Premium
Identity and European integration: diversity as a source of integration 1
Author(s) -
CRAM LAURA
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
nations and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1469-8129
pISSN - 1354-5078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8129.2009.00367.x
Subject(s) - european union , identity (music) , european integration , facilitator , diversity (politics) , collective identity , flourishing , sociology , national identity , political science , political economy , epistemology , social psychology , law , aesthetics , international trade , psychology , economics , philosophy , politics
. This article explores the concept of European Union identity and its significance for European integration by drawing upon insights from theories of nationalism and national identity. European Union identity is viewed as an ongoing process which is banal, contingent and contextual. The central hypothesis is that: European integration facilitates the flourishing of diverse national identities rather than convergence around a single homogeneous European Union identity. The role of the EU as facilitator for diverse understandings of collective identities encourages the enhabitation of the EU at an everyday level and the reinforcement of a sense of banal Europeanism which is a crucial aspect of the European integration process. Facilitating diversity may thus provide a vital source of dynamism for the integration process.