Empire, Neutrality, and National Identity: Explaining Divergent European Integration Narratives in the United Kingdom and Austria (1955-2020).

This thesis examines why Austria and the United Kingdom developed divergent political narratives toward European integration between 1955 and 2022, despite both being former empires with extensive histories of involvement in European affairs. Drawing on constructivist theory, discursive institutionalism and postfunctionalist approaches to European integration, the thesis argues that divergent national responses to the European project cannot be explained by economic interests or institutional arrangements alone, but must be understood through the lens of historically constituted national identities, imperial legacies and political narratives. Austria and the United Kingdom were selected as comparative cases due to their structural similarities and remarkably different results. Both are former empires that faced similar economic and geopolitical challenges, engaged in European integration from positions of established statehood and democratic institutions and had postwar trajectories altered by imperial collapse and decline. However, their responses differed significantly, with one leading to stable EU membership and the other to withdrawal, making this a particularly useful comparative case for comprehending how national identity influences European integration outcomes. This combination of structural similarities and outcome divergence is well suited for isolating national identity and imperial heritage as explanatory factors, as material and institutional conditions cannot account for the disparity. The timeframe of 1955 and 2022 illustrates the distinct historical beginnings of each scenario. For Austria, 1955 represents the restoration of sovereignty through the State Treaty and the establishment of permanent neutrality - a turning point in postwar Austrian identity. For the United Kingdom, 1955 predates EEC membership, but this is analytically intentional: British attitudes toward integration were shaped by identity frameworks that preceded and conditioned entrance in 1973. Beginning in 1955, the thesis traces Eurosceptic attitudes before, during and after membership. The year 2022 captures the post-Brexit settlement and Austria’s response to the Ukraine War, providing a contemporary conclusion to both trajectories. The thesis adopts a qualitative comparative case study approach, integrating theoretical analysis with empirical investigations into institutional structures, historical trajectories, political narratives and domestic political dynamics in both countries. The analysis concludes that Austria’s corporatist governance tradition and postwar identity focused on international 3 rehabilitation made European integration compatible with its national self-understanding, whereas Britain’s Westminster model and exceptionalist postwar identity made integration structurally and narratively difficult to accommodate. The findings suggest that national identity and imperial legacy significantly shape national responses to European integration.