Search

Copyright of Revista de Estudios Políticos is the property of Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyzes the national security strategies of EU member states in the 2009–2018 period, and conceptualizes three security strategies EU member states have adopted toward Russia – flexible accommodation, cooperative deterrence, and calibrated confrontation. It tests strategic culture hypotheses against those of realism and commercial liberalism to explain the variation of EU member states' security strategies toward Russia. While a realist explanation would predict EU member states geographically proximate to Russia would possess more confrontational security strategies, geographic proximity and confrontational security strategies toward Russia are not positively correlated. Bilateral economic interdependence with Russia, the presence of populist parties in EU member states governing coalitions, and EU member states' alignment or status as an occupied state during the Cold War also do not explain EU member states' security strategies toward Russia. A more consistent explanation of the variance in EU member states' policy on Russia revolves around the strategic culture of the state in question. States with a more Atlanticist perspective tend to be more confrontation with Russia than their more Europeanist counterparts, regardless of geographic proximity or economic interdependence with Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salvador de Madariaga stands as a prominent representative of Spanish liberalism in the past century, excelling in intellectual, diplomatic, and political spheres. Despite his international recognition, his relative lack of recognition in Spain is attributed to his opposition to Franco's regime, his limited academic presence, and the complexity of classifying his multilingual contributions. Madariaga, characterized as a "Quixote in politics," played roles as an anti-Franco activist, a Europeanist, and an Atlanticist, embodying a utopian Spain. This analysis focuses on recent historiographical interpreta- tions, shedding light on Madariaga's evolution during the Transition, the concept of "liberal" in Spain, highlighting substantial contributions, and pointing out pending questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of ethno-racial factors on perceptions of refugees and asylum practices in the European postcolonial context. Using Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) the authors analyse “Europe for Europeans” public discourse against the backdrop of the 2015-2016 migration crisis, the humanitarian disaster on the Polish-Belarusian border in 2021 and asylum seekers’ influx in spring 2022. The study shows that attitudes to refugees and their “right” to asylum in a European country are impacted by ethno-racial markers of applicants. Such discursive practices call into question one of the understandings of Europeanness, namely Europe as the embodiment of advanced political ethics, since European political discourse has recently positioned a refugee from the Middle East and North Africa as an “alien” “non-European,” thus normalizing threats to human life in allegedly “uncivilized” parts of the world. This normalization is consequently affecting the decision making in asylum process. The problematization of discursive aspects of asylum allows us to expand DHA to the international sphere, where different national models and cultural contexts collide, allowing us to talk about the influence of discursive practices on the political decisions in international relations. The evolution of the concept of asylum in the postcolonial context is considered in connection with the ideology of Europeanism, which is currently in the process of formation. Although ideas about Europeanness have undergone major transformations, this study shows that a systematic study of the entire range of conceptual meanings of this discursive object has not yet been carried out. Thus, Europeanness is either interpreted as a set of desired social ideals and values, or, reductively, as a quality associated exclusively with European institutions in their current form. Both interfere with the postcolonial debate about the nature of “Europe” and “Europeanness” in the postcolonial world.

