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The present research comes to comprehensively analyse the path towards a confident Europe both in the regional and global environment by considering the necessity of European foreign policy consolidation as an imminent premise to enhanced European economic security & competitiveness. Despite of multiple competing political and economic interests, socio-cultural and linguistic heterogeneity, and historical animosities, the only choice of the European Union's nations to maintain and improve their current regional and global politico-economic positions resides in their capacity to act jointly through a unique representation. Accordingly, the results of the present research explicitly underline the idea that: as long as the “influence” centre of the European Union will be dispersed among national governments, each of them promoting individual interests contrary to the groups’ ones, the community as an integrational block will face important difficulties in defending its regional and global positions. The qualitative analysis undertaken highlights the idea that the European Union in the present form and institutional arrangements is not able to provide feasible and efficient solutions to the current and future challenges. This fact can be explicitly noted in the area of foreign affairs where the dualism between national and supranational bodies makes the European Union to falter on key directions including the Middle East, Eastern Partnership, the Russian Federation, and Turkey as well as on the global arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having a European identity is expected to influence citizens’ attitudes and behaviour towards the EU community. European identity is indeed positively related to support for EU integration, but are citizens with a stronger European identity also willing to pay a price for this identification, and to what extent? The contribution provides an answer to these questions by performing multilevel analyses on the EES 2014 data. The analyses show that citizens with a stronger European identity are more supportive of financial solidarity with member states in economic crisis. This explanation for support for solidarity is stronger than explanations provided by self-interest and economic ideological position. Citizens are thus willing to pay a price for their European identity. However, one can only expect so much from European identity as significant interaction effects show that the positive relationship between European identity and support for solidarity is mitigated by experiencing economic hardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution argues that the three dominant approaches to European integration cannot fully explain why the two most recent crises of the European Union (EU) resulted in very different outcomes. Liberal intergovernmentalism and neofunctionalism can account for why the euro crisis resulted in more integration, but fail to explain why the EU has been stuck in a stalemate in the Schengen crisis. With regard to postfunctionalism, it is the other way around. To solve the puzzle, we have to consider that depoliticization through supranational delegation during the euro crisis has ultimately led to more, not less politicization. Moreover, both crises were about identity politics. Political controversies over the euro crisis have centred predominantly on questions of order, i.e., what constitutes Europe as a community and how much solidarity members of the community owe to each other under which conditions. The mass influx of migrants and refugees changed identity politics, since Eurosceptic populist parties framed the Schengen crisis in terms of borders, advocating for an exclusionary ‘fortress Europe.’ In contrary of a more inclusionary discourse, the dominance of exclusionary positions in the politicization of EU affairs has impaired an upgrading of the common European interest in the Schengen crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the determinants of people’s support for European institutions, mainly focusing on the impact of European identity, after the economic crisis and in a moment in which – after profound uncertainty for its immediate future – there is a new feeling toward European integration. Previous research on support for European institutions, before the economic and financial crisis which had hit Europe since 2008, found that people’s evaluations followed mainly an instrumental logic – support being contingent on a perception of personal or national benefit accruing for EU membership – with an additional role played by European identification. This contribution expands the analysis after the beginning of the economic crisis, so to assess whether the former has affected the structure of such support, and deepens the analysis of the impact of EU identity on European institutional confidence. Using a recent Eurobarometer survey (86.2, 2016) and combining both individual and contextual data, the paper shows that European identity plays a crucial role in explaining European support also after the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since late 2007, the Eurozone has been embroiled in a crisis that has seen GDP per capita stagnate, public debt soar, and unemployment reach record levels. This article argues that the Eurozone crisis will inevitably force fundamental changes in the structure of the EU. The only way to make the Eurozone work is through deeper fiscal integration of Eurozone economies. Yet wholesale fiscal integration cannot be achieved in the near term, due to the fact that EU citizens continue to identify more with their own nationalities than with Europe as a whole. The Eurozone economies of southern Europe will, therefore, continue to flounder, leading to further anti- EU sentiment. Anti- EU sentiment may eventually increase up to the point where one or all of these countries leave the Eurozone or the EU altogether. These propositions are supported with arguments from economic theory, and are bolstered by evidence from surveys and opinion polls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking scholarship on the European Union’s (EU) 2004 eastern enlargement as a case study, this article asks whether EU studies scholars make normative judgements about how far east the EU should expand and whether these judgements involve civilisational thinking. Civilisations are categories devised by scholars to classify peoples into coherent ancient, continental-scale cultural groups, largely defined by shared history and religious tradition. They matter for their supposed political and historical significance. This article finds that normative civilisational references to eastern enlargement are quite common in EU studies but usually marginal. They are implied, for example, in the terms Europe, West and East, or in throwaway remarks in the introductions of scholarly