Institutleder Jan Ifversen A A R H U S U N I V E R S I T E T Institut for Historie og Områdestudier...

A A R H U S U N I V E R S I T E T

Institut for Historie og Områdestudier

Institutleder Jan Ifversen

European identity politics

CEMES European Citizenship and Cultural Identity




Identity politics

The symbolic dimension of all politics(the legitimizing subject)

A politics of creating/constructing identity

A politics of mobilising identity An analytical term for analysing

identity in politics




Identity politics (cont.)

A politics of constructing/promoting a certain identity

Group policy or state policy The state: Domestic or foreign policy

Domestic: towards citizens, residents and immigrants

Foreign: towards other states




The concept of identity

From individual self to social self (socialisation)

From social self to collective identity




The concept of identity

Existential: individuals living in society have perceptions of commonality (why are we living together?)

Processual: collective identity derives from social processes of identification

Political: identification can take place in public and political space




Identification and identity

social

Identification political identity

public state

process ’essence’




identification in discourse

a subject position

Speaker position semantics(who can speak?) (with which words?)

identity




the modern matrixof collective identity

state patria

nation




The semantics of nation

From territory to place

From commun-ication to language

From tradition to roots

From customs to culture




the structure of identity

time

space

narrative

Symbolic geography




Adding the third dimension: state

time

space

narrative

Symbolic geography

state




The feed back loop

doing identitybeing identity

processual

essentialist




Analysing European identity politics

The legitimizing subject in all European politics

The active promotion of a European identity (cultural policy)




European identity politics in three dimensions

A symbolic geography (e.g. sites of heritage)

A narrative (e.g. a foundation myth)

State (e.g. citizenship, passport)




The two dimensions in a historical perspective

1945: Two starting points

Federation (based on common values)

Foundation myth




European federation

paneuropean cosmopolitan’civilisation’ universal values

FEDERATIONpolitical order




A foundation myth

It is a serious question whether a political community can achieve political order without developing a foundation myth (Carl Friedrich 1963)

…. their myths and symbols, their historical memories and central values, which we can summarize, ast the ’myth-symbol’ complex (Anthony Smith

1986)




What is a myth (for)?

A narrative of birth/beginning (where do we come from?)

A basis for ontological stability(who are we?)

A reservoir of basic moral coordinates(what are our values?)




The structure of the mythical narrative

the myth the political

chaos – new beginning decision Myth making le

gitim

izat

ion

The myth at work




Making the myth

It is time indeed that that voice [the voice of Europe] should be raised upon the scene of chaos and prostration caused by the wrongs and hatreds of the past….(Winston Churchill at the Congress of Europe, 1948)




Making the myth (cont.)

We wish to unite Europe to secure permanent peace between its peoples and to prevent the horrors of a war of total destruction(Coudenhove-Kalergi, 1948)

The contribution which an organized and living Europe can bring to civilisation is indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. (…) A united Europe was not achieved and we had war.(The Schumann declaration, 1950)




The Europeanmyth-symbol complex

values culture‘civilisation’ symbols

mythAlternative myth:The glorious past (antiquity etc.)

unity




The others

values culture

Nationalism other cultures

our self non-Europeans

in the past

mythU

nity

in d

iver

sity




The two layers of the complex

Values: Universal EuropeanEuropean values

Culture: European nationalUnity in diversity

myth




The myth at work

The Nine European States might have been pushed towards disunity by their history and by selfishly defending misjudged interests. But they have overcome their past enmities and have decided that unity is a basic European necessity to ensure the survival of the civilization which they have in common.’(Declaration on the European identity, Copenhagen 1973)




Culture at work

The People’s Europe: Communication from the Commission to the EP,

7 July 1988




Identity political activity

Myth making 2003 (ENP)The federal 2000 Constitution

Moment 45-48 92-96 War in Europe

1992 (Maastricht)

1973-4 (identity)

high

lowcit

izensh

ip

cultu

rethe myth

at work

The rescue of the nation state

Cold war




The tools of identity politics Myth making and constitution Cultural policy: imitating the national

symbols Citizenship and (mobility) rights

(constitution) Foreign policy




Europe and the wars in Europe

This is the hour of Europe. If one problem can be solved by the Europeans it is the Yugoslav problem. This is a European country and it is not up to the Europeans(Jacques Poos, The President of the European Council, 1991)




The constitution

BELIEVING that Europe, reunited after bitter experiences, intends to continue along the path of civilisation, progress and prosperity, for the good of all its inhabitants, including the weakest and most deprived; that it wishes to remain a continent open to culture, learning and social progress; and that it wishes to deepen the democratic and transparent nature of its public life, and to strive for peace, justice and solidarity throughout the world.

(Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, 2004)




Europe and Holocaust

After the horrors of the Second World War and the Holocaust, the desire for peace was the first and essential driving force of European unification. (…) Right down to the present day the desire for peace is a vital part of the very idea of Europe, the way of looking at life and at the relations between peoples that we Europeans naturally recognise as our own (Romano Prodi 2003).




Europe in the world

Europe needs to project its model of society into the wider world. We are not simply here to defend our own interests: we have a unique historic experience to offer. The experience of liberating people from poverty, war, oppression and intolerance. We have forged a model of development and continental integration based on the principles of democracy, freedom and solidarity and it is a model that works”.(Romano Prodi 2000).




Europe as a global player

If we want to satisfy the rising expectations and hopes of countries abroad and the peoples of Europe, we have to become a real global player. (...) We have to assume our role as a global player (Romano Prodi, 2002)




The shift in identity politics

Unity in diversity Europe as a global player

weak strong

the myth




Discursive fields

Culture values

unity in global diversity player

myth

EUROPE

Institutleder Jan Ifversen A A R H U S U N I V E R S I T E T Institut for Historie og Områdestudier...

Documents

Transcript of Institutleder Jan Ifversen A A R H U S U N I V E R S I T E T Institut for Historie og Områdestudier...