Copyright of Hispania: Revista Española de Historia is the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite his apparent prominence as one of the five 'Young German' writers whose work was banned by the Bundestagsbeschluß of December 1835, Heinrich Laube is an author whose Vormärz publications are underresearched and inadequately contextualized. This essay seeks to reconstruct a European moment in the work of Laube, beginning with his 1832 book on the Polish November Uprising, and ending with the publication of extracts from the novel trilogy Das junge Europa in August Lewald's literary journal Europa in 1837. The essay argues that Laube's European moment has been effaced by state censorship and self-censorship, and by the academic politics that have denied Laube scholarship an adequate historical-critical edition of his works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia y Politica: Ideas, Procesos y Movimientos Sociales is the property of Departamento De Historia del Pensamiento y de los Moviemientos Sociales y Politicos (Madrid) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article deals with some crucial topics as Europeanism, the 'European question', and the process of European integration interpreted and elaborated by the Italian Christian Democracy during the Eighties. The main issues are: (1) The crisis of Europeanism as a consequence of a strong return of nationalism and the weakening of its idealism (with a responsibility of the Christian Democratic parties); (2) The revamping of Europeanism considered both as a Christian democrat historical mission and 'national politics' strongly connected to the idea of European homeland in a dynamic international framework; and (3) Europeanism as a qualified feature of the Christian Democratic identity, considered in its idealistic and strategic dimension, with reference to the evolution of the international context up to the end of the Cold War and the overall rethinking of the Democrazia cristiana at the Italian and European level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic meant challenges in crisis management for democratic institutions such as the European Union (EU). To achieve an economic and social recovery to the crisis, the EU institutions have promoted the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) program, a massive recovery package for this purpose. This action takes place at a time of strong visibility of Euroscepticism within a global phenomenon of distrust in political authorities. The present work aims to know the shaping of the European Public Sphere when NGEU is launched. First, the evolution of EU support during the pandemic is described, analyzing the possible factors that influence on this variable. On this matter, a secondary analysis of data is applied on different waves of the Eurobarometer (EB 92, 93, 94 and 95). The statistical method is also used to give items that determine the image of the EU. Moreover, the communicative dissemination of this plan is drawing upon semi-structured interviews with some of the professionals who deal with the task. The objective is to provide an overview of how the public sphere made up of citizens and institutions is defined before a moment of symbolic relevance. The results reveal a trend towards greater positivity with the EU after the pandemic. However, among other possible factors, the degree of support depends on the ideological position and, to a lesser extent, on the type of community where the citizens live. EU officials assess this rise of Europeanism as an opportunity, targeting the NGEU communication campaign especially at young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at European integration and specifi cally at its institutional form – the European Union from an ideological perspective. The author claims that ‘Europeanism’ has become a new ideology shared among intellectual, political, judicatory, societal, and even dominant economic elites that influence or shape the European Union as an institution and its major policies. As an ideology, ‘Europeanism’ is a somewhat exotic mixture of various, seemingly incoherent trends that give the current European Union its intriguing characteristics. On the one hand, economically, one can easily identify numerous elements of neoliberalism, especially regarding the financial aspects of European integration. Likewise, arguments used by the major proponents of European integration vis-à-vis USA, China, or Japan are of neoliberal character. At the same time, regarding international trade in agricultural products, intellectual property, or internal (single market) competition (freedom of labour) one rather quickly spots distinct elements of protectionism and over-regulation. Finally, in termsm of philosophical outlook and especially moral issues, ‘Europeanism’ seems to be mostly focusing on the progressive agenda.

Occupied by Tsarist Russia in 1812, returned to the Romanian national state in 1918 and then transformed into a Soviet republic (1940-41 and 1944-1991), the region between Prut and Dniester evolved administratively along two contradictory models: one authoritarian centralist, the other democratic and decentralizing. The imprint of a century and a half of Russian rule has remained disturbingly visible in the post-Soviet period, blocking the process of modernization of Moldovan society and keeping the Moldovan state in a precarious functional situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Historia is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper concerns the hypothetical crisis of the "populist moment" in Italy, with reference to the possible contradictions between the alleged populist nature of Lega and M5S and the participation of these two parties in the Draghi national unity government. The examined contradictions - some actual, others only apparent - concern the themes of Europeanism, the themes of the pluralism of democratic representation and the themes of the relationship with technocratic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Michael Billig's seminal work 'Banal nationalism' described how everyday practice and habits reinforce national identity. Football fans provide a fertile ground for an application of this concept. The community among supporters of the same team is constitutional for football. 20 years after his book, the Europeanisation of football structures could have caused banal national identifications to expand to the European level, contributing to a 'banal Europeanism'. In contrast to the crises of political Europe, football could provide fans with an everyday practice of Europe. This might change the understanding of in- and out-groups among supporters and beyond. The article discusses 'banal nationalism' in the arena of European club football. It elaborates in how far 'banal' football fandom related practice is related to the European level. The leading question of the article is How does football create an arena for 'banal Europeanism' among football fans? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the Idiosyncratic Nature of Ukrainian Neoclassicists in the Context of the East-West Cultural Orientation. The paper investigates the idiosyncratic nature of Ukrainian neoclassicists in connection with the issue of the 1920s cultural orientation between the East and the West. Based on the scholarly-polemic articles and poem compositions (original and translations), neoclassical literature concepts, as well as the gist and peculiarity of their pro-European stance was determined. It is revealed that the theoretical bases for conceptual frameworks expressed by those experts amount to the Europeanism, Europeanization and Europe concepts as a cultural and axiological category. Hellenic aesthetic criteria which neoclassicists are ruled by in the evaluation of art and socio-political occurrences, cause their universal stands between the East and the West. Their concept anticipates the realization of traditionalism, cultural syncretism and aesthetical maximalism. As a result, the statement about the value of each and every national’ culture and about the constructive role of the principle of diversity in unity becomes evident. Their concept foresees the use of spiritual and intellectual achievements of both parts of Europe, in condition of the primary role of aesthetic criteria. The position of neoclassicists of the Ukrainian borderlands can be evaluated as an attempt to unify East and West on the basis of the universal axiology of European cultural tradition, and to break the opposition in between.

