History of the European Identity

History of the europiuman IdentityIntroductionAlthough the judgment of collective personal identicalness is a post-colonial phenomenon, a few earths would describe themselves below a collective individualism before the modern ages of the 19th Century. In fact, europium is historic aloney unique in terms that it has been the people sustentation in the classic of Europe who present persistently described themselves as Europeans since the 17th Century (Pagden, 2002). Indeed, European mating emerged as the most strategic tone-beginning for creating a supra field entity in the Continent and the beat out example of a Pan-European ordinary individuation as counterbalance the words Europe and the European summation are being used as synonyms by millions of people every day. Nevertheless, an uncertainty of a familiar identity has always been the case for Europeans end-to-end report and the physical as fountainhead as social borders of Europe has never been distinctly kn own for centuries which are full of wars, tensions, competition and blood.Today, the same problem continues to run into and many believe that it is the major factor blocking the efforts for achieving a fully integrated Europe, as the description and frontiers of a popular European identity is lock up unknown. Indeed, one of the most important departures of the European integration from a socio- governmental perspective is the vague concept of a universal European identity including prospects of European meat Citizenship. Although a leafy vegetable European identity had been yen around for centuries, these are fairly saucily issues in relevance to the half a century long history of todays European gist. However, I believe how the common European identity is defined is very important for the future steps of the integration cognitive operation, as straight off the EU is under(a)going transformation towards a political union with an aim to become a global actor in the int er terra firmaal political arena. What shall be the elements of a common European identity, how shall it be formulized if it is to become a successful construct which would define Europe correctly to end the efforts that lasted for such(prenominal) a long conviction?I believe a triumphant common European identity must include the concrete and symbolic realities and it must be rooted to the transmutation of cultivations which had been created by the long history of Europe (DAppollonia, 2002). early(a)wise, if it remains as a form of thin identity suggested by Habermas (2006), the problems and uncertainties of European identity as well as the poorly functioning European Union citizenship is most likely to exist in the Unions foreseeable future. In fact, a common European identity nominate only be successfully constructed by taking into account all the ambiguities, contradictions and developments in form of a unity in diversity belief which can be applied to the reality of Europe rather than building a shallow and artificial construct as it seems to be today. Theoretically, a unite Europe in political terms is make possible if a united Europe in ethnic terms is established through formulating a collective common identity which may only be conceived as a collection of multiple and complex values created by complicated dynamics of Europes long history. Nevertheless, a united Europe in cultural terms shall not mean a homogenous and austerely ordered European purchase order rather the European identity shall celebrate Europes long tradition of diversity.An other important question is how should European Union citizenship be defined and what should be the frontiers of cultural implications of such a political formulation. Considering the wide cultural diversity and long history that the individual members of the European Union had share in the European continent, a collective identity may prove to be far too complex to construct, so one may argue that a comm on European identity is smooth an illusion. Although Europeans gather in a successfully formed a common economic and increasingly political union, they are still far outside(a) from the desired level of cultural unity and a common identity which seems to be an alarming factor for the next presents of the European integration. Nonetheless, European Union citizenship is an force field open to developments and it might be used as a critically important tool by the European Union leaders to accumulate a common European identity, only if it is formulized correctly. The critical come out on the debate of European Union citizenship is that the dominant Classical Model of Citizenship is based on the structures of nation- republic and that is why this model cannot be applied to the European Union, as it is a whole disparate level of organization. On the other hand, Post-National citizenship is a modern approach to the issue of European identity and it is suitable to Europe in order to reach its goals of unification and deepening through building a stronger common identity in the 21st Century.This paper is organized in several sections. European identity from a historical perspective is analyzed in the first part the electric current status of European identity and the issue of national identities in contrast to the common European identity is discussed in the following part a bleak European identity and suggestions for a new formulation is given in the third part a brief history