David Michael Green
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297574
- eISBN:
- 9780191598982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297572.003.0015
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter explores the concept of European identity. It is shown that there are ‘Europeans’ in Europe, but such identification is limited. This identity appeals to a small segment of the ...
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This chapter explores the concept of European identity. It is shown that there are ‘Europeans’ in Europe, but such identification is limited. This identity appeals to a small segment of the population, mostly made up of the elite and cosmopolitan. In short, a European identity exists but within limitations that make it nearly unrecognisable if seen against the political identities which have populated the landscape in the past two centuries.Less
This chapter explores the concept of European identity. It is shown that there are ‘Europeans’ in Europe, but such identification is limited. This identity appeals to a small segment of the population, mostly made up of the elite and cosmopolitan. In short, a European identity exists but within limitations that make it nearly unrecognisable if seen against the political identities which have populated the landscape in the past two centuries.
Sophie Duchesne and André‐Paul Frognier
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294764
- eISBN:
- 9780191600005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829476X.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter focuses on how far citizens of member‐states of the European Community consider themselves as belonging to a distinct political entity. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship ...
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This chapter focuses on how far citizens of member‐states of the European Community consider themselves as belonging to a distinct political entity. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship between different levels of ‘belonging’, from the local to the European, and even the world level, and on the feeling of being a ‘European citizen’ or a ‘European’. The empirical evidence provided by ‘Eurobarometer’ public opinion survey data indicates clearly that it is too early to speak of the internationalization of identities. For the present, a ‘European identity’ is a vanguard phenomenon.Less
This chapter focuses on how far citizens of member‐states of the European Community consider themselves as belonging to a distinct political entity. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship between different levels of ‘belonging’, from the local to the European, and even the world level, and on the feeling of being a ‘European citizen’ or a ‘European’. The empirical evidence provided by ‘Eurobarometer’ public opinion survey data indicates clearly that it is too early to speak of the internationalization of identities. For the present, a ‘European identity’ is a vanguard phenomenon.
Maurizio Ferrara
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284665
- eISBN:
- 9780191603273
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284660.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
This chapter presents a map describing the new spatial architecture of social protection in the European Union resulting from free movement and competition rules, and their effects on traditional ...
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This chapter presents a map describing the new spatial architecture of social protection in the European Union resulting from free movement and competition rules, and their effects on traditional welfare state boundaries. The destructuring consequences of the new boundary configuration are discussed, with specific reference to pensions systems and the issue of migration. The chapter concludes by highlighting the margins of manoeuvre for a possible “nesting” of nation-based forms of social protection in a wider EU space, capable of promoting adaptation and reform, while upholding at the same time the basic pre-conditions for maintaining adequate levels of social protection.Less
This chapter presents a map describing the new spatial architecture of social protection in the European Union resulting from free movement and competition rules, and their effects on traditional welfare state boundaries. The destructuring consequences of the new boundary configuration are discussed, with specific reference to pensions systems and the issue of migration. The chapter concludes by highlighting the margins of manoeuvre for a possible “nesting” of nation-based forms of social protection in a wider EU space, capable of promoting adaptation and reform, while upholding at the same time the basic pre-conditions for maintaining adequate levels of social protection.
Juan Díez Medrano
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199594627
- eISBN:
- 9780191595738
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199594627.003.0017
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Political Theory
Juan Díez Medrano focuses on citizen representations and, more generally, on views on Europe expressed by actors in the public sphere. While occasionally these actors are intellectuals, they are more ...
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Juan Díez Medrano focuses on citizen representations and, more generally, on views on Europe expressed by actors in the public sphere. While occasionally these actors are intellectuals, they are more often than not politicians or representatives from interest groups. Either because European stories lose their national‐specific narrative structure as they travel from intellectuals to public actors and citizens, or because public actors and citizens autonomously develop their representations of Europe, the fact is that national public spheres portray European integration in very similar ways. Therefore, Medrano argues that viewed from the public sphere and the citizens' perspective, the most relevant story to be told about the European Union is one of convergence, with similar cross‐national representations of the European Union and a common political identity project.Less
Juan Díez Medrano focuses on citizen representations and, more generally, on views on Europe expressed by actors in the public sphere. While occasionally these actors are intellectuals, they are more often than not politicians or representatives from interest groups. Either because European stories lose their national‐specific narrative structure as they travel from intellectuals to public actors and citizens, or because public actors and citizens autonomously develop their representations of Europe, the fact is that national public spheres portray European integration in very similar ways. Therefore, Medrano argues that viewed from the public sphere and the citizens' perspective, the most relevant story to be told about the European Union is one of convergence, with similar cross‐national representations of the European Union and a common political identity project.
Frédéric Mérand
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199533244
- eISBN:
- 9780191714474
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533244.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, European Union
The chapter explains how strategic state actors interpreted the post-Cold War European security crisis, and sought to propose different institutional solutions which, to a lesser or greater extent, ...
