The interest in the European Union as a crisis manager has grown intensely during the last years. Large-scale accidents – floods, forest fires and terrorist attacks – do not recognise national borders, and policy makers have increasingly realised that cooperation within the Union is a necessary prerequisite for efficient crisis man-
agement.
This research starts from the hypothesis that public diplomacy helps the European Union (EU) strengthen its soft power.
European integration: Initiated in Western Europe in aftermath of World War II; context marked by political and economic reconstruction, beginning of Cold War.
This contribution is aimed at achieving an understanding of the political philosophy of Jean Monnet with regard to European integration.1 It draws on the archives of this founding father of a united Europe and contains numerous quotations, as our main concern was to allow him to speak for himself.
