Two sides to every story(teller): competition, continuity and change in narratives of European integration

Abstract

The word ‘narrative’ has gained prevalence in the vocabulary of European politics and European Union (EU) studies in recent years. Enduring questions about the history, purpose and finality of the European integration process now fall within the scope of the narrative turn: narratives underpinning political discourses and intellectual writings about European integration are increasingly being scrutinised. Yet few of these types of narrative have been put into a longitudinal perspective, in order to address elements of change and continuity in their construction and diffusion of narratives. This article presents a historical survey of the twentieth century, looking at political and intellectual types of narration. This highlights the value of a competitive model for narratives of European integration. Whereas hegemonic narratives are rare, new and competing narratives appear as the norm in the majority of political debates about Europe during the twentieth century, from the interwar antecedents until present-day discussions about the EU. This article questions the singular replacement of an ‘old’ by a ‘new’ narrative and provides evidence for a degree of continuity in how narratives present themselves in diverse forms, as constructions and reproductions of political realities, intellectual thought, and the European past.

Keywords:

• Narratives
• European integration
• European Union
• narration
• history

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to Ms. Ewa Osniecka-Tamecka and Professor Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski of the College of Europe (Natolin Campus), for providing me with the time and financial means to research the history of European integration and express my thoughts in this article. In addition, I would like to thank Dr Patrick Finney of Aberystwyth University for his guidance and his comments on an early draft. Finally, I am grateful for the constructive feedback received from the anonymous peer reviewers.

Notes

1. In this article I use both ‘Whig’ narrative and progressive narrative to identify the post-war consensus which has developed into an official narrative of peace and closer integration.