The Enlargement as the Foundation of the Community order

This article offers a comparative discourse analysis of the enlargement processes between 1970 and 2013. It shows how order is built on the European territory by highlighting the discourses’ structuring power. Through an original analytical framework designed from the study of the Schuman Declaration (1950), the europeanity discourse is defined through four propositions about its nature. This discourse is then deconstructed along the recurring themes of origin, becoming, meaning and space. In conclusion, it is shown that European integration occurs in a determinate discursive setting, above and beyond European actors’ strategic capabilities or their passive socialization.