of European Union efforts and further on building a common identity is examined in the fourth part and finally the aspects of European Union Citizenship is discussed in the fifth part of this paper. aft(prenominal) all, this paper argues that a common identity in form of a collective European identity is clearly necessary for the Union at this stage of integration, and it is a all important(p) element for the future of the European integration project especially as our mankind is g etting smaller as well as more fragmented simultaneously due to the complex dynamics of international relations every day at the age of globalization. European Citizenship is very very much connected to the issue of European identity and it is the pick out to achieving such a strong common European identity when it is formulized as a Post-National phenomenon. The Europeans must realize their power from the diversity of their cultures by building a thick identity for Europe rather than a thin identity which consists of merely political rights save the Europeans shall not overlook the uniqueness of the Continent and the similarities they share in comparison to the rest of the human beings emphasized by the Unity in Diversity principle. Today, it is time for the Europeans to unite under one roof in socio-political terms, complete the long standing task of defining the boundaries of the European civilization by establishing a common and collective European identity in order to pu t out on the upgrade of the European integration project in a globalized world. Nonetheless, the question of possibilities of the Europeans to give such a high level of cultural as well as political unity remains a question and it is subject to a whole different level of research. However, often seen as a regional product of globalization it egotism, I believe the European integration project cannot progress any further without achieving a common European identity which is more critical than ever today in order to overcome the challenges of globalization in the 21st Century.Identity has always been a problematic concept because it is uncertain, fluid and highly flexible. Identity is the way to define ones self and to differentiate from the others. If taken literally, identity means equal, identical. Identity is not static but dynamic, and it can be defined in different ways in different circumstances. Identity is construct, which cannot be constructed immediately but only in time. It is not a fixed, constant and pre-given entity while identity formation is heavily dependent on how one is sensed by the others. Identification implies belonging or membership, in turn which implies the exclusion of non-members (Bretherton Vogler,1999 236).In other words, the sole purpose of identity is to separate self from the others in a sense. Moreover, identities are multiple in nature, or even kaleidoscopic. A person may have a single identity, but it will be made up of many levels of loyalty and acknowledgement (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995 18). Meanwhile, identities change, because they are based on perceptions, which themselves change over time and environment as it is possible to identify ones self with more than one thing at a time such as class and gender, or religion and age. at that placefore there are mingled elements of ones identity and these various elements in an identity may well be contradictory (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995 12).On the othe r hand, a collective identity means the attitudes, which all members of that radical have in common in their thoughts and behavior which differentiates them from the other (Munch, 2001 137). Collective identities can provide existential meaning for people, thus they are master(a) means of unity in a hunting lodge which give additional stability especially during periods of upheaval. Collective identities can generate a degree of exertion surrounded by individuals and their social environment, and can confer social recognition and approval (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995 24). at that placefore, collective identities are defined mainly by culture from a historical point of view rather than biological genes, ethnicity, patriotism or simple political rights. Finally, It they are used to construct community and feelings of cohesion and holism, a concept to give the impression that all individuals are equal in the imagined community (Strath, 2002 387). From the perspective of political science there are two types of political identities a civic identity and a cultural identity. The cultural definition of political identity entails a sense of belonging of an individual towards a particular group which can mostly defined by its uniform cultural or ethnic values. On the other hand, the civic definition of political identity involves with the identification of an individual mostly in form of citizenry with a political structure, which includes political institutions, rights, duties and rules (Bruter, 2004 26). Therefore, a cultural European identity implies a reference to Europe as a continent, a civilization and a cultural entity whereas a civic European identity implies a reference to the political and institutional aspects of European Union identity largely in the form of EU citizenship.Europe has always been more of a mental construct than a geographical or social entity (Lowenthal, 2000 314). Europe has no indwelling