The Marshall Plan as a catalyst for European integration: A neo-functionalist edifice on a neo-realist ground

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Marmara Üniversitesi, Avrupa Araştırmaları Enstitüsü, Avrupa Birliği Siyaseti ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Anabilim Dalı (İngilizce), Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2020

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: HİLAL POLAT

Danışman: Armağan Emre Çakır

Özet:

In the aftermath of World War II, Europe was suffering from the devastation brought by conflict, together with food shortages and high unemployment. However, the US emerged as a superpower with economic growth that was achieved during the war. Western Europe was about to fall under the threat of another superpower, the Soviet Union. Hence, the Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program (ERP), was created as a means of revival and cooperation. The thesis aims to analyze how the Marshall Plan affected the post-World War II European integration process until the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). With a focus on post-war transatlantic relations and coordination, the thesis elucidates how post-war American foreign policy influenced the relations in the European states, especially between Germany and France, focusing on the German problem at that time. The thesis examines the effect of the Marshall Plan on the early European integration through the assumptions of two different theories. In this vein, the beginning of the integration process is examined through a neo-realist lens, while neo-functionalism is applied as a means to provide an interpretation of its progression. The thesis offers a theoretical contribution to the study of US-European relations, including the events revolving around at the start of the Cold War. Keywords: European Integration, Marshall Plan, the US, Transatlantic Relations, Neo-Functionalism, Neo-Realism