(Dis-)Continuities of European Economic Integration: Conflicts, Crises and Opposition

Call for Abstracts
(pdf)

Debt crisis, trade imbalances, inflation; in the public perception as well as in political circles, the European Union (EU) is increasingly perceived as a cause or driver rather than a mediator of multiple crises. “Eurosceptics” who question the concept of an ever-closer (economic) Union steadily gain in popularity. Countries like Greece – traditionally above average in favour of European integration – strongly question their endorsement since the so-called Euro crisis, while the United Kingdom decided to leave the EU altogether. One uniting element is the critical attitude to economic aspects of European integration.

However, when looking back at past decades of economic, fiscal and monetary integration, it gets clear that those contestations are by no means a new phenomenon. In fact, as early as the 1950s, integration used to cause conflict and opposition among economic actors. Hence, the EU was shaped by and is also a product of those criticizing it. Treating economic integration as a conflictual process is there fore indispensable for a broader understanding of recent crises. It also offers the possibility for more nuanced explanations of the struggles over a strengthening of economic ties, fiscal coresponsibilities or a concerted management of monetary shocks.

The call addresses PhD students and early career researchers who would like to present and discuss their planned or ongoing research projects on economic, fiscal, and financial aspects of European integration as well as phenomena of political contestation, relevant for an understanding of the workings, tensions, and transformations of European economic cooperation.

Our aim is to bring together early career researchers from various disciplines such as history, political economy, sociology or political science, and to debate our assessments of historical and contemporary empirical phenomena and processes. We intend to create an opportunity to meet and openly discuss the different approaches and explore future possibilities of collaborations.
PhD and early career researchers are invited to submit an abstract of a suggested draft paper or project idea (300 to 500 words) and a short CV to Katharina.Troll(at)his-online.de and Carolin.Mueller(at)his-online.de until 14 July 2023. Travel and accommodation costs are covered for all participants selected. We will kindly ask every participant to prepare an input of 10 to 15 minutes to enable a substantial discussion during the workshop. For any remaining questions, please feel free to contact us.