Identity, Interests and Attitudes to European Integration

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 0230504248
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (35 download)

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Book Synopsis Identity, Interests and Attitudes to European Integration by : L. McLaren

Download or read book Identity, Interests and Attitudes to European Integration written by L. McLaren and published by Springer. This book was released on 2005-12-16 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With growing levels of Euroscepticism across EU member states, grasping the roots of opposition to European integration has become more important than ever. This book charts public perceptions of the European Union in both the EU-15 and the new member states and introduces an identity-based model to explain mass Euroscepticism.

Citizens and the European Polity

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191611557
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis Citizens and the European Polity by : David Sanders

Download or read book Citizens and the European Polity written by David Sanders and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a broad overview of the main trends in mass attitudes towards domestic politics and European integration from the 1970s until today. Particularly in the last two decades, the "end of the permissive consensus" around European integration has forced analysts to place public opinion at the centre of their concerns. The book faces this challenge head on, and the overview it provides goes well beyond the most commonly used indicators. On the one hand, it shows how integration's deepening and enlargement involved polities and societies whose fundamental traits in terms of political culture - regime support, political engagement, ideological polarization - have remained anything but static or homogeneous. On the other hand, it addresses systematically what Scharpf (1999) has long identified as the main sources of the democratic deficits of the EU: the lack of a sense of collective identity, the lack of a Europe-wide structure for political accountability, and the lack of recognition of the EU as a legitimate political authority. In other words, it focuses on the fundamental dimensions of how Europeans relate to the EU: identity (the sense of an "European political community"; representation (the perception that European elites and institutions articulate citizens' interests and are responsive to them); and policy scope (the legitimacy awarded to the EU as a proper locus of policy-making). It does so by employing a cohesive theoretical framework derived from the entire IntUne project, survey and macro-social data encompassing all EU member countries, and state-of-the-art methods. The IntUne series is edited by Maurizio Cotta and Pierangelo Isernia In a moment in which the EU is facing an important number of social, economic, political and cultural challenges, and its legitimacy and democratic capacities are increasingly questioned, it seems particularly important to address the issue of if and how EU citizenship is taking shape. This series intends to address this complex issue. It reports the main results of a quadrennial Europe-wide research project, financed under the 6th Framework Programme of the EU. That programme has studied the changes in the scope, nature and characteristics of citizenship presently underway as a result of the process of deepening and enlargement of the European Union. The INTUNE Project - Integrated and United: A Quest for Citizenship in an Ever Closer Europe - is one of the most recent and ambitious research attempts to empirically study how citizenship is changing in Europe. The Project lasted four years (2005-2009) and it involved 30 of the most distinguished European universities and research centres, with more than 100 senior and junior scholars as well as several dozen graduate students working on it. It had as its main focus an examination of how integration and decentralization processes, at both the national and European level, are affecting three major dimensions of citizenship: identity, representation, and scope of governance. It looked, in particular, at the relationships between political, social and economic elites, the general public, policy experts and the media, whose interactions nurture the dynamics of collective political identity, political legitimacy, representation, and standards of performance. In order to address empirically these issues, the INTUNE Project carried out two waves of mass and political, social and economic elite surveys in 18 countries, in 2007 and 2009; in-depth interviews with experts in five policy areas; extensive media analysis in four countries; and a documentary analysis of attitudes toward European integration, identity and citizenship. The book series presents and discusses in a coherent way the results coming out of this extensive set of new data.

Euroscepticism

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Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9401201080
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Euroscepticism by :

Download or read book Euroscepticism written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-08-29 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The accelerated pace of European integration since the early 1990s has been accompanied by the emergence of increasingly prominent and multiform oppositions to the process. The term Euroscepticism has appeared with growing frequency in a range of political, media, and academic discourses. Yet, the label is applied to a wide range of different, and occasionally contradictory, phenomena. Although originally associated with an English exceptionalism relative to a Continental project of political and economic integration, the term Euroscepticism is now also identified with a more general questioning of European Union institutions and policies which finds diverse expressions across the entire continent. This volume of European Studies brings together an interdisciplinary team of contributors to provide one of the first major, multinational surveys of the growth of these Eurosceptic tendencies. Individual chapters provide detailed examinations of developments in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Switzerland. Overall, the volume draws a distinctive portrait of contemporary Euroscepticism, situating the phenomenon not only relative to the progress of European integration, but also in relation to broader questions concerned with the evolution of party politics and the reshaping of national identities.

