CIAO DATE: 06/05

European Integration and Franco-German Relations: Erbfeindschaft or Engrenage?

Abstract

Given the historical depth of Franco-German enmity, or erbfeindschaft, how have integrative efforts in West Europe been shaped by this rivalry? Three sets of tensions are identified in addressing that question: the theoretical tussle to explain West European integration; the explosive historical relationship between the two countries; and their cooperative, complementary relationship in European Community policy-making. For analytical purposes, two hypotheses connect these sources of tension in the multifaceted, complicated subject mater of Franco-German relations. These are that (a) when the Cold War was in full fury, both countries found cooperation a gar superior strategy than discord; and (b) when the Cold War ended, disagreements increased without eliminating cooperation. Both are tested through a comparative study of agricultural and monetary policies of the Community, and prefaced by a rapid historical riffle of the ups and downs in that bilateral relationship. The conclusion is drawn that the Community interlocked the two countries in such a way as to make disengagement costly in spite of increasing divergences, and that this engranage was possible because of the Cold War context.

These findings challenge (a) the relevance of Westphalia outside of Western Europe; (b) the pre-eminence of Westphalia in the international relations literature of western countries; and (c) the argument that democracies do not go to war with each other because of a cultural affinity when those same democracies engage in as frequent domestic conflicts, if not more, than non-democracies.

Full Text (PDF, 49 pages, 2.82 MB)