Memory and the Future of Europe

Peter J. Verovšek is Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield

‘For everyone who wants to understand how, in the last century, collective war memories shaped the EU we live in today and how, through generational dynamics, this "utopian vision" of Europe, which was turned into concrete politics and institutions, was eroded over time, this book is a must read.’Ulrike Guérot, Professor of European Politics and the Study of Democracy at Danube University Krems and Founder of the European Democracy Lab'Could remembrances of the 2008 Great Recession and the Eurozone crisis play the same foundational role in European Union politics as memories of World War II did some seventy years ago? Peter J. Verovšek answers this thought-provoking question by drawing from critical theory in his timely and well-researched Memory and the future of Europe. A must-read for students of the European Union politics of memory, but also for critical theorists of international relations and all readers concerned by the role of memory in European populisms and their alternatives.'Catherine Guisan, author of A Political Theory of Identity in European Integration and Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota‘A very timely reminder of the importance of shared memory to founding and upholding a political community. Peter Verovšek rightly argues that as Second World War memories fade – and as the experience with Stalinism in newer member states challenges the narrative of the Holocaust as its foundational rock – the European Union must reconstruct a shared historical imaginary. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's and Hannah Arendt’s concepts of rupture and new beginning, he encourages us to discern openings towards a common future in the crises of the present.’Luuk van Middelaar, Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union and its Institutions, Leiden University'The collective memory of Europe’s twentieth-century wars played a central role in the construction of the European Union; its erosion endangers the European project today. Using the theoretical lens of the Frankfurt School’s ‘critical theory’ approach and primary sources focused on first-person accounts by European leaders, Peter Verovšek’s ground-breaking book sheds bright light not only on the collective memory of the past but also on the consequences of its loss on the EU’s present, as he diagnoses the pathologies of today and suggests possible pathways forward.’Vivien A. Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Boston University'Verovšek's vision of the future of European collective memory is as inspiring as it is impressive.'Tom Theuns, Journal of Social and Political Philosophy' Verovšek’s approach is highly original: while he draws extensively on archival sources and the vast secondary literature on EU integration, his book is not “merely” historiographical. Rather, it engages the rich theoretical resources of Frankfurt School Critical Theory to frame the collective memory of historical “ruptures” ” – that is, “fractures in historical time” that “force individuals and communities to question their previously unthematized ideas about the past” (p.33) – as a powerful vehicle of social critique and political change. The creative use of these theoretical concepts makes Verovšek’s book a uniquely successful example of both theory-driven history writing and historically informed political theory.'Fabio Wolkenstein, Journal of European Integration History

• Introduction1 Collective memory as a resource for political changePart I Origins and crisis diagnosis2 Choosing integration based on the community model: memory, leadership, and the first phase of integration (1945–58)3 Counter-memory and generational change: Eurosclerosis (1959–84) and the second phase of integration (1985–2003)4 The fragmentation and loss of European memory: the Eurozone crisis, Brexit, and possible disintegrationPart II Memory and the future of Europe5 Changing generations, negative memory, and non-economic resources6 The future of Europe from a comparative perspectiveConcluding remarks: a plea for politics at the European levelSelect bibliographyIndex