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The chapter explains how strategic state actors interpreted the post-Cold War European security crisis, and sought to propose different institutional solutions which, to a lesser or greater extent, called for the overlapping of the international defense and European foreign policy fields, and thus the creation of a new, larger field of social interaction. One of these solutions was ESDP, but others were proposed, notably the revitalization of the Western European Union and the European security and defense identity. Taking a closer look at the creation of ESDP, the chapter highlights the contingent and creative dimension of the “interstitial” formation of a transgovernmental field.Less
The chapter explains how strategic state actors interpreted the post-Cold War European security crisis, and sought to propose different institutional solutions which, to a lesser or greater extent, called for the overlapping of the international defense and European foreign policy fields, and thus the creation of a new, larger field of social interaction. One of these solutions was ESDP, but others were proposed, notably the revitalization of the Western European Union and the European security and defense identity. Taking a closer look at the creation of ESDP, the chapter highlights the contingent and creative dimension of the “interstitial” formation of a transgovernmental field.
Jolyon Howorth
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199283958
- eISBN:
- 9780191603297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199283958.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Common wisdom has it that European disagreements over the American-led invasion of Iraq killed the prospects for a European defense and foreign policy—but the common wisdom is wrong. In recent years, ...
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Common wisdom has it that European disagreements over the American-led invasion of Iraq killed the prospects for a European defense and foreign policy—but the common wisdom is wrong. In recent years, Europeans have moved fairly steadily in the direction of a meaningful European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). The member-states remain divided on many policy issues and a number of deep obstacles remain to a strong common policy. But few now question the idea that Europe should play a greater role on the world stage, and the past several years have seen modest but concrete steps toward that goal.Less
Common wisdom has it that European disagreements over the American-led invasion of Iraq killed the prospects for a European defense and foreign policy—but the common wisdom is wrong. In recent years, Europeans have moved fairly steadily in the direction of a meaningful European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). The member-states remain divided on many policy issues and a number of deep obstacles remain to a strong common policy. But few now question the idea that Europe should play a greater role on the world stage, and the past several years have seen modest but concrete steps toward that goal.
Paul Bayley and Geoffrey Williams (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199602308
- eISBN:
- 9780191739156
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602308.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Comparative Politics
This volume examines how Europe is represented linguistically in the news media of four EU countries — France, Italy, Poland, and the UK — through the use of an electronic corpus of newspapers and ...
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This volume examines how Europe is represented linguistically in the news media of four EU countries — France, Italy, Poland, and the UK — through the use of an electronic corpus of newspapers and television news transcripts. This multilingual comparable corpus is composed of the entire contents of four newspapers published each country, collected over two periods of three months, and the transcriptions of two TV news broadcasts, collected over two periods of two months. The theoretical and methodological frameworks adopted include discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, and corpus‐assisted discourse analysis. The individual chapters investigate various aspects of European identity as it is discursively construed in the news media of the different countries, such as Europe as a political and geographic entity, European Union institutions, European history, citizenship, and immigration. Based on a bottom-up orientation and using both quantitative and qualitative methods, all chapters but one use a comparative approach to the data, juxtaposing the journalist representations of Europe in two or more languages. The fundamental aim of the volume is to demonstrate how linguistic analysis, and in particular the study of large amounts of linguistic data, can make a vital contribution to the analysis of political and social issues.Less
This volume examines how Europe is represented linguistically in the news media of four EU countries — France, Italy, Poland, and the UK — through the use of an electronic corpus of newspapers and television news transcripts. This multilingual comparable corpus is composed of the entire contents of four newspapers published each country, collected over two periods of three months, and the transcriptions of two TV news broadcasts, collected over two periods of two months. The theoretical and methodological frameworks adopted include discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, and corpus‐assisted discourse analysis. The individual chapters investigate various aspects of European identity as it is discursively construed in the news media of the different countries, such as Europe as a political and geographic entity, European Union institutions, European history, citizenship, and immigration. Based on a bottom-up orientation and using both quantitative and qualitative methods, all chapters but one use a comparative approach to the data, juxtaposing the journalist representations of Europe in two or more languages. The fundamental aim of the volume is to demonstrate how linguistic analysis, and in particular the study of large amounts of linguistic data, can make a vital contribution to the analysis of political and social issues.
Paolo Bellucci, David Sanders, and Fabio Serricchio
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199602346
- eISBN:
- 9780191739163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602346.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Comparative Politics
This chapter analyses individual and national differences in the intensity of European identity, and provides an assessment of the many factors that sustain or hinder the development of a European ...
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This chapter analyses individual and national differences in the intensity of European identity, and provides an assessment of the many factors that sustain or hinder the development of a European identification among citizens of EU member states. A model of the intensity of EU identity – comprising feelings of EU belonging and their salience – is elaborated, taking account of the various perspectives outlined above (cognitive mobilization, instrumental rationality, political mobilization, national identity), and their distinct explanatory power across the European public is examined. Socio-structural individual level characteristics as well as system-level features are found to exert modest effects on identity. Cognitive mobilization and instrumental ‘rational’ considerations are far more important in framing the image of Europe and identification with it.Less
This chapter analyses individual and national differences in the intensity of European identity, and provides an assessment of the many factors that sustain or hinder the development of a European identification among citizens of EU member states. A model of the intensity of EU identity – comprising feelings of EU belonging and their salience – is elaborated, taking account of the various perspectives outlined above (cognitive mobilization, instrumental rationality, political mobilization, national identity), and their distinct explanatory power across the European public is examined. Socio-structural individual level characteristics as well as system-level features are found to exert modest effects on identity. Cognitive mobilization and instrumental ‘rational’ considerations are far more important in framing the image of Europe and identification with it.
