| ID | 104110 |
| Title Proper | Birth of a united Europe |
| Other Title Information | on why the EU has generated a 'non-emotional' identity |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Guibernau, Montserrat |
| Publication | 2011. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In several respects, the European Union (EU) represents both a novel system of quasi-supranational governance and a novel form of political community or polity. But it is also a relatively fragile construction: it remains a community still in the making with an incipient sense of identity, within which powerful forces are at work. This article has three main aims. Firstly, to analyse the reasons and key ideas that prompted a selected elite to construct a set of institutions and treaties destined to unite European nations in such a way that the mere idea of a 'civil war' among them would become impossible. Secondly, to examine the specific top-down processes that led to the emergence of a united Europe and the subsequent emergence of the EU, thus emphasising the constant distance between the elites and the masses in the development of the European project. Finally, to explain why the EU has generated what I call a 'non-emotional' identity, radically different from the emotionally charged and still prevailing national identities present in its member states. |
| `In' analytical Note | Nations and Nationalism Vol. 17, No. 2; Apr 2011: p.302-315 |
| Journal Source | Nations and Nationalism Vol. 17, No. 2; Apr 2011: p.302-315 |
| Key Words | Elites ; EU Foundation ; Europe ; European Union ; Identity ; Nationalism |