Supranationalism and Interdependence as Guarantors of Peace in Europe: The Case of the European Coal and Steel Community

Abstract

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was based on a French initiative. Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman were the crucial figures in putting forward a plan that would result in the integration of the production of coal and steel in the six founding members states of the ECSC: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg. This first significant step in European integration was based on a functionalist approach with the goal of spawning further integration of Europe into a federation. The key innovation of the ECSC was the introduction of a supranational institution: The High Authority, which was given independent powers to control the production of coal and steel and facilitate economic competition in the integrated area based on the anti-trust powers it was provided with. Supranationalism creates a new level of governance above the level of states. It focuses on cooperation and tends to create a structure of interdependence in which individual international actors can gain more from cooperation than competition. It provides them with an incentive to focus more on absolute gains than on relative gains. This study holds that supranationalism is the key development brought about by the ECSC without which the peaceful integration of former enemies would have been much more difficult, if not impossible.