Heroes in Europe: William of Orange and Jean Monnet. A comparison of identity-construction at the national and European level

Starting from the conviction that Europe needs a kind of common, this thesis sets out to explore the possibility of making use of a classic tool in national identity-building, the hero, at the European level. Prominence is given to the figure of a founding father, as such a figure can be considered to have laid the foundations on which a community is built, and the values associated with him still have a formative influence, being a continuous source of legitimacy.Two figures will represent the respective national and European levels of identity. William of Orange will serve as an illustrative example for the analysis of the role of heroes in national identity-construction. He is explicitly identified with the very foundation of the Netherlands as independent nation-state, regarded the source of ‘typical’ Dutch values, and proved to be the figure that could ultimately overcome internal divisions within Dutch society. At the European level his counterpart will be Jean Monnet, already frequently indicated as founding father of Europe. He was the inventive force of the European integration project, with his idea of overcoming inner-European division by binding nations under the legal force of supranational institutions. In its most specific formulation this thesis aspires to conclude if Jean Monnet could indeed fulfil the heroic role of European founding father, following a classic example at the national level, or if there are major obstacles preventing this. Consequently, an analysis of the possible construction of a heroic founding myth around Monnet will be provided.