Before self-reflexivity

imperialism and colonialism in the early discourses of European integration

Wolfgang Schmale

pp. 186-201

in: Menno Spiering, Michael Wintle (eds), European identity and the second world war, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011

Abstract

With the wisdom of hindsight we can say that Europe had lost much of its dominance in the world by the end of the First World War; by 1945 there was no longer any room for doubt. France, the proud grande nation, had fallen into dependency on the US in the military and economic fields, whereas less than three decades previously, in 1918, she had taken a seat in the front row of the victors, ending the war with the largest and mightiest army on the continent. In 1945 France's political position was weak, and she could only achieve her goals with the UK and the US, but not against or without them. Her colonial empire was showing many signs of decline. The same was true of the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, though they began decolonization only after the end of the Second World War. Germany had lost its colonies, while fascist Italy's new colonial adventure was in ruins. One might see the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth as an exception, but it, too, was obviously weakened. Since the October Revolution and the foundation of the Soviet Union, Russia was no longer really considered to be a genuine part of Europe, and for many intellectuals the ancient real or imagined divide between Europe and Russia had been revived.