articles. Constructivist scholarship deconstructs normative language in two – competing – civilisational narratives, associated with either the progressive West or traditional Christian Europe, which probably helped persuade Western European leaders to enlarge the EU to the east and are severely damaging Turkey’s candidacy. EU studies also applies a historical sociology approach to culture. They suggest that historical legacies which are deeply embedded in the social structures and practices of specific groups of people over thelongue duréecreate the social and economic conditions that determine suitability for EU membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to evaluate the perception of the population, represented by five target groups, on "European citizenship". We propose an evaluation methodology according to four criteria: the opportunity of Romania's adherence to the European Union; the interest in European themes; identity of European citizenship; complementarity between national and European identity. The survey was conducted on a sample of 800 people from various social backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Union (EU) institutions have cultivated narratives of European integration for a long time. For its 2013–2014 ‘A New Narrative for Europe’ project, however, the European Commission for the first time explicitly used the ‘narrative’ label. Drawing on non-participant observation, semi-structured interviews and qualitative discourse analysis, this article contrasts the drafting process and the resulting declaration’s narrative structure and content with its discussion by citizens in a web-based consultation. The analysis shows that participating citizens forcefully demanded a bottom-up debate and advocated pluralistic perspectives. In these circumstances, elite-driven attempts at strengthening European identity and EU legitimacy are likely to be ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Drawing on a study conducted with an association of citizens operating in the European public sphere and applying the Discourse Historical Approach, this paper investigates how the organisation's members construct their transnational citizenship and how they negotiate it vis-à-vis European, national, and local identities. The analysis reveals that informants often claim their transnational identities as membership of an expanded community of relevance, through the transportability of their civic engagement and through meta-narratives of spatiality and progress whereby cosmopolitan scenarios are often reterritorialised within the European space. These arguments are frequently realised through the metaphorical scenario of 'spatial dynamics' which makes sense of identities as emergent from unbounded social interaction, and through the indexicality of transnational narratives as specific discourses of socio-historical transformation of nationhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A superordinate identity reduces bias and facilitates intergroup cooperation. This suggests that getting European Union (EU) citizens to identify with Europe will decrease outgroup hostility. Is European identity thus a superordinate identity? Using Eurobarometer data, I determine which level of identification is the most inclusive for individuals' immigration attitudes. Those who feel European hold more favorable views toward immigrants—an effect that is amplified under conditions of cross-cutting cleavages and where country length of European Union membership is greatest. In contrast, strong national identity is associated with more negative immigration attitudes; regional identity has no effect. A subsequent test confirms that the benefits of identifying with Europe extend most strongly to immigrants of European Union origin, although positive effects are observed toward non-European Union migrants as well. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The war in Libya of 2011 is generally portrayed as yet more evidence of the European Union (EU)'s inability to formulate a coordinated foreign policy. While the crisis took place in the EU's backyard, joint foreign policy action was hindered by member states' disagreements on whether or not to establish a no-fly zone in Libya. While this is true of political decision-makers, this paper investigates whether governmental decisions were reflected in similar divisions in national news media or whether references to European identity and criticism of European disunity transcended national media boundaries. Comparing a total of 6746 newspaper articles from Germany, France, the UK, Austria and the USA, the findings show that intergovernmental differences did not lead to similarly divided public spheres. Public debates in France, Germany and Austria constantly referred to a European foreign policy identity, though EU identity references were largely absent from UK newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Explanations of support for European Union policies are often conceived in terms of utilitarian cost-benefits analysis, yet recent scholarship has demonstrated that ‘soft’ variables, such as identity, are sometimes more useful for explaining preferences about European integration. This article tests a hypothesised link between European identity and support for integrative economic policies to respond to economic crisis in the Eurozone. Data to test the hypothesis are from a novel survey of European university students (n?=?1872) conducted in autumn 2012 in four Eurozone countries (France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Given the economic nature of the policies in question, this is a case where utilitarian calculations might be expected to drive preferences. Yet in each of the four countries, European identity is found to have a significant positive relationship with support for further economic integration, even when controlling for material considerations that might otherwise have been thought to explain these preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since 2004, the European Neighbourhood Policy has established cooperation instruments similar to those of the pre-accession policy, which has contributed to a major misunderstanding, because the countries concerned, i.e. new neighbouring partners, were not intended to fully integrate with the EU. But now, this policy created in a context of relative stability in partner countries must change radically its contours. The Arab Springs and the Georgian and Ukrainian revolutions, the political developments in Russia, in particular, the overcoming of opposition between deepening and enlargement while European citizens withdraw into a national level, induce a radical change of the choices in matter of EU foreign policy. The construction of EU is in progress both inside and outside, because our neighbours are like our mirrors and our relationships contribute to the evolution of our European feeling. In this context, it is very important to propose selected elements about the European neighbourhood. What is new? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural diversity is very often conceived in relationship with the nation-state, but rarely problematized in tandem with transnational forces like political and economic globalization. The article begins by recognizing the need, and the difficulty, of studying both these forces simultaneously in relation to cultural diversity. As a supranational set of institutions, the European Union provides an ideal framework in which to assess the simultaneous impact of the nation-state and globalization on cultural diversity. The EU unification project, based on a pluralist, multicultural and multilateral vision of Europe, is diametrically opposed to previous state-making practices centred on rigid notions of internal uniformity and gravitating around the practices of ‘nation-statism’. This article first proposes the notion of ‘cultural homogenization’ as an explanatory tool to identify the role of normative visions of culture associated with the nationalizing practices of most modern nation-states. It then connects this to the scholarly literature on ‘nation-building’ and focuses particularly on its critique within theories of nationalism. This in turn is associated with various resurrected pluralist arrangements which have emerged in Europe, like cultural autonomy, multiculturalism and particularly, ‘consociationalism’. However, the article identifies a more immediate challenge to cultural diversity in the de-regulative policies associated with neo-liberal globalization. It concludes that, although European consociationalism remains a well-established and time-honoured tool for stabilizing inter-cultural relations and maintaining pluralist coexistence, it does not, and cannot, provide an incentive and framework for accommodating the normative and cultural conflicts unleashed by neo-liberal globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a poststructuralist theorising of identity in international relations, which argues that identity is relationally and discursively constructed through foreign policy, this article attempts to analyse the way in which the European Commission discursively constructs European identit(ies) in its relations with Turkey around the theme of ‘security’. The study utilises the methodological tools of critical discourse analysis in analysing the speeches and field interviews conducted with European Commission officials, in examining the way in which they construct ‘Europe’ in relation to the security implications of Turkish accession. The article’s findings challenge the argument that Europe is moving beyond the modern state to resemble a postmodern order, and problematises the designation of the Commission as a ‘cosmopolitan’ actor in EU enlargement policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on Thomas Kuhn's seminal analysis, this article argues that mainstream EUropean integration theories such as neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism are unified by underlying ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions – thus – conform to the same scientific paradigm. This means that while opening up opportunities for study of some aspects of EUropean integration, simultaneous closure occurs so that other aspects remain under-explored. The value of identifying this effect is to enable researchers to sound out complementary approaches and paradigms to overcome said limitations and elicit new insights. Adopting a focus on discourse as a means, as well as identity formation as a form of integration, Eder's attempt to transcend transactionalism's omission to focus on content and functions rather than density of transactions is a laudable example of this endeavour. However, it can be argued that he reproduces several of the mainstream integration theories' paradigmatic assumptions. Flood's account of political myth goes beyond such limitations. Usefully supplemented by a structural rather than normative understanding of ideology and extended beyond historico-ideological content, this approach allows for the study of the identity-endowing and integrating function of implicitly or explicitly ideologically marked narratives that establish what it means to be EUropean. Although tentative steps towards this focus of study exist in EUropean studies, more rigorous theorising and extensive empirical research are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In essence, national interests are the foundation of European construction as is known today the European Union. Thus, EU membership entails interdependence of national states interests with European interests. For mutual support it is needed that European interests should converge and be compatible with national interests, which are the engine of ascending evolution of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Issues in Ethnology Anthropology is the property of Issues in Ethnology Anthropology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explains the role of media in the identity-building process in the European Union (EU). Starting from a historical overview of different forms of nationalism in Europe and various ways in which nations emerged, it traces the efforts of current members of the European Union to create a common feeling of belonging in the EU’s unique post-national realm. Finally it examines whether media should be and could be the conveyors of the new pan-national European soul. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Subject of the study is to accept actions to promote a new European identity, increased social activity and to encourage the social partnership between member states of the European Union. The main goal of the study is to justify the need of cooperation between partners at national and international level to build a new European supranational identity of citizens in contemporary Europe by strengthening their social activity. The paper has the following structure: a. brief justification for the need to consider the problem (an introduction to the problem); b. clarify the concepts of "European identity", "social activity" and "social partnership"; c. presentation of the methodology of implementation of social partnership; d. propose specific actions and guidelines to implement a concept of promoting acceptance a new European identity, increase social activity and encourage social partnership between member states of the European Union; e. conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines variables from social sciences influencing European identity in Western Europe. The study shows that several social variables can be used to predict the level of European identity, which can lead to a stronger European integration of citizens. Eurobarometer data from European Union countries show that specific social variables