frontiers both in geographic and so ciological terms. Therefore it had never been easy to acquire a singular definition of European identity because the borders of Europe had always been dynamic, and no one knew where Europe started and Europe ended (Pagden, 2002). A European identity is an abstraction and a fable without essential proportions (Strath, 2002 387). The concept of a European identity is an idea expressing artificial notions of unity rather than an identity of equality. In this sense, the concept of European identity is carve in a long history of political reflection on the concept of Europe. From the perspective of history, Europe has been united as a singular entity in various pittings for a occur of times in its past such as the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Napoleonic Empire, and arguably the Nazi tierce Reich. Identity was only conceptualized as a macro-level collective phenomenon by the intellectual elites of Europe on the other hand, for the rural masses of Europe, identity was a loc al anesthetic term associated with the micro-level, rarely the nation and never an incident as large as the continent of Europe (Pagden, 2002). In different period of history, a common European identity had been defined on different basis. In the Middle Ages, Christianity was the main defining characteristic of European identity, whereas in modern times, the emergence of the nation state, periods of patriotism and afterwards democracy and secularism has been the common characteristic of the Europeans. Meanwhile, Christianity lost its dominance yet it arguably remained as one of the important components of European identity.Today, the European Union similar to the continent of Europe can be characterized by overlapping and unclear boundaries. From a geographical perspective, the EU has fuzzy boundaries due to the ongoing amplification motiones since the 1970s (Risse, 2003 490). Although the geographical borders of Europe are not objectively defined particularly in the east, a state without a geographical relevance to the European continent cannot become a part of the European Union, even if it shares the EUs collective values and norms. Moreover what adds to the uncertainty of Europes borders is that boundaries of the EU may change according to different policy fields such as the Schengen includes the non EU member Norway but at the same time it does not include the EU member state the United Kingdom. Therefore, first of all the lack of solid geographical boundaries weakens efforts of the EU to be seen as a singular entity by its own people (Castano, 2004). On the contrary, diversity shall be the main characteristic of European identity from a cultural point of view. Religious and cultural heritages including Roman law, political democracy, parliamentary institutions, spiritual rebirth humanism, rationalism, romanticism characterize the common identity of the Europeans (Smith, 1992). On the other hand, there are undeniable socioeconomic, cultural, national a nd ethnic differences among the member states of the European Union. Nevertheless, this reality is reflected in the motto of the Union which is unity in diversity from a positive point of view.A collective political culture is an important feature of the common European identity. The Greeks gave Europe the science and philosophy and the Romans gave it the idea of single continent and unity which created Europes strong cultural and political origins. The diverse and multiple cultures of the ancient Europe shared out a single identity as they were brought together under a common system of Roman law. The people of Europe also shared a common language, Latin, and after Europe slowly converted to Christianity they acquired a common religion. Christianity has been a crucial part of the European identity and it played a key role to create its internal cohesion and to de pressate its relationship with the rest of the world. Further references are made to Europes identity besides its herita ge of innocent Graeco-Roman civilization and Christianity such as the ideas of the depth, Science, Reason, Progress, Industrialization, Democracy and Individualization as the core elements of this claimed European legacy (Wintle, 1996 13-16). Hellenism, Romanticism, welfare society and cross-fertilization of diversity can be added to this list (Garcias, 1993 7-9), while one may argue that Europes core values include its commitments to an undivided continent, to individual freedom, and to the universalism of humanity (Havel, 1996).However, this unity never reached to the point of share-out a common European culture. A single body of citizenry or a common cultural identity could not be reached even in the peak of Europes history of unity. When the differences within Europe are emphasized, they are often in the form of unity in diversity religious differences such as Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christianity, and linguistic differences including Romance, Germanic and Slavic lang uages are obvious yet they are seen as correlated, CatholicRomance, ProtestantGermanic, OrthodoxSlavic, and essentially are fundamental the major ethnic cleavages and conflicts in the history of Europe. Anthony Smith is among the scholars who are skeptical of the possibility of a common European identity because they could not find a common culture across the European continent, and even more critically they claim that