The contrasting fortunes of European Studies and EU Studies: grounds for reconciliation?

This paper examines the relationship between the fields of EU Studies and European Studies, locating each in a wider framework (Regional Integration Studies and Area
Studies). It contrasts the revival of interest in EU/Regional Integration Studies with the difficulties faced by European/Area Studies, arguing that this contrast reflects a more fundamental shift in terms of both research and teaching. Such a shift risks narrowing the basis on which we understand Europe as a region. The paper offers one way of reconciling the fields of EU and European Studies by developing a broader and more historical concept of the region. Drawing on the insights of a number of scholars of comparative regionalism it seeks to understand the historical development of Europe as a region. Such a historical approach means moving
beyond the study of the EU per se and drawing upon the insights of a range of disciplines. At the same time however if offers an opportunity for dialogue with both
the empirical and conceptual concerns of EU studies.