Copyright of Historia Contemporanea is the property of Historia Contemporania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Jean Monnet was the inventor of the community method; by placing economic integration before the political one, he reversed the criteria of unification that had characterised the development of nation-states in the Old Continent. He was never a government or party leader; despite this, he engaged on an equal footing with the most prestigious statesmen of the twentieth century, influencing their choices: from Viviani in 1914 to Giscard d'Estaing in 1975, passing through Schuman, Spaak, De Gasperi, Adenauer and Kennedy. Monnet favoured the creation of supranational community institutions. Through his foresight he was able to combine ideas and pragmatism and in this way he taught a whole generation of European leaders to debate issues of common interest, thus overcoming national selfishness; from the Schuman Declaration of which he was the main 'inspirer' (as he was sarcastically called by Charles de Gaulle) which led to the European Coal and Steel Community (1951) to the first election by universal suffrage of the European Parliament (1979), passing through the failure of the European Defence Community (1954), the Rome Treaties establishing the European Economic Community and Euratom (1957) and his tireless commitment inside the Action Committee for the United States of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Filosofija, Sociologija is the property of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Amongst the Italian exiles who arrived at the Canton of Ticino following repression perpetrated by the Di Rudinì and Pelloux administrations – after the popular uprisings of 1898 – are Enrico Bignami, Giuseppe Rensi and Arcangelo Ghisleri, who, in Lugano, created a sort of secular symposium for fostering spiritual values. This gave birth to Coenobium, the 'international journal of independent studies', which remained in operation between 1906 and 1919. This periodical distinguished itself due to the diversity of the issues addressed: from science to law, from history to philosophy, from literature to spiritualism, philosophy and psychology. With the beginning of the First World War, however, Coenobium's focus was on the spiral of violence triggered by the war; hence a series of denunciations entrusted to the column 'War to war!', which marked a dramatic change in the editorial policy of the magazine edited by Bignami, who was determined to turn it into a strong instrument of pacifist propaganda. Several prestigious figures in Europe's cultural and political milieus participated in this venture, notably Norman Angell, Romain Rolland, Angelo Crespi, Raffaele Ottolenghi, Claudio Treves, Filippo Turati, Henri La Fontaine, Nicholas Murray Butler and Enrico Bignami. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of the Spanish War, the Catalan philosopher Eugeni d'Ors and the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset offered a reading of Einstein’s theory of relativity in which discussions of unity and plurality connected their respective synthetic philosophies and nationalist projects of political and cultural analysis and reform. Besides their philosophical views, references to Einstein tracked their territorial concerns and personal circumstances in the relations between Catalonia, Spain and Europe. Einstein’s theory symbolized the saving connection between the classical and the modern, Europe and the Mediterranean, and science and philosophy. In this paper I focus on the case of Ors in relation to Catalan nationalism and the project he called Noucentismeand the case of Ortega in relation to Spanish nationalism and his political philosophy in España Invertebrada.

The paper offers a comparative study of Turgenev’s novel Smoke (1867) and Eliot’s Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915). Eliot's poem has been thoroughly studied in this context for the first time; the research aims to state some important analogies between two texts and reveal new semantic contents and conceptual substances. The parallel analysis of the novel and the poem also helps to clarify their historical-literary significance and to understand why these works continue to attract attention of readers and critics. The choice of the two works for the research has been determined by the literary texts themselves and a number of typological parallels. Eliot highly appreciated Turgenev's literary genius, and expressed his admiration for Turgenev’s works in his letters and literary criticism (“Turgenev”, “In Memory of Henry James”). Particular attention is paid to the Europeanism of Turgenev and Eliot, whose aesthetic positions can be defined as “an incarnation of European culture” (T.S. Eliot). One of the central characters of both texts is a femme fatale considered in mythological (Gorgon Medusa, Helen of Troy) and culturalhistorical (“the epoch of Salome”) aspects. Such figurative concepts as “crab”, “dead head”, “smoke”, etc. were examined through comparative perspective. The study suggests that Smoke and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock largely correspond to the aesthetics and style of the modernity being marginal works in Turgenev’s and Eliot’s heritage thus reflecting the borderline character of the turn of the centuries – and of the cultural eras.