Europe lacks of a shared set of myths, experience and symbols these elements which they find crucial to create post-national identity (Smith, 1992 72-73). Furthermore, Europe lacks of a shared historical and cultural content as which is the largest source of division among Europeans. Other obstacles to a common European identity include linguistic diversity and its tripartite religious division. In fact, a major difference among EU countries is the persistence of linguistic diversity, even though in practical level English has become the dominant language in Europe. Language does not only have an instrumental but also an emotional dimension and peoples sense of nationality is often tied up with their mother tongue (Guibernau, 2001 192).On the other side of the debate, scholars such as Michael Wintle are more optimistic on the possibility of creating a European identity. Indeed, the existence of the EU identity in the form of converging command standards, educational exchanges, and the organization of a European civil society is already established in most parts of Europe. Wintle argues that a European identity was antecedently already created during the high Middle Age (Wintle, 1996 19-22), and it can be easily established today considering the forces of globalization. For now, the major success of the EU in fostering its identity has been limited with the increasing free movement of people across European borders, which has accelerated since the 1985 and lumpized in 1990 Schengen accords parallelly correlated with the rising impact of global ization. Increased interaction among peoples of Europe would also encourage cultural exchanges and this could foster a stronger sense of a shared community. Education and high culture shall play a key role in European Unions cultural policy, because these two factors have an important effect on the creation of the EU identity. Education is obviously one of the crucial dimensions in any attempt to develop the future identity of the EU or at least more understanding and convergence among Europeans high culture unites Europeans against the low culture which separates them. After all, the development of the EU identity will be the outcome of a long process in which bottom-up as well as top-down initiatives are likely to be employed (Guibernau, 2001 183-184).The idea of Europe as well as the identity of Europeans are constructed over time with processes of contention and bargaining. Gerard Delanty argues that a European Culture is not an entity with cohesion and fixed boundaries, but a floppy concept, with no clear borders and with internal rivalry and contradictions, discursively shaped in contentious social bargaining processes (Delanty, 1995 1999). In other words, the images of Europe do not exist as a natural phenomenon but are discursively shaped by internal as well as external forces (Strath, 2002). A basic step in the process of creating a collective identity is to defining itself in relation to the other. profound to ones identifications are images of others. Likewise any identity, European identity necessarily contains a argumentation from the non-European. This is natural to all distinctions, and they are both inclusive and exclusive. The boundaries of Europe can only be drawn and the identity of Europe can only be realized in the mirror of others. Indeed, Europe does not exist without non-Europe and that non-Europe does not exist without Europe. Many centuries ago, the Europeans defined people living in the north as uncivilized and people living in t he south as oriental (Pagden, 2002). Furthermore, the Greeks labeled the non-Greek speaking people as barbarians, even if that word would surely have a different meaning by that time. In nearer times, although the Russians shared many features with a European society including the same religion, it could not reach the formal limits of a Romanized civilization thus perceived as a barbaric empire or the orient, depending on the time. Moreover, European belief of its superiority relied on the common features of European societies such as science and bounteous arts. Thus the rest of the world could only be portrayed as actors in relation to Europe, in other words always remained as the other.According to Delanty, Europe has been always invented and reinvented on the basis of division and strategy for the construction of difference from the other commencement from Christian identity against Islam in the Middle-Ages, after that in the colonial politics to the New World, and to the ethni c minorities in the contemporary European Union (Delanty, 1995). Therefore, historical experience suggests that the new European identity may be constructed on the other which may be the United States, the East, Islam or the European past itself. Samuel Huntington has argued that religion provides the best common means of historically distinguishing between Europeans and the other, especially in terms of the confrontation between the Judeo-Christian tradition and Islam (Huntington, 1996). However, at the same time, the separation between Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Western variations of Christianity has, for a long time, been crucial in establishing a division between Western and Eastern Europe partially reenforce in the C anile War, divisions between Catholicism and Protestantism and separation between North and South (Guibernau, 2001).Today, the European Union is frequently argued