A European Identity: To the Historical Limits of a Concept

The history of a European identity is the history of a concept and a discourse. A European identity is an abstraction and a fiction without essential proportions. Identity as a fiction does not undermine but rather helps to explain the power that the concept exercises. The concept since its introduc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of social theory 2002-11, Vol.5 (4), p.387-401
Main Author: Strath, Bo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Concept Formation
Discourse
Europe
European integration
Group Identity
History
Identity
Ideologies
National identity
Social sciences
Social theory
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Summary:The history of a European identity is the history of a concept and a discourse. A European identity is an abstraction and a fiction without essential proportions. Identity as a fiction does not undermine but rather helps to explain the power that the concept exercises. The concept since its introduction on the political agenda in 1973 has been highly ideologically loaded and in that capacity has been contested. There has been a high degree of agreement on the concept as such, but deep disagreement on its more precise content and meaning. The concept of a European identity is an idea expressing contrived notions of unity rather than an identity in the proper sense of the word and even takes on the proportion of an ideology. In this sense the concept is inscribed in a long history of philosophical and political reflection on the concept of Europe. On these grounds the analytical use of `identity' in social sciences can be questioned.
ISSN:1368-4310
1461-7137
DOI:10.1177/136843102760513965