has been correlated with increased income inequality, a declining income share for labour and increased corporate lobbying. Drawing inspiration from the history of social-democratic competition policy and from renewed interest in antitrust in the USA, this contribution calls for a revival of social-democratic ideas of mobilising competition policy in service of environmental, regional and social goals. As industrial policy experiences a comeback in the EU and abroad, it will be essential to ensure greater conditionality and accountability for private businesses that receive exemptions from competition policy. What is at stake is not only the protection of workers, consumers, and small and medium enterprises from monopolies and oligopolies, but the protection of democracy itself from concentrated private economic power. Show less
The vital role that cities play in the governance of migration is increasingly recognized, yet migration scholars still perceive this ‘local turn’ as a recent phenomenon. This article presents a... Show moreThe vital role that cities play in the governance of migration is increasingly recognized, yet migration scholars still perceive this ‘local turn’ as a recent phenomenon. This article presents a cross-country and cross-city comparative analysis of three mid-size European cities during the post-war period: Bristol, Dortmund and Malmö. It analyses administrative cultures and local policy arenas, exposing the complexity of local migration policy-making and the crucial importance of historical perspectives. It reveals the inherent local variation in policies and practices, and argues that traditional national-level studies do not fully capture how urban actors responded to migration. Show less
This article explores how Dortmund’s municipal government propagated a concept of city-citizenship and belonging for new arrivals by mediating between expellee, refugee and migrant communities and ... Show moreThis article explores how Dortmund’s municipal government propagated a concept of city-citizenship and belonging for new arrivals by mediating between expellee, refugee and migrant communities and ‘native’ civil society in the 1940s-1950s. The devastation of Dortmund during the Second World War, and the housing and energy shortages that followed, meant that the arrival of over a hundred thousand expellees and refugees in 1945–1960 placed severe strains on municipal resources while exacerbating conflicts between ‘native’ Dortmunders and new arrivals. The success of the Social Democratic Party (spd) in building a hegemonic position in postwar politics and administration by the late 1940s facilitated the coordination of municipal efforts to foster inter-community relations and introduce new populations to city life. Within the city council and government, in expellee meetings, and in municipal events we observe sustained municipal efforts to 1) exert social control over expellee/refugee arrivals to deflect anger at the poor conditions of the reconstruction period away from municipal officials and 2) inculcate taboos based on peace and democratic norms to delegitimise the politics of inter-community resentment. It concludes by tracing how official narratives and municipal practices constructed in the 1940s-50s were redeployed during the arrival of guest workers in the 1960s. Show less
The role of municipalities in migrant integration in post-war European history has largely slipped below the radar in previous migration research. Our special issue presents case studies on how... Show moreThe role of municipalities in migrant integration in post-war European history has largely slipped below the radar in previous migration research. Our special issue presents case studies on how Bristol, Dortmund, Malmö, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Utrecht managed migrant influxes from the mid-1940s to 1960s. Following interdisciplinary advances in local migration studies, our urban histories take a diversity of approaches, present diverse temporalities, and uncover municipal responses that range from generosity to indifference and to outright hostility. In all six cities, despite such diversity in local attitudes and municipal policies, municipal authorities had significant impacts on migrants’ lives. The introductory article explores how our urban perspectives contribute to scholarship on reconstruction and the post-war boom; welfare; democracy and citizenship; and European integration. Using local migration as a lens into postwar European history, we argue, provides important new insights for the historiography of postwar Europe. Show less