to be a fortress for the other and the EU is often referred to as a Christian Club, because hi storically all states on the continent of Europe had Christian societies. The Ottoman Empire was the greatest opposition of European states as well as Christianity in the Middle Ages which made Islam the primary charactersitic of the other for Europeans from the perspective of history. Today, the accession dialogues of Turkey into the European Union provoke wide public opposition in Europe while the European Union officials make constant efforts to prove their allegiance to non-religious, non-ethnic but solely liberal and non discriminatory Copenhagen Criteria independent from historical aspects of the other which has actually been extensively used to define the European identity. Finally, Europe is unique because it has possessed an identity as a cultural space which gave birth to political unions throughout its history. However, it has never succeeded to constitute a single nation-state or a unified ethnic group. Although the European Union with its single currency and supranatio nal political and legal institutions changed these historical facts to an extent, it is only possible with the means of a common European identity which will carry Europe to the next stage of integration which it always aimed but failed to achieve during its long history. Nevertheless, history has already proved that it will surely be enceinte to overcome uncertainties of a common European identity at the level of the masses.Over the past millennium, the advancements of European civilization gave rise to the elites living on the continent of Europe who feel increasingly attached to Europe as a whole and shared dreams of a united continent. However, Europe as a res publica sharing a common history as well as a common destiny has been largely abandoned by fixed prejudices on often nationalistic and ethnic grounds. National interests and biases at local, national, and global levels have prevented the masses of European people from viewing themselves collectively (Lowenthal, 2000 315) . However, today, forces of globalization, advancements in communications technologies and media transmittance of everyday popular culture now promotes the sense of being European among larger segments of society other than the European elites. Although a truly trans-European society is still in its infancy, many of its essential elements are already in place this time largely due to the forces of globalization. Most European states are increasingly representative in reality their economies are for the most part market driven their popular culture grows more homogeneous as communication technologies expand under the forces of globalization in the 21st Century (Waterman, 1999 23). Therefore, Europe is at the stage of defining its identity today however which criteria are being deployed to define Europe, Europeans, Europeanness and their single boundaries is critically important. A common European identity must be constructed by defining and understanding the historical roots of ou tstanding features of the European society in relation to the notion of citizenship, which will be discussed in depth in the following parts developed in the past over the domain of a function of Europe. For sure, Europe is being redefined as a result of a complex set of processes, but an important question is what sort of Europe is emerging from them?There is certainly a structured symmetry in the perception of the European Union as the coincidence of a homogenized socio-political space, a unified regulatory space of an EU super-state, a singular European civil society surpassing existing national and regional differences in culture and identity (Hudson, 2000). In some respects there has been progress towards such an ideal of European civil society. For example, the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights have had an important role in defining acceptable standards across Europe. The issue of European identity and the criteria used to denote Europeans is clear ly a critical one for the political and social integrity for the European Union. Europe will exist as an unquestionable political community only when European identity permeates peoples lives and daily existence (Demos 1998). Identity is a key issue which is continuously changing and thats the reason why it is so hard to define especially in a world of fast changes in the 21st Centurys globalization. The member states of todays enlarged EU have become multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies with various structural phenomenon ranging from the immigrant community of France to Post-Communist yet ethnic communities of the Central and Eastern European states. As the EU expanded eastwards in the last two rounds of enlargements, the issue of defining a European identity became even more critical for sake of integrity and stability of the Union.One conception of a singular European identity would see it constructed through a process similar to that involved in the creation of national ide ntities in the 19th and the 20th Centuries. Ironically, while the aim was to create those national identities in the past, the challenge that Europeans formula today would be to transcend them for the creation of Europeannes. However, the current trends at local European level are quite different from the interests of Europeanists at the supranational level. There are pressures