Review article
IS A EUROPEAN POLITICAL NATION A REAL POSSIBILITY?
Branka Lončar Mrkoci
; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
In this paper the author analyses the possibility of ‘creating’ a European political people and forming a European political identity and a European political community. In the first, theoretical part of the paper, the author defines two concepts of people – demos and ethnos – and describes problems in identity building on purely political grounds of people as demos. By examining the references on a European political people in the EU legal foundations, the author illustrates dual premises of legitimacy for the Union and the Union’s identity referents which are generally of a universalist nature. In the second, empirical part of the paper, the author presents how the European identity is formed, in line with classic distinction between ‘civic’ and ‘ethnic’ identity. Since the Eurobarometer survey showed a low level of European identification of EU member states’ citizens, the author presents concepts which aim to overcome the low level of European afiliation. In the final part of the paper the question which is examined is whether the existence of a European political people is necessary for the future of the European integration. To this end, the author uses various theoretical approaches to the ‘creation’ of a European political people: economic/market approach, communitarian/ statist approach, ‘constitutional patriotism’ of Habermas, Weiler’s ‘multiple demoi’ and pluralism/particularism.
Keywords
European Union; European integration; state; people; European political people; national identity; European identity; European political community
Hrčak ID:
24904
URI
Publication date:
9.6.2008.
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