The research project embeds the ideal of the cohesion of the European Union in the history of skepticism towards Europe. On the one hand, this skepticism has conditioned and limited European unification from the beginning; on the other hand, it has created its own forms of cohesion in Europe. While at present the field of research is dominated by analyses stemming from political science and focusing on the recent past, the project combines historical, sociological and political approaches to an interdisciplinary and transnational perspective.

It is being carried out as a joint project by the GHI London, the GHI Rome and the GHI Warsaw and the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. Cooperation partners are LMU Munich, Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Sciences Po in Strasbourg, and Queen Mary College in London. This international character considers the fact that the breadth and historical depth of contemporary Euroscepticism only come to light when one focuses on the interconnectedness of regional, national and European contexts. The aim is to explain Euroscepticism in its various manifestations as the result of the confrontation of transnational, mutually promoting and hindering conceptions of Europe.

The project offers the unique opportunity of an international scientific network to explore the topic. The subprojects at the four participating institutes are carried out in continuous exchange with each other, which is ensured, among other things, by international workshops and conferences. In addition to the monographs they will write, the project members will contribute to joint publications that will set new standards for the discussion of skepticism about European unification.

The three-year research project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with approximately 1.5 million euros and began its work on April 1, 2021.

To the project blog