This paper analyses experiences with the common, Franco-German history schoolbook. The straightforward research question is why this book is not (or to a very limited amount) used in classes in France and in Germany. In an attempt to explain the obstacles against a wider use of the book, I touch upon some more far-reaching conceptual and theoretical questions: Why do citizens (not) use the opportunities provided by the process of European integration? As we will see, an easy answer would advance the role of ‘national identity’ as analytical concept. Yet in order to properly explain the obstacles against a wider use of the schoolbook, we have to open up the ‘black box of national identity’ and to differentiate between economic, utilitarian, institutional and social constructivist elements that explain the limited success of the book. In combining these elements, I search for a more general explanation to the question when (under what conditions) citizens accept and apply opportunities provided by European integration.
