ABSTRACT
Did the Marshall Plan encourage the integration of the separate states in Europe and point the way to political unity? Or, rather, did its structure encourage the rebuilding of a strong state-centered system that has hindered European unification? My answer is that both these seemingly contrasting theses are partially correct, but that the impulses to integration in the final analysis outweigh the inclination towards state-centrism. In this chapter, I will examine both claims and argue that a balance of the two is necessary to explain the impact of the Marshall Plan on the question of European unity. I will conclude with an analysis of three possible ‘founding’ claims to European unity among key European policy makers.