Cultural Europeanism is a variant of the process of European integration attested within the framework of the Cold War. It will be mostly anti-communist, although it will couch elements favouring West-East dialogue. The governments will promote an intergovernmental model based on multilateral cooperation and national identity, and put into practice in institutions such as the Western Union or the Council of Europe. Non-governmental organizations, such as the European Movement, will be committed to a more transnational model based on the affirmation and promotion of the idea of Europe through institutions such as the College of Europe, the European Centre for Culture or the European Cultural Foundation. Within cultural Europeanism, networks of secondary institutionalization, such as educational seminars, ended up having as much or more impact than the primary entities from which they emerged.

The idea for the present article came from the doubt expressed in the thesis of the world-renowned Algirdas Julius Greimas (1917–1992) that there is an unbridgeable gap between his Lithuanian essays and French semiotics. The analysis of texts written in Lithuanian in 1943–1955, dedicated to Cervantes, Verlaine, and Corneille unveils the most important methods of his analytical work: prioritizing the text over its context; the aim to uncover the author’s authenticity. Greimas used the model of structural similarities between French and Lithuanian literatures for constructing Lithuanian literary history. In his estimation of Lithuanian poets, Greimas aimed at finding authors of the European level; a principle of analogies is fruitfully used for understanding their works. Lithuanian essays show that Greimas also wrote them as a semiotician. Some of Greimas’s contemplations about literature also indicate the limits of his thinking, but the body of his works still reveals a surprising integrity of his personality.

This paper looks at European integration and specifically at its institutional form - the European Union from an ideological perspective. The author claims that 'Europeanism' has become a new ideology shared among intellectual, political, judicatory, societal, and even dominant economic elites that influence or shape the European Union as an institution and its major policies. As an ideology, 'Europeanism' is a somewhat exotic mixture of various, seemingly incoherent trends that give the current European Union its intriguing characteristics. On the one hand, economically, one can easily identify numerous elements of neoliberalism, especially regarding the financial aspects of European integration. Likewise, arguments used by the major proponents of European integration vis-à-vis USA, China, or Japan are of neoliberal character. At the same time, regarding international trade in agricultural products, intellectual property, or internal (single market) competition (freedom of labour) one rather quickly spots distinct elements of protectionism and over-regulation. Finally, in terms of philosophical outlook and especially moral issues, 'Europeanism' seems to be mostly focusing on the progressive agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The report outlines a sense and importance of Eurodigitalization in the transition between two decades and two European Union Strategies. There is considered an issue about a need to pursue a specific strategic focus that determines higher smart and sustainable economic growth, digital market and free access to digital resources for business, administration, institutions and citizens. It is revealed as an important content element in creation, experimentation and management of theoretical and applied research, knowledge and value of transformations, growth and development in the economic, social, scientific, educational and cultural potentials of subject, organization and society for overcoming various types of crises, as well as for sustainability and progress with novolties and innovations. A leading point works through analytical thinking and a logical cognitive axiological approach. In the conclusions are summarized interesting results of reflections and new knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia y Politica: Ideas, Procesos y Movimientos Sociales is the property of Departamento De Historia del Pensamiento y de los Moviemientos Sociales y Politicos (Madrid) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ayer: Revista de Historia Contemporánea is the property of Asociacion de Historia Contemporanea and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Euroscepticism is a comparatively new political phenomenon. It consists of many aspects, such as critics of Europeism as a political ideology of the EU. This ideology is syncretical and includes different elements of famous political thoughts by Hobbes, Locke, French Enlightenment and German classic philosophy. The core principles of europeism are principles of progressism, universalism (which is known as ground for the ideas of liberal democracy). Today europeism has replaced traditional ideologies of conservatism and socialism and created new types of quasi-religions. The main principles of this ideology are formed and implemented on the level of supranational European institutions. On contrary, euroscepticism restores principles of traditional ideologies, being a significant oppositional actor in relation to europeism. During the last years, euroscepticism has been taking strong positions on both national and supranational levels. Especially, this can be seen referring to the experience of Central Eastern Europe, which, nontheless, has a successful story of European integration. The case of Central Eastern European countries shows a nationalistic character of euroscepticism (in its economic and political senses) and illustrates the people’s reaction on practices of the transfer of values and political practices. In Bulgaria euroscepticism remains weak – its membership is still seen as the only alternative, keeping in mind the destroying effect of the country’s shift toward democracy and market. Bulgarian euroscepticism connects with the people’s hopelessness in relation the EU as an actor, which is to deal with national problems.

