Benelux, Europe and the Cold War, the power of non-powers

The conference “Benelux, Europe and the Cold War, the power of non-powers”, which took place on 30 and 31 March 2017 at the University of Luxembourg, was the first of three events planned in the FNR-funded CORE junior project “Benelux”, as part of its public outreach and academic output objectives. The conference sought to highlight asymmetrical power relations in the Cold War period of European integration by examining European security. What was/is European security in the context of the Cold War? How was and is it conceived? What role did “non-powers” play in European security, and how did they help define it? This conference investigated these and other related questions by re-examining the US/European relationship in the early Cold War and the role that developments during this period played in the European integration movement. In so doing, the conference also showcased findings which helped unify historiographies of the Cold War and European integration.