Identity‐politics in the European Union

Fossum, John Erik

doi:10.1080/07036330108429109

Cited by 30 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Building a European identity has to start from scratch as there is no kind of primordial identity to build upon, as Lord (p. 114) argues. Suggestions go in the direction of creating a European identity the same way as European nation states once developed theirs (Eriksen & Fossum, 2004;Fossum, 2001Fossum, , 2003Holsen, 1998), and that the political and social citizenship is vital in order to create this kind of identity (Holsen, 1998).…”

Section: Language and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notwithstanding the fact that the European Union has made considerable progress in attaining a political system united in diversity with something like a confederal or federal supra-state institutional structure, it is widely held that it suffers from an identity problem when public opinion is taken into consideration (Eriksen & Fossum, 2004;Fossum, 2001Fossum, , 2003Kumm, 2005;Schlesinger, 1997). Language is the most frequently mentioned challenge, being an alleged obstacle towards further integration and co-operation within the Union (Archibugi, 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Lost in Translation? European Integration and Language Diversity

Grindheim

Lohndal

2008

Perspectives on European Politics and Society

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English is constantly moving forward and consolidating its role as lingua franca in the European Union. At the same time the Union has 23 official languages and promotes around 150 regional or minority languages under its official motto United in diversity; expressing the view that each member state should promote its national language and identity simultaneously as their citizens are to feel like Europeans. This may be regarded as a contradiction in terms because diversity may undermine unity. In this paper we reach the opposite conclusion by investigating the relationship between language, identity and the process of European integration. Taking as a point of departure the fact that language is a crucial part of our identity, we argue that language as such does not have to be an obstacle to the development of 'an ever closer Union' in Europe if the general discourses are made transparent on each level of political decision making, i.e. the regional, national and supranational level as this maintains and strengthens the democracy in the Union. We see the Union as the individual languages' and hence identities' advocate, defending democratic diversity in Europe at the same time as three main working languages -English, French and German -ensure its necessary unity under some kind of confederal or federal supra-national political system.

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Section: Language and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lost in Translation? European Integration and Language Diversity

Grindheim

Lohndal

2008

Perspectives on European Politics and Society

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“…While the belief that a common European identity is essential for the legitimation of EU actions is widespread in both political and academic literature (Fossum, 2001;Herrmann & Brewer, 2004;Karolewski & Kaina, 2006;Kraus, 2008;Mach & Pozarlik, 2008), the questions of what European identity constitutes and how it should be approached are open and still disputed.…”

Section: Introduction and Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

European Identity and its Relationship to National and Ethnic Identities among Younger and Older Members of Ethnic Minority Groups

Waechter¹

2014

Slovak Journal of Political Sciences

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European Identity and its Relationship to National and Ethnic Identities among Younger and Older Members of Ethnic Minority Groups. European identity is neither a new phenomenon nor a new concept. Yet, after almost three decades of research, this area is characterized by a wide variety of concepts and little empirical evidence. Existing studies in the area propose homogeneous concepts of societies and often disregard European identity among ethnic minorities and non-citizens. This paper addresses the gap in the literature and analyses European identity among 12 minority groups living in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that have already become or might become EU members. The purpose of this study is to examine the choice of European identity and attitudes towards Europe in relation to other identities among respondents with an ethnic minority background. The paper addresses this question within the life-course perspective and examines differences in identity levels between the young and older cohorts of minority groups. For our analysis we have used a sample of 6800 members of ethnic minorities living in CEE (ENRIValues and Identities Survey). Our results indicate a stronger level of European orientation among minority young people in comparison to adults. Moreover, the study shows that while young minority cohorts manifest stronger levels of European identity than adults, their levels of national and ethnic identity are significantly lower. While adults consider their national identity to be more salient than European identity, young people give the two equal degrees of importance. At the same time, for both young people and adults, the results illustrate that European identity is compatible with both national and ethnic identities.Key words: identity, ethnic minority, young people, European identity, attitudes towards Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, ENRI-East Európska identita a jej vzťah k národným a národnostným identitám medzi mladšími a staršími príslušníkmi národnostných menšín. Európska identita nie je ani nový fenomén, ani nový koncept. Napriek tomu, po takmer tridsiatich rokoch, charakterizuje túto oblasť množstvo konceptov a málo empirických dôka-zov. Jestvujúce štúdie v tejto oblasti ponúkajú homogénne koncepty spoločností a často neberú do úvahy európsku identitu medzi národnostnými menšinami a cudzincami. Táto štúdia sa zaoberá medzerou v literatúre a analyzuje európsku identitu medzi 12 národnostnými skupinami v krajinách strednej a východnej Európy, ktoré sa už stali alebo mohli by sa stať členmi Európskej únie. Účelom tejto štúdie je preskúmať voľbu európskej identity a postoje k Európe vo vzťahu k iným identitám medzi respondentmi, ktorí majú pôvod v národnostnej menšine. Štúdia sa zaoberá touto otázkou v rámci životnej perspektívy a skúma rozdiely v úrovni identity medzi mladšími a staršími príslušníkmi menšinových skupín. Vo svojej analýze sme použili vzorku z 6 800 príslušníkov národnostných menších žijúcich v strednej a východnej Európe. Naše výsledky naznačujú vyššiu úroveň...

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“…The work of authors such as Smith (1992;, Cederman (2001) and Fossum (2001) provides an informative background to the present analysis. Yet it adopts a specific angle in approaching the case study of the Charter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Identity, Political Interest and Human Rights in Europe: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Bojkov¹

2004

Natl. pap.

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This article is about national identity, political interest and the creation of international human rights regimes. Geographically, it is focused on Western Europe and the very recent process of establishing the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Both national identity and political interest are seen as important determinants of this process, defining its discourse and outcome. The relationship between the two is complex and recursive. They influence each other to an extent that warrants seeing them as mutually constitutive. On one hand, the social, political and economic projects elites engage in have to resonate positively with dearly held elements of national identity but have also the power to modify them. Being a psychological phenomenon, on the other hand, national identity is a dynamic concept that employs common historically defined memories, traditions and customs but is also subject to the influence of the political context within which it operates.

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Identity‐politics in the European Union

Cited by 30 publications

References 23 publications

Lost in Translation? European Integration and Language Diversity

Lost in Translation? European Integration and Language Diversity

European Identity and its Relationship to National and Ethnic Identities among Younger and Older Members of Ethnic Minority Groups

National Identity, Political Interest and Human Rights in Europe: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

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