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Exploring The European Identity Through The Process Of European Integration

Posted on:2007-03-18Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:H WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2166360182994618Subject:International politics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
The success of the European integration process, from the establishment of European Coal and Steel Community in 1950's up to the current consolidation and expansion of the European Union, has attracted worldwide attention. However, only a supranational identification among the European countries can compensate for an insufficiency of functionalist integration, strengthening the cooperation between EU member states and also laying psychological and cultural foundations for European citizens to accept the future unification both in politics and economy. It is this author's argument that the construction of such supranational identification within the European countries should be based on cultural identification. Europe's shared history of ancient Greek democracy, Judeo- Christian ethics, ancient Roman political system, renaissance humanism, rationalism (in the Age of Enlightenment), industrial civilization and modernity would demonstrate the existence of the common cultural heritage or "European culture", which forms the foundation for building a supranational identification. Now the EU has engaged actively in the establishment of cultural identification mainly through building symbols for European shared culture, creating a new media system and focusing on mass education. However, in recent years the construction of European identification is facing the challenge of the EU "democracy deficit," which results from the increasing attention of individual nation-states to their domestic cultural values, the diversification of the European cultures, and European citizen's indifference to EU affairs. Future European identification must be oriented toward rebuilding European citizenship and creating "Citizen Europe".
Keywords/Search Tags:European integration, European identity, Citizen Europe
PDF Full Text Request
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