European Identity in the Context of National Identity

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191047112
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis European Identity in the Context of National Identity by : Bettina Westle

Download or read book European Identity in the Context of National Identity written by Bettina Westle and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-29 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the age of grand recession, nationalism seems to have returned to Europe. In every EU country, many citizens are unhappy with the perceived intrusion of 'Europe' in their way-of-life. Any idea of a genuine pan-European identity seems to be in retreat. This book provides an unprecedented insight into the multiple ways through which citizens of 16 countries connect their own national identity to European identity. The book's theoretical claim is that European identity, as well as national identity, should be empirically assessed taking into account its multi-dimensionality. The volume's contributors suggest that European identity was always unlikely to be a source of political integration and political legitimacy in the way national identities have been in the past and are today. Europeans' primary identity is national rather than supranational. Mutual trust between European peoples exists, but is somewhat fragile. Yet, European identity is intertwined with national identities in manifold ways. The 'imagined communities' at the national and European level show strong similarities - criteria for being a European are strongly associated with the criteria used to define who national belonging. These complex links also manifest themselves in citizen's feelings of interdependence between the nations in the European Union - which, the volume suggests, support the EU in the face of severe crises. The IntUne series is edited by Maurizio Cotta (University of Siena) and Pierangelo Isernia (University of Siena). The INTUNE Project - Integrated and United: A Quest for Citizenship in an Ever Closer Europe - is one of the most recent and ambitious research attempts to empirically study how citizenship is changing in Europe. The book series is organized around the two main axes of the project, to report how the issues of identity, representation and standards of good governance are constructed and reconstructed at the elite and citizen levels, and how mass-elite interactions affect the ability of elites to shape identity, representation and the scope of governance. A first set of four books examines how identity, scope of governance and representation have been changing over time respectively at elites, media and public level. The next two books present cross-level analysis of European and national identity on the one hand and problems of national and European representation and scope of governance on the other, in doing so comparing data at both the mass and elite level. A concluding volume summarizes the main results, framing them in a wider theoretical context.

Transnational Identities

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 9780742530072
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Transnational Identities by : Richard K. Herrmann

Download or read book Transnational Identities written by Richard K. Herrmann and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2004 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This original work explores the increasingly important phenomenon of the formation of transnational identity. Considering the ongoing relevance of the European Union, the contributors ask a series of intriguing questions: Is a European identity possible? How are the various types of European identity formed and maintained? How are these identities linked to the process of European integration? Examining the psychological, institutional, and political mechanisms that encourage or impede identification with transnational groups, the book considers these theoretical questions in light of new evidence drawn from a rich body of primary research, including field experiments, in-depth interviews with elites, and public opinion surveys. Brought together for the first time, social psychologists, sociologists, political scientists, and ethnographers share their theoretical and methodological perspectives in tackling the common issues surrounding the emergence of "European" as a political identity. Paying special attention to the role of the institutions of the EU, the authors investigate the impact of neo-functionalist strategies and find that the processes of identity formation are far more complicated than can be explained by material and institutional factors alone. The authors engage in a fruitful dialogue about how much a European identity exists and how much it matters as they delve into the sources of disagreement and their implications.