This paper follows the development of international cooperation in Europe in the field of the teaching of history from the end of the Great War to the beginning of the 21st century. The impetus for this arose from the traumatic shared experiences and memories caused by the events of the years 1914–1918. The aim was to use education in schools to prevent circumstances that might lead to the incitement of feelings of enmity towards other nations. From the year 1925, the official date of the establishment of the Casarov declaration of the Unity of states to the second world war there were few if any successes in this. However immediately at the start of 1946 UNESCO took charge of these initiatives as a direct result the interwar attempts. In reality European cooperation was soon to be hampered for almost half a century by the bipolar separation of Europe and the world. A deeper level of cooperation began to develop in western Europe in the 1960s and 70s and also the beginnings of the first steps towards cooperation between East and West. A further impetus was of course provided by the fall of the communist regime in Europe and today’s cooperation is many-sided. Nevertheless a true wholly European history text book or curriculum is still a long way away. It appears that supranational regional textbooks are much more efficient.

The idea for the present article came from the doubt expressed in the thesis of the world-renowned Algirdas Julius Greimas (1917-1992) that there is an unbridgeable gap between his Lithuanian essays and French semiotics. The analysis of texts written in Lithuanian in 1943-1955, dedicated to Cervantes, Verlaine, and Corneille unveils the most important methods of his analytical work: prioritizing the text over its context; the aim to uncover the author's authenticity. Greimas used the model of structural similarities between French and Lithuanian literatures for constructing Lithuanian literary history. In his estimation of Lithuanian poets, Greimas aimed at finding authors of the European level; a principle of analogies is fruitfully used for understanding their works. Lithuanian essays show that Greimas also wrote them as a semiotician. Some of Greimas's contemplations about literature also indicate the limits of his thinking, but the body of his works still reveals a surprising integrity of his personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of united Europe has always been the centre of Winston Churchill's political thought. Since the Thirties of the last century, the great British statesman fixes the line adopted by the governments beyond the Channel in the second postwar period: to support the cause of the unity of the Old Continent leaving the United Kingdom aside to guarantee its imperial mission. Churchill defends this vision most of all starting from 1946, the year of the famous speeches pronounced at Fulton and in Zurich, on the occasion of the birth of the United Europe Movement (UEM) and of the Council of Europe (1949), when he is in opposition. And also after the starting of the community integration process and his return to Downing Street (1951) the English statesman - consistently with the historical British tradition - wishes a continental Europe: on the one hand France and Germany that represent the leader countries, on the other hand Great Britain, the Commonwealth and the United States the supporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia y Politica: Ideas, Procesos y Movimientos Sociales is the property of Departamento De Historia del Pensamiento y de los Moviemientos Sociales y Politicos (Madrid) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

What else does Maiorescu's 1868 study entitled În contra direcţiei de azi în cultura română [Against Today's Direction in the Romanian Culture] manage to impart to Romania's present-day readers? Is his theory of culture, known as the theory of forms without substance, still valid today? The present study questions the posterity of Maiorescu's theory, equally embraced and continued by the advocates of the Europeanization of Romanian Culture and its integration into the European system of values, and by the supporters of Nationalism and local ethic values. In fact, we reconsider the concept of truth, which needs to be understood within the context of all rhetorical strategies employed to make a change in the Romanian society. We argue that the changes envisaged by Maiorescu were meant to foster the adherence of the Romanian society to the European values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great Britain had been entrenched behind the myth of a golden isolation which seemed destined to outlive the deep changes in the geopolitical balance of Europe between 19th century and 20th century. For this reason, Great Britain has always been considered unconnected with the political project of a European union. However, it was the British political philosophy itself that made a significant contribution to the development of the pro-European thinking, helping to create a broad consent in favor of a European federation. The paper intends to examine the relationship between Britain and the cause of European integration and to investigate, with a peculiar attention, the case of Federal Union – the first political movement in British history to ever advocate the cause of a union of European democracies between 1938 and 1940.