Peace, prosperity, self-assertion, and cosmopolitan democracy : Four narratives on the purpose of European integration

Narratives on the goal and purpose of the integration process play a key role in the legitimisation of the European Union. This working paper critically analyses four narratives that stand out in the public debate: the peace narrative, according to which the EU primarily serves to avoid conflicts among its member states; the
prosperity narrative, according to which the EU increases the economic well-being of its member states; the self-assertion narrative, which sees European integration as necessary for member states to be able to play an active role on the world stage; and the cosmopolitan-democratic narrative, according to which European
integration serves the double purpose of promoting individual freedom and collective democratic self-government beyond the nation state. It is argued that this last narrative offers the most comprehensive and convincing justification for supranational integration.