Second international RICHIE conference
Venue: University of Copenhagen, Réseau International des jeunes Chercheurs en Histoire de l’Intégration Européenne, Kopenhagen
Time: 07.-10.12.2006
European integration history is a relatively new academic field. The methodological approach relies strongly on the gradual opening of political archives throughout Europe relevant to the history of the European Communities. Whereas historians traditionally have been organised in the realm of national professional environments, European integration history is by nature a truly international topic that calls for the creation of an international network of scholars.
The second international RICHIE conference that will take place from December 7-10, 2006 in Copenhagen. The conference will be hosted by the Research Priority Area, Europe in Transition. The conference is to be held under the scientific direction of Professor Karl Christian Lammers, Copenhagen University. Members of the scientific committee are Professor Karl Christian Lammers (Copenhagen University) (chairman), Professor Eric Bussière (Paris IV-Sorbonne), Professor Anne Deighton (Oxford University), Professor Wolfram Kaiser (University of Portsmouth), Professor Johnny Laursen (University of Aarhus), Professor Wilfried Loth (Universität Duisburg-Essen), Professor Piers Ludlow (London School of Economics), Professor Maurice Vaïsse (Institut d’études politiques, Paris), Professor Antonio Varsori (Università degli Studi di Padova), Pascaline Winand (European University Institute).
Conference Themes
Current scholarship on the European integration process can be divided into five schools that each try to explain why the European continent from the mid 20th century has moved in the direction of increasing economic and political integration. It is the overall aim of the conference to revisit the most important schools of research and to discuss the very nature of this European integration. Hence, researchers are invited to submit papers within the themes of research broadly formulated below.
1. The European idea as the driving force
The European integration process is considered the result of a change of
mentality in the European populations and political elites particularly
after the destructive effects of World War II. Federalist movements that
were created in the wake of the war, so it has been argued, played a
decisive role in the establishment of the European institutions and
their subsequent development.
2. European integration as the rescue o the nation-state
This school interprets the European integration process in the context
of the general development of the European nation-state in the 20th
century. The interwar economic and political crisis undermined
fundamentally the nation-states, but the post-World War II period
witnessed a resurrection, also seen as a ‘rescue’ of the nation-state.
The economic, social and political choices of the nation-states nurtured
European integration. The national rescue could only happen through
surrendering national sovereignty to supranational European
institutions.
3. European integration as part o and as an answer to the globalisation
of international economy
This interpretation has two distinct elements. On the one hand, the
process of European integration is seen as part of an increasing
liberalisation of the exchange of goods, currencies, services and
labour. On the other hand, the European institutions are considered as
an answer to the challenges that globalisation incurs upon the
nation-states.
4. European integration as tradtional foreign policy
The European integration process is here interpreted as a new version of
traditional inter-state diplomacy. The new European stability that was
gained after World War II is seen as a new ‘Concert of Europe’. At the
centre stage is foreign policy and diplomacy.
5. Institutional dynamics and constitutionalization as driving forces
In this interpretation, the foundation of truly European institutions is
of central importance. The European institutions and especially the
European Court of Justice is seen as decisive for the dynamics of the
European integration process.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
17.00 – 18.15 Registration
18.30 Welcome by the Research Priority Area – Europe in Transition, Karl
Christian Lammers and Morten Rasmussen and welcome by the RICHIE
organisation, Laurent Warlouzet and Katrin Rücker.
Friday, December 8
9.00 – 10.30 Plenary session: Anne Deighton
„Here to stay?“ New International History and the study of the European
Communities
10.45 – 12.10
1. The European idea as the driving force
(Carol Bergami, Lucia Bonfreschi)
Discussant: Piers Ludlow
Chair: Karl Christian Lammers
13.10 – 14.35
1. The European idea as the driving force
(François-Xavier Lafféach, Niklas Rossbach)
Discussant: Pascaline Winand
Chair: Karl Christian Lammers
15.00 – 16.45
4. European integration as traditional foreign policy
(Philip Bajon, Kimmo Elo, Aurélie Gfeller)
Discussant: Anne Deighton
Chair: Katrin Rücker
Saturday, December 9
9.00 – 10.45
4. European integration as traditional foreign policy
(Guia Migani, Helen Parr, Angela Romano)
Discussant: Wilfried Loth
Chair: Katrin Rücker
11.00 – 12.45
5. Institutional dynamics and constitutionalization as driving forces
(Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, Alexander Reinfeldt, Federica Di Sarcina)
Discussant: Wolfram Kaiser
Chair: Morten Rasmussen
13.45 – 15.30
5. Institutional dynamics and constitutionalization as driving forces
(Laura Scichilone, Katja Seidel, Davide Zampoli)
Discussant: Antonio Varsori
Chair: Morten Rasmussen
15.45 – 17.30
2. European integration as the rescue of the nation-state
(Giuliano Garavini, Ferdinand Leikam, Simone Paoli)
Discussant: Johnny Laursen
Chair: Laurent Warlouzet
Sunday, December 10
09.30 – 10.55
2. European integration as the rescue of the nation-state
(Anders Thornvig Sørensen, Henning Türk)
Discussant: Ann-Christina Lauring Knudsen
Chair: Morten Rasmussen
11.10 – 12.35
3. European integration as part of and as an answer to the globalisation
of international economy
(Thomas Fetzer, Simone Selva)
Discussant: Piers Ludlow
Chair: Laurent Warlouzet
13.30 – 15.30 Panel discussion about the themes of the conference and
their relevance to current interpretations of the European integration
process and Europe today.
Wilfried Loth, Piers Ludlow, Antonio Varsori, Pascaline Winand
Contact:
Jens Runge Poulsen
Department of English, Germanic and Romance studies
Njalsgade 128, DK-2300 Copenhagen S
+45 35 32 84 09
Homepage
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