from nation states and their citizens to resist any further transfer of national sovereignty as well as erosion of national identity (Hudson, 2000). In fact, the success of extreme right wing political parties in important European countries such as Austria and France may be seen as a sign of the reappearance of dangerous nationalist and racist ambitions which the peoples of Europe have most probably experienced more than any other continent in the world history.Eric Hobsbawm has proclaimed that patriotism is dead (Hobsbawm, 1990). On the contrary, Llobera argues that national identities are certainly not et ernal, but the time of their demise has not yet arrived (Llobera, 2003). In fact, national identities are still dominant in Europe. Recent surveys show that, people in Europe prefer maintaining their national identity and sovereignty, but increasing number of people have accepted European identity in addition to their national identities. Therefore, European nationalism is another important component of a common European identity and it has been a major ideological tool for unifying nation states as well as the Europeans as a whole throughout Europes history. To start with, the European Union, with its both intergovernmental and supranational characteristics represents a far different type of state-organization than a classical nation state. The main distinguishing characteristics of the EU from the nation-state are the absence seizure of a shared language, a uniform media, common education system and a central state structure (Shore, 2000 64). Furthermore, the powers of the EU rely on the sharing of sovereignty of its member states. European unification is a progressive method of limiting individual nation states to practice any kind of harmful nationalism and this is makes up an important part of the European identity. At this point, nationalist Euroskeptics may argue that building a common Europe and an identity for it means destroying nations. However, a general feeling of Europeanness and loyalty to Europe in a cultural sense, does not need to conflict with national identities (Andreani, 1999).A successful construct of European identity must include the concrete and symbolic realities created within time. The European states have not always been nationalist through Europes long history. The definition of nationalism counts on the idea of nation and territory while the definition of a European nationalism depends on the historical and ideological evolution of the European nation states and aspirations for a post-national Europe. In fact, the aspirations th at underlie in the roots of the foundation of the European Union are parallel to European cosmopolitanism in the 18th and the 19th centuries. From the Enlightenment to the beginning of the ECSC after the Second World War European nationalism found two separate meanings one as an antinational Pan-European idea of a new united Europe that limits the sovereignty of the nation states, and the other as a pro-national ideology to create or legitimate new nation states (DAppollonia, 2002).Historically, cosmopolitanism reflected intentions for a European unity, and gave rise to anti-national European nationalism. European nationalism was characterized by the will to protect the European interests and its supremacy from non-Europeans as well as protecting Europe from itself by creating a federation. It can be argued that economic development, commercial prosperity, intellectual-supremacy and military power were the factors making Europe homogeneous and created a united European identity beyo nd national borders to an extent. Some intellectuals as well as economists believe that the nation state is an outdated political and economic entity, and nationalism is merely an expression of old prejudiced and narrow-minded ideas. European nationalism defined itself similar to the nation state through common identity and culture, territory, historical memory building, and economic and political objectives to defend self-interests. The defensive conception of European nationalism on the other hand had always been a driving factor, yet the pro-nationalist ideologies had been the major cause underlying the wars of modern times. As Europe was divided into aggressive nation states, the idea of Europe had increasingly converged. Although the wars were dividing factors themselves, their interpretations by the Europeanists became powerful unifying factors for Europe. The irony of European nationalism is that it depends on the memory of events that divided rather than united the continent (DAppollonia, 2002).Although it used the same definitions of nation and Europe with the anti-national European nationalism from time to time, it remained limited to the strict logic of the national framework. Transnational solidarities were necessity to establish European unity under either a supranational or an intergovernmental structure. For some intellectuals, European nationalism was the only way to protect the autonomy of nations and the liberty of the individuals. Conceptualizing of the European Union citizenship and creation of the Committee of the Regions in the EU were seen as efforts of the Pro-national European nationalists. These forms of European nationalism rejected the form of narrow nationalism while it showed ambitions to reinforce the intermediary actions between state and individual, between the individual, the market the centralizati