Theorizing European Space Policy by Hoerber Thomas C.;Sigalas Emmanuel;

Author:Hoerber, Thomas C.;Sigalas, Emmanuel;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

European Integration in the Quest for European Identity: A Case of ‘Mission Creep’?

Political scientists, sociologists, historians and philosophers have been trying to define and capture the meaning of ‘European identity’. Hence, these concepts lack a single logic approach in both theory and methodology. For discussing the impact of space activities, the notion requires serious clarification to narrow the scope of interpretation.

Reflections on European identity are based on the social concept of collective identity. Collective identity captures a sense of togetherness and implies a common ‘way of thinking’ and certain shared attitudes by members of a group, which differentiates them from others. In the case of Europe, the term is mostly used descriptively to discuss various existing or non-existing traits of Europeans. As such, there continues to be relatively little consensus as to the actual nature of European identity, as demonstrated by this sample of varying interpretations:

For some scholars European identity evolves out of a common history and shared cultural heritage, which incorporates certain norms and values (García, 1993). Yet, as Edgar Morin (1987: 147) pointed out, ‘European identity’ is a highly complex and ongoing process that can only be formulated by taking into account all possible uncertainties, ambiguities and contradictions. A retrospective approach is, therefore, problematic.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.