Heinrich Best, György Lengyel, and Luca Verzichelli (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199602315
- eISBN:
- 9780191738951
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602315.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Comparative Politics
It has been widely acknowledged that the process of European integration and unification was started and is still pursued as an elite project, designed to put an end to debilitating conflicts and ...
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It has been widely acknowledged that the process of European integration and unification was started and is still pursued as an elite project, designed to put an end to debilitating conflicts and rivalries by consolidating a common power base and by pooling Europe’s economic resources. Nevertheless elites have remained the known unknowns of the European integration process. The present volume is designed to change this. Based on surveys of political and economic elites in 18 European countries, it is a comprehensive study of the visions, fears, cognitions, and values of members of national parliaments and top business leaders underlying their attitudes towards European integration. It also investigates political and economic elites’ embeddedness in transnational networks and their ability to communicate in multicultural settings. Our book strongly supports the view of an elitist character of the process of European integration on the one hand, while challenging the idea that European national elites have merged or are even merging into a coherent Eurelite on the other. As the 11 chapters of this book show, the process of European integration is much more colourful and even contradictory than concepts of a straightforward normative and structural integration suggest. In particular this process is deeply rooted in and conditional on the social and political settings in national contexts. The empirical basis for this book is provided by the data of the international IntUne project, which has for the first time created a comprehensive database combining coordinated surveys of Europe-related attitudes at the elite and general population level.Less
It has been widely acknowledged that the process of European integration and unification was started and is still pursued as an elite project, designed to put an end to debilitating conflicts and rivalries by consolidating a common power base and by pooling Europe’s economic resources. Nevertheless elites have remained the known unknowns of the European integration process. The present volume is designed to change this. Based on surveys of political and economic elites in 18 European countries, it is a comprehensive study of the visions, fears, cognitions, and values of members of national parliaments and top business leaders underlying their attitudes towards European integration. It also investigates political and economic elites’ embeddedness in transnational networks and their ability to communicate in multicultural settings. Our book strongly supports the view of an elitist character of the process of European integration on the one hand, while challenging the idea that European national elites have merged or are even merging into a coherent Eurelite on the other. As the 11 chapters of this book show, the process of European integration is much more colourful and even contradictory than concepts of a straightforward normative and structural integration suggest. In particular this process is deeply rooted in and conditional on the social and political settings in national contexts. The empirical basis for this book is provided by the data of the international IntUne project, which has for the first time created a comprehensive database combining coordinated surveys of Europe-related attitudes at the elite and general population level.
Pierangelo Isernia, Irena Fiket, Fabio Serricchio, and Bettina Westle
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602339
- eISBN:
- 9780199949908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602339.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Comparative Politics
This chapter discusses three set of issues related to European identity. It first reviews the existing theoretical and empirical literature on European identity, organizing it around two major ...
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This chapter discusses three set of issues related to European identity. It first reviews the existing theoretical and empirical literature on European identity, organizing it around two major perspective, the neofunctionalist and the identitarian one. Second, it discusses the different ways European identity has been measured over time and it traces its evolution, based on different indicators, from the early 1970s up to 2007. The format of the question appears to be the most important element in explaining variation in levels of European identity, followed by the nation and, last, time. Third, the chapter assesses the relative weight the functional and identity models play in explaining variations in levels of European identity cross-nationally and over time. Using a pooled design, the results show that both functional and identity components are important in explaining variation in level of European identity over time and cross-nationally. As to identity, the quality of government index and the percentage of foreign workers are both significantly and negatively related to European identity. While all functional variables point in the right direction, length of duration of EU membership, a controversial and important indicator of the aggregate level of European identification, is found not significantly related with the aggregate level of European identity.Less
This chapter discusses three set of issues related to European identity. It first reviews the existing theoretical and empirical literature on European identity, organizing it around two major perspective, the neofunctionalist and the identitarian one. Second, it discusses the different ways European identity has been measured over time and it traces its evolution, based on different indicators, from the early 1970s up to 2007. The format of the question appears to be the most important element in explaining variation in levels of European identity, followed by the nation and, last, time. Third, the chapter assesses the relative weight the functional and identity models play in explaining variations in levels of European identity cross-nationally and over time. Using a pooled design, the results show that both functional and identity components are important in explaining variation in level of European identity over time and cross-nationally. As to identity, the quality of government index and the percentage of foreign workers are both significantly and negatively related to European identity. While all functional variables point in the right direction, length of duration of EU membership, a controversial and important indicator of the aggregate level of European identification, is found not significantly related with the aggregate level of European identity.
