Provincialising European union: Co-operation and Integration in Europe in a Historical Perspective

This article argues for a less EU-centric form of writing European integration history. More specifically, it scrutinises the ways in which the interconnections with other international organisations have energised, complemented or rivalled the efforts of the European Communities/EU. This approach also allows for a reassessment of the alleged sui generis character of European integration. It demonstrates that it was not the precise competences, its effects or its institutional uniqueness that made the EC stand out, but rather the way in which it self-fashioned and surrounded itself with a great sense of expectancy.