Cultural Diversity, European Identity and the Legitimacy of the EU

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Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857938088
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (579 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Diversity, European Identity and the Legitimacy of the EU by : Dieter Fuchs

Download or read book Cultural Diversity, European Identity and the Legitimacy of the EU written by Dieter Fuchs and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a consequence of various rounds of EU enlargements, the degree of cultural diversity in Europe has intensified a phenomenon which is increasingly perceived as problematic by many EU citizens. This fascinating book not only empirically explores the current state of the identity and the legitimacy of the EU as viewed by its citizens, but also evaluates their attitudes towards it. The expert contributors show that the development of a European identity and a common European culture is a prerequisite for European integration; that European identity and a common political culture will not develop rapidly but emerge slowly, and that the beginnings of a European identity and a common European culture are currently emerging. The roles of civil society organizations and political parties are examined within this context, and an explanatory model with subjective predictors of the attitudes towards the EU is tested. The empirical analysis is underpinned by a theoretical framework incorporating operational definitions and conceptual discussion of legitimacy and identity. This intriguing and thought-provoking book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and students focusing on political science and international relations.

European Integration and National Identity

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134599161
Total Pages : 293 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (345 download)

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Book Synopsis European Integration and National Identity by : Lene Hansen

Download or read book European Integration and National Identity written by Lene Hansen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-08-29 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The four Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway, have all held referenda on their relationship to the European Union in the 1990's. These referenda catalysed heated debates: should Finland and Sweden give up neutrality? Should Denmark follow the European Union's move towards higher degrees of integration? And, had there been enough change in Norway to reverse the rejection of European Community membership in 1972? These key questions about the future of European integration are addressed in this highly topical book by examining the crucial role played by national identity.

Understanding European Integration

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Publisher : Aakar Books
ISBN 13 : 9788187879107
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (791 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding European Integration by : R. Pavananthi Vembulu

Download or read book Understanding European Integration written by R. Pavananthi Vembulu and published by Aakar Books. This book was released on 2003 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Background Of New Questions Of Identity, Culture And Community Emerged After Maastricht Treaty This Book Explores The European Integration Process Since It Throws Immanent Challenge To The Existing Theoretical Paradigms Such As Nationalism And Globalization . Drawing Influence From This Intellectual Climate, This Book Tries To Understand The Integration Process Within The Cultural History Of Europe.The Study Structured Itself Along Three Axes: First, It Circled Down On The Problematic Over Defining What Europe Means; Here The Efforts Were On To Highlight The Constant Flux And Contingent Nature Of The Definition Of Europe. Second, How This Contingent Nature Of Europe Has Compelled The European Union To No Longer Skirt Away The Question Of Identity If It Is To Consolidate The Process And Expand Its Boundary Towards East. By Focusing Upon The Cultural Policy Of The Union, The Study Brought Forth The Various Efforts Of The Union, Particularly The European Commission To Transform The Loyalties And Identities Of People From The National Crucible To A Broader European Spectrum. Thirdly, The Study Critically Evaluates These Policy Initiatives And Highlights How They Are Structured Around The Nineteenth Century Colonial Discourse Of Europe.

European Identity Revisited

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 131750240X
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis European Identity Revisited by : Viktoria Kaina

Download or read book European Identity Revisited written by Viktoria Kaina and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-14 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been argued that the emergence of a European collective identity would help overcome growing disparity caused by the increasing diversity of today’s European Union, with 28 member states and more than 500 million people. Research on European integration is facing the pressing question of what holds ‘Europe’ together in times of crisis, growing distributional conflict and instability in its neighbourhood. This book departs from the ideas of group cohesion in the EU, and reflects on the newest dynamics and practices of European identity. Whilst applying innovative qualitative, quantitative and experimental research methods and an interdisciplinary approach, this volume looks at a variety of issues such as European citizenship, mobility of European citizens, space-based identities, dual identities, student identity and value-sharing. In doing so, this volume presents new perspectives on this complex and dynamic subject and points to potential solutions both in the academic discourse and the political practice of the EU. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of European integration, European studies, international relations, citizenship studies, political sociology as well as more broadly in the social sciences.

The Europeanization of National Polities?

