Abstract
This chapter traces the importance of the international and European dimensions of social work education in historical perspective. It shows that this dimension has always been constitutive of the professional character of social work but was in certain periods strongly influenced by political agendas, such as the Cold War confrontation.
The situation after 1989 in Europe offered new opportunities for exchange and collaboration, giving access to the rich material and concepts that all countries can contribute but which is frequently forgotten from a more abstract "scientific" approach to social work. The author proposes a version of "European Social Work" that values the diversity of approaches positively and thereby also sets a model for key principles of European integration.