This chapter explores a timeframe from the opening of the coal and steel market in 1953 to the move from the first to second transitional stage of the European Economic Community (EEC) customs... Show moreThis chapter explores a timeframe from the opening of the coal and steel market in 1953 to the move from the first to second transitional stage of the European Economic Community (EEC) customs union in 1962. It considers how committee members conceptualized the impact that a coal and steel common market would have on the working conditions, (un)employment, and social rights of coal and steel workers in 1953–1955. The chapter discusses the contested nature of social policy in the early European communities by rescuing ideas of a European-level welfare state from contemporary oblivion. It examines their attempts to influence and revise the social clauses of European treaties in communication with the High Authority and the intergovernmental team negotiating the Treaties of Rome in 1955–1957. The chapter analyses their efforts to build supranational welfare policies in and beyond heavy industry during the first years of the EEC in 1958–1962. Show less
Revisiting socialist debates on the Treaties of Rome (1957) opens a window onto early conceptions of the potential of a European common market – and Labour’s capitulation to the sovereigntist... Show moreRevisiting socialist debates on the Treaties of Rome (1957) opens a window onto early conceptions of the potential of a European common market – and Labour’s capitulation to the sovereigntist dogmas of late-imperial Britain. Show less
Shaev explores how historical memory shaped the political culture of post-war German social democracy (SPD) and French socialism (SFIO). SPD and SFIO narratives of the rise of inter-war fascism,... Show moreShaev explores how historical memory shaped the political culture of post-war German social democracy (SPD) and French socialism (SFIO). SPD and SFIO narratives of the rise of inter-war fascism, assessments of Gaullism and Konrad Adenauer’s Christian democracy in the 1940–1950s, and fears about the trajectory of post-war West German and French democracy shared a great deal in common. The parties also made frequent reference to the histories of their neighbours when interpreting politics in their own country. At crucial moments when their post-war democracies appeared threatened, party leaders interpreted their politics in a wider European context. Taken together, these commonalities demonstrate that is worthwhile to analyse these politicians as a single transnational generation in the history of European social democracy. Show less
The socialist contribution to the creation of the European Economic Community has long been overlooked and misunderstood. Existing scholarship emphasises short-term considerations in explaining why... Show moreThe socialist contribution to the creation of the European Economic Community has long been overlooked and misunderstood. Existing scholarship emphasises short-term considerations in explaining why the French Socialist and German Social Democratic Parties supported a European Common Market in 1956–7. This article offers a new perspective by placing these parties’ decisions within a longer context of socialist views on free trade, tariffs and regional economic organisation. Based on fresh archival materials, this article explores how socialist proposals for securing an economic peace after the First World War continued to influence socialist policies on European economic integration in the 1950s. Show less
This article takes up Todd Shepard's call to “write together the history of the Algerian War and European integration” by examining the French Socialist Party. Socialist internationalism, built... Show moreThis article takes up Todd Shepard's call to “write together the history of the Algerian War and European integration” by examining the French Socialist Party. Socialist internationalism, built around an analysis of European history, abhorred nationalism and exalted supranational organization. Its principles were durable and firm. Socialist visions for French colonies, on the other hand, were fluid. The asymmetry of the party's European and colonial visions encouraged socialist leaders to apply their European doctrine to France's colonies during the Algerian War. The war split socialists who favored the European communities into multiple parties, in which they cooperated with allies who did not support European integration. French socialist internationalism became a casualty of the Algerian War. In the decolonization of the French Socialist Party, support for European integration declined and internationalism largely vanished as a guiding principle of French socialism.Cet article répond à l'appel de Todd Shepard à « écrire à la fois l'histoire de la guerre d'Algérie et l'histoire de l'intégration européenne » en examinant le Parti socialiste. L'internationalisme socialiste, basé sur une analyse de l'histoire européenne, dénonça le nationalisme et exalta le supranationalisme. Ses principes furent durables et fermes. Par contre, sa politique concernant les colonies fut souple. L'asymétrie entre les visions européenne et coloniale du parti encouragea l'application de la doctrine européenne aux colonies françaises pendant la guerre d'Algérie. La guerre divisa les partisans socialistes des communautés européennes en multiples partis, dans lesquels ils coopérèrent avec des alliés qui ne soutenaient pas l'intégration européenne. L'internationalisme socialiste français fut une victime de la guerre d'Algérie. Dans la décolonisation du socialisme français, le soutien à l'intégration européenne recula et l'internationalisme disparut comme principe directeur. Show less