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191624500
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis The Europeanization of National Polities? by : David Sanders

Download or read book The Europeanization of National Polities? written by David Sanders and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central concern ofThe Europeanization of National Polities? is to know and describe how far EU 'legal' citizens feel that they are actually part of a functioning European political system and how much they think of themselves as EU citizens. The authors report evidence of the levels of European identity, sense of EU representation and preferences for EU policy scope among European mass publics, which are the main dimensions of EU citizenship. The analysis uses a new comparative dataset on EU attitudes derived from a survey in 16 EU countries plus Serbia in 2007. This study shows that, despite initial expectations, levels of European identity, sense of EU representation, and preferences for EU policy scope among European mass publics did not display a strong trend in any particular direction during the period between 1975 and 2007. However, there are interesting variations in these measures of EU citizenship both across individuals and across countries that are described and explained by reference to a series of relevant hypotheses. The book pays particular attention to the inter-linkages among the three dimensions of citizenship itself. EU identity, representation and scope are all reciprocally related, but the representation dimension is key to the development of a generalised sense of a sense of citizenship at the EU level. This in turn places a significant premium on the need to address popular doubts about the EU's 'democratic deficit'.

Citizens' Reactions to European Integration Compared

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Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137297263
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (372 download)

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Book Synopsis Citizens' Reactions to European Integration Compared by : Elizabeth Frazer

Download or read book Citizens' Reactions to European Integration Compared written by Elizabeth Frazer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-01-17 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pre-financial crisis, EU citizens were 'overlooking' Europe ignoring it in favour of globalisation, economic flows, and crises of political corruption. Innovative focus group methods allow an analysis of citizens' reactions, and demonstrate how euroscepticism is a red herring, instead articulating an indifference to and ambivalence about Europe.

Attitudes Towards Europe Beyond Euroscepticism

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 331942954X
Total Pages : 108 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (194 download)

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Book Synopsis Attitudes Towards Europe Beyond Euroscepticism by : Danilo Di Mauro

Download or read book Attitudes Towards Europe Beyond Euroscepticism written by Danilo Di Mauro and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-22 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book addresses the topic of EU legitimacy by exploring the forms, origins and effects of citizens' support to EU institutions. Through examining the wide-ranging levels of support, the authors show how these multi-faceted attitudes cast shade on the outdated, somewhat one-dimensional concept of Euroscepticism. Di Mauro and Memoli not only observe how political issues and the economic crisis affect public opinion, but also demonstrate how national contexts play a crucial role in shaping attitudes towards Europe at any level of support. This volume shows how the lack of accountability in the EU system makes it increasingly vulnerable to the negative effects of economic and societal shocks, and the 'national lens' that we view the EU through influences our voting choices.

European Identity

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Author :
Publisher : LIT Verlag Münster
ISBN 13 : 9783825892883
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (928 download)

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Book Synopsis European Identity by : Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski

Download or read book European Identity written by Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2006 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite its unequalled history of success, the European Union is still far from its citizens. In the aftermath of the failed referenda on the European constitutional treaty in France and the Netherlands in the early summer of 2005, the EU is facing a severe crisis of trust. Hence, the questions arise: how much pressure can the community tolerate in order to persist and what does hold it together in times of scarcity, conflict, danger, and threat? The contributions of this volume do not only provide a variety of conceptualizations of European identity in the broad field of social sciences such as sociology, political theory and international relations, but first and foremost intend to enrich the present research by offering new theoretical perspectives and recent empirical findings.

Framing Europe

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400832578
Total Pages : 349 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Framing Europe by : Juan Díez Medrano

Download or read book Framing Europe written by Juan Díez Medrano and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a major empirical analysis of differing attitudes to European integration in three of Europe's most important countries: Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. From its beginnings, the European Union has resounded with debate over whether to move toward a federal or intergovernmental system. However, Juan Díez Medrano argues that empirical analyses of support for integration--by specialists in international relations, comparative politics, and survey research--have failed to explain why some countries lean toward federalism whereas others lean toward intergovernmentalism. By applying frame analysis to a unique set of primary sources (in-depth interviews, newspaper articles, novels, history texts, political speeches, and survey data), Díez Medrano demonstrates the role of major historical events in transforming national cultures and thus creating new opportunities for political transformation. Clearly written and rigorously argued, Framing Europe explains differences in support for European integration between the three countries studied in light of the degree to which each realized its particular "supranational project" outside Western Europe. Only the United Kingdom succeeded in consolidating an empire and retaining it after World War II, while Germany and Spain each abandoned their corresponding aspirations. These differences meant that these countries' populations developed different degrees of identification as Europeans and, partly in consequence, different degrees of support for the building of a federal Europe.

