Europe as a Political Project in the CDU

In German Studies, research on the cultural roots of
postwar conservative European policies is in an early
stage as compared with aspects of research in other
postwar political movements. This interdisciplinary
work contributes to the field by outlining the
historical-intellectual development of views on
European integration culminating in the party
programs of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Using a synthesis of Lützeler's concept of Europe as
a political project, Gerhards' concept of meaning
matrices, Goldstein/Keohane's theory of the role of
ideas on foreign policy and Buchhaas' work on the
role of party programs in the CDU, the productive
tensions between international cooperation and
national identity with regard to Europe are outlined.
In the CDU, traditional organic-nationalist policies
are dialectically transformed, exhibiting marked
departures from outcomes predicted by prior
conservative thought on Europe. Further, the party's
manifestoes and election programs areshown to break
significantly with desires for cultural-political
separation from Europe seen in previous centuries, in
favor of mutual responsibility for its future.