PhD project
This project studies the genesis and transformation of national positions in the Federal Republic of Germany on European monetary integration from the European Monetary System in 1979 to the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The focus is therefore not on the frequently studied international negotiations between governments, central banks, and European institutions, but rather on domestic German controversies and negotiation processes between political, administrative, and academic actors. The project thus pursues the question of when and under what conditions a majority-supporting course toward deeper monetary integration emerged -- and of what importance economic arguments were.
It is further assumed that the German monetary position was not based on a coherent economic policy concept, but emerged in a field of tension between institutional interests, economic schools of thought and macroeconomic experience. In particular, the position of the Deutsche Mark in the European Monetary System, the Bundesbank's stability orientation, and the influence of economic expertise shaped political decision-making processes. The project combines approaches from political history and the history of knowledge: Using archival materials, economic publications, and journalistic sources, it reconstructs argumentation strategies and decision-making processes. Thus, the work contributes to the history of knowledge of European integration and sheds light on the national level as a central, previously under-researched dimension of the prehistory of the European Monetary Union.