European Identity and Culture

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317139607
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (171 download)

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Book Synopsis European Identity and Culture by : Markus Thiel

Download or read book European Identity and Culture written by Markus Thiel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-22 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the EU continues its integration process, the concepts of culture and transnational European belonging remain ambivalent, whether in the realm of socio-historical representation or mass politics. Engaging with recent scholarly debates surrounding the formation of collective transnational identities, this collection draws on the latest empirical case studies to explore the meaning and composition of European identity, the mechanisms that create and shape it and the question of whom it includes. Each author pays close attention to the cultural aspects of identity formation, whether manifested in official, institutional articulations, such as symbols, coinage, ceremonies and discursive manifestations, or in the cultures of the everyday, such as through new forms of communication networks, consumption or leisure. Exploring attempts by various actors - institutions, groups, individuals - to create transnational European identities, European Identity and Culture scrutinizes the cultural formations that have either reignited or emerged in often contradictory relations to the EU project, including local, regional and transnational allegiances. A rich, interdisciplinary investigation of the role of culture in the formation of European identity, whether as a central building block to unity or as a formidable obstacle to a common sense of purpose, this book will be of interest to scholars across the social sciences and humanities working on questions of political culture, European integration, citizenship and (trans-) national identity.

A Community of Europeans?

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Author :
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 0801459184
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (14 download)

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Book Synopsis A Community of Europeans? by : Thomas Risse

Download or read book A Community of Europeans? written by Thomas Risse and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2015-07-09 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Community of Europeans?, a thoughtful observer of the ongoing project of European integration evaluates the state of the art about European identity and European public spheres. Thomas Risse argues that integration has had profound and long-term effects on the citizens of EU countries, most of whom now have at least a secondary "European identity" to complement their national identities. Risse also claims that we can see the gradual emergence of transnational European communities of communication. Exploring the outlines of this European identity and of the communicative spaces, Risse sheds light on some pressing questions: What do "Europe" and "the EU" mean in the various public debates? How do European identities and transnational public spheres affect policymaking in the EU? And how do they matter in discussions about enlargement, particularly Turkish accession to the EU? What will be the consequences of the growing contestation and politicization of European affairs for European democracy? This focus on identity allows Risse to address the "democratic deficit" of the EU, the disparity between the level of decision making over increasingly relevant issues for peoples' lives (at the EU) and the level where politics plays itself out—in the member states. He argues that the EU's democratic deficit can only be tackled through politicization and that "debating Europe" might prove the only way to defend modern and cosmopolitan Europe against the increasingly forceful voices of Euroskepticism.

European National Identities

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351296469
Total Pages : 359 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (512 download)

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Book Synopsis European National Identities by : Roland Vogt

Download or read book European National Identities written by Roland Vogt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making sense of the perplexing diversity of Europe is a challenging task. How compatible are national identities in Europe? What makes Europe European? What do Europeans have in common? European National Identities explores the diversity of European states, nations, and peoples. In doing so, the editors focus on the origins and elements of different national identities in Europe and different themes of national self-understanding. Each chapter contributes a unique view of national identities gravitating around myth, historical experiences and traumas, values, ethnic and linguistic differences, and religious fault lines. This work grounds European national identities within cultural, historical, and political dynamics, which makes the work approachable for many readers, including historians, sociologists, and political scientists. In addition, the editors illustrate that national identities continue to be a source of contention and a challenge to political developments, the demands of immigrants and minorities, and the dynamics of European integration. This book draws particular attention to identity shifts and conflicts within individual European countries.