History of the Idea of European Integration

The subject will follow the history of the idea of European integration from Antiquity when it first became a geographical concept and later an identification symbol, through the 14th/15th century, when Europe had started to become a political concept; up to the 17th century, when new plans to connect Europe into a single whole began to take shape; the Enlightenment, when Europe began to be seen as a large republic, divided into smaller countries, a unified civilisation and cultural unit. This is followed by an overview of romantic notions of continental integration based on former Christian brotherhood and Napoleon's ideas of the integration of Europe; all the way to the first modern ideas of integrating Europe, the hight of which was reached through plans by Richard N. Coudenhove-Kalegri and Aristide Briand. Chronologically, the subject will be focused on the 20th century and especially on the time after the Second World War. Discussed, for instance, will be Churchill's visions of a united Europe, and the ideas of Jean Monnet; shown will be the creation and operation of the Organisation for European Co-operation, the Western Union, the Council of Europe, the European Iron and Steel Community, the European Defence Community, the European Economic Community, until the foundation of the European Union. Naturally, a good deal of attention will be dedicated precisely to its development all the way to the present day. We will also touch upon the role of Slovenia in European integrations.