Grand Designs and Visions of Unity

344 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-5344-3
Published: March 2002
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-6017-5
Published: April 2003
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-7360-6
Published: April 2003

New Cold War History

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In the late 1950s, against the unfolding backdrop of the Cold War, American and European leaders began working to reshape Western Europe. They sought to adapt the region to a changing world in which European empires were rapidly disintegrating, Soviet influence was spreading, and the United States could no longer shoulder the entire political and economic burden of the West yet hesitated to share it with Europe. Focusing on the four largest Atlantic powers--Britain, France, Germany, and the United States--Jeffrey Giauque explores these early stages of European integration.

Giauque uses evidence from newly opened international archives to show how a mix of cooperation and collaboration shaped efforts to unify postwar Europe. He examines the "grand designs" each country developed to advance its own interests, specific plans for collaboration or accord, and the reactions of the other Atlantic powers to these proposals. Competing national interests not only derailed many otherwise sound plans for European unity, Giauque says, but also influenced such nascent European institutions as the Common Market, the antecedent of today's European Union. Indeed, beyond examining the origins of the European community, this comparative study provides insight into national attitudes and aspirations that continue to shape European and American policies today.

About the Author

Jeffrey Glen Giauque is a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State. He has taught history and international studies at Miami (Ohio) University.
For more information about Jeffrey Glen Giauque, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"This [is a] strong addition to the stimulating new series The New Cold War History. Giauque deserves special praise. . . . [His] work should be read by all students of and specialists on history of European integration and European-American relations, and it should encourage deeper explorations of the difficult and ongoing challenge of building an Atlantic community."--Journal of Modern History

"This clear, well-written analysis. . . . is the first on the subject to be based on the full range of US, UK, French, and German archives."--Choice

"Jeffrey Giauque's impressive book is the first comprehensive study of the alliance politics and European integration during an important transition period in the Cold War. Based on extensive multiarchival and multinational research, it is a model work of international history, demonstrating a keen sense of historical judgment and understanding. It should be a required text in any course dealing with post-1945 Europe, the history of European integration, or the American relationship with Europe since World War II."--Thomas Schwartz, Vanderbilt University