The European Union: from Jean Monnet to the Euro

Abstract

The transformation of Europe since the end of World War II has been astounding. In 1945, a battle scarred continent lay in ruins. Today, it has achieved a level of integration, prosperity, and stability that few people could have anticipated. The life and career of the French statesman Jean Monnet and the recent adoption of the euro as Europe's common currency represent the bookends of this half century long metamorphosis. This collection of essays, drawn from the lectures of the 1999 Baker Conference at Ohio University, explores Monnet's vision of an integrated Europe, its gradual implementation, and the social, economic, and international consequences. The scholarship focuses upon Monnet's life, personality, and legacy, the development of social policy within the European Union (EU), the economic and national security implications of the EU, and the continuation of an American presence in Europe through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This significant collection fuses biography with comparative political economy and policy studies to help political scientists, sociologists, economists, international lawyers, and historians on both sides of the Atlantic understand important aspects of Europe's post 1945 development.