have a higher relevance for predicting European identity. In particular, the perceived importance of the EU, European pride and whether the EU is perceived as a good or a bad thing are used to predict one's European identity. Also, over time, there is a change in the social variables which are salient for determining one's European identity. European pride has become a stronger determinant of European identity compared to the perceived importance of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neither the proposed European Constitution nor the Lisbon Treaty made any mention of Christianity, nor are there any references to Christianity or Christian churches in the ordinary documents of the European Union. This essay explores the likely root causes of such omission. Given that the constitutions of many European member-states refer to God and/or Christianity (and in some cases even establish an official religion), the European Constitution did not simply transfer the status quo at national level to the international sphere. The root cause of the 'Christophobia' that marks the current Eurocracy would appear to lie in a rejection of its own cultural origins: a civilizational self-denial. Europe seeks to define its identity in terms of abstract universal values such as freedom, human rights, etc. Nevertheless, the reason such liberal-democratic values emerged in the West is because they are secularized versions of Christian values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In several respects, the EU represents both a novel system of quasi-supranational governance and a novel form of political community or polity. But it is also a fragile construction for it remains a community still in the making with an ambiguous sense of identity and within which powerful forces are at work. This paper has three main aims: first, to stress the shifting nature of Europe's geographical frontiers and assess whether cultural frontiers have remained more stable throughout time. In particular, it examines the main criteria, which have traditionally been employed when having to decide who should be included and excluded from Europe. A different question concerns the requirements for EU membership and the monopoly of the adjective 'European' by the EU, which somehow has become to be identified with Europe. Second, to explore the prospects for the emergence of a European identity. Here, I argue that European identity stands as a 'non-emotional identity' in sharp contrast with traditional forms of national identity associated with intense nationalist feelings. Third, through the analysis of the most recent Eurobarometer (annual survey of EU's public opinion) to examine the views of Europeans regarding the EU at a time of a major global economic crisis. To conclude, the paper explores the main challenges to be faced by a still incipient European identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss the data for Portugal of the IntUne survey on elite attitudes towards European integration. Despite some differences between the Portuguese and the European results of the survey, we find that the concept of 'compound citizenship' (M. Cotta, 'A “compound” model of citizenship? European citizenship in the eyes of national elites', Lisbon IntUne General Assembly, 27-30 November 2008) may be applied to the perceptions of Portuguese elites regarding the European Union, and the postulated combination of an indirect European citizenship with a direct one is also verifiable in Portugal. We hypothesise that this European 'compound citizenship' is not conflictive with national citizenship, possessing instead elements for strengthening the linkage between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologija: Mintis ir Veiksmas is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To date, European identity has not mobilised a feeling of belonging or solidarity that would be comparable to the ways in which national identities stir people's passions and make them ready ‘to die for’ their nations. However, much of the related political debate and scholarly analysis has paid little attention to citizens' understanding of European identity and the way this relates to national identity. This paper aims to contribute towards filling this gap. It explores qualitatively the relationship between national and European identity among Italian citizens with a view to answering the following research questions: How do Italian citizens define Europe? Who is a European? How does feeling European relate to feeling Italian? How do citizens perceive the European integration process? The article is based on 24 qualitative interviews with Italian citizens of varying age, gender, locality of residence and socio-economic status, conducted in spring and summer 2003. The methodology adopted follows the discourse analytical tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a comparative analysis of the role of interregionalism in the European Union’s foreign policies and external relations, with a particular focus on some of the most important regions around the world: Africa, Asia, South America, North America and Central and Eastern Europe. After a brief comparative assessment of the EU’s interregional relationships, the article provides three partly overlapping and intersecting accounts of the variation in the policy of interregionalism across regions: (i) promoting a liberal internationalist agenda; (ii) building the EU’s identity as a global actor; and (iii) promoting the EU’s power and competitiveness. The analysis concludes by sketching some ingredients of an emerging research agenda on the study of the EU’s foreign policy and interregionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity has recently become one of the most frequently theorised and explored topics within various sub-branches of social sciences. Collective identities in general, and their ancestry and construction in particular, are being perceived in different ways by historians, anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists and, last but not least, discourse-analysts. This article aims at shedding a new light on the concept of European identity, which, so far, has been most frequently analysed within the context of the European Union and its political and economic impact on the European space. Despite drawing theoretically on some well-grounded traditions of research on European identity, such as, e.g., analysis of its contradiction and suplementariness with national identities, or, its interconnection with such concepts as European citizenship or European integration, the analysis of European identity presented here is put in the context of globally understood identification processes. Empirically, the article draws on the analysis of TV talk show thematically bound by the topics concerning European Union's impact on national identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]