A ‘European Commonwealth’: Britain, the European League for Economic Co-operation, and European Debates on Empire, 1947–1957

Kottos, Laura

doi:10.1080/14782804.2012.737665

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The academic André Siegfried, son of the imperial lobbyist Jules Siegfried, observed that 'we remain especially European: in our exports, neither foreign countries outside of Europe nor our colonies hold a primordial place'. 84 The economist and syndicalist Francis Delaisi, who was close to Briand and who would influence the discussions about European unification at the League and the ILO, came to the same conclusion:…”

Section: French Europementioning

confidence: 96%

Colonial or Continental Power? The Debate over Economic Expansion in Interwar France, 1925–1932

Bohling

2017

Contemporary European History

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In the 1920s various French elites argued that the nation state was not viable in an increasingly interdependent world economy dominated by ‘continental blocs’ such as the United States and the Soviet Union; instead, they hoped to expand French economic power through larger political structures, whether France's existing empire or a federal Europe. French foreign minister Aristide Briand called for the organisation of Europe at the same time that other elites advocated the consolidation of the French empire. Although imperial rivalry would trump European cooperation in the interwar years, the 1920s created a framework for post-1945 debates about whether France would achieve economic growth and maintain political independence through colonial development, continental cooperation or some combination of the two. Conventional narratives locate the origins of European integration in the devastations of the Second World War and the crisis of empire. This article argues that integration was conceived within and in tension with, not outside of, an imperial framework.

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Section: French Europementioning

confidence: 96%

Colonial or Continental Power? The Debate over Economic Expansion in Interwar France, 1925–1932

Bohling

2017

Contemporary European History

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“…The role of the European League for Economic Co‐operation in establishing cooperation between western Europe and its overseas territories during the 1940s and 1950s has been addressed by Kottos. Here it is argued that it was the British members within this elite network who influenced postwar ideas of Europe/empire integration, gradually leading French and Belgian members to adopt a model of integration and cooperation with their colonies that drew on ideas connected with the British Commonwealth.…”

Section: Post‐1945mentioning

confidence: 99%