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The cultural sciences have in recent years shown a growing interest in the genesis of the concept of Europe. Much of this interest is rightly focused on the interwar period. Although nationalism was clearly a powerful force in most European countries after the First World War, the end of the war also marked the beginning of a modern discourse on Europe (Frevert, 2005, pp. 97–8). One of the central figures in the German debate on Europe in the early years of the Weimar Republic was the liberal Protestant theologian and philosopher, Ernst Troeltsch (18651923). In the wake of the war, he set out to reconstruct the European cultural basis in an ambitious philosophic synthesis, thereby contributing to a political reconciliation of German and Western European tradition. Despite a certain degree of backing among like-minded contemporaries, Troeltsch's ideas did not succeed in making an impact during this period. The broader academic community was much more inclined towards Oswald Spengler (1880–1936), who like Troeltsch discussed Europe's future from the perspective of a philosophy of history.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137315113_4

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