Negotiating Nationhood in a Changing Europe – Views from the Press
Triandafyllidou, Anna

Description

This study argues that national identities in Europe go through a process of transformation. The process of European integration, on one hand, and increasing migration flows and the affirmation of cultural identities on the other, have led to a re-definition not only of the content of national identities but also of their nature. Interaction between national, sub-national and transnational forms of collective identification are governance has given way to a more flexible view of nationhood, which affirms uniqueness and difference but also accepts commonality with Others. The empirical material presented in this book provides an overview of collective identities in contemporary Europe and highlights their evolution during the past twenty years. The study concentrates on the national press, because the media are seen as an important carrier of identity discourses. The study of representations of ‘Us, the nation,’ relevant outgroups, and the interaction between them starts with the end of the Cold War era, goes through the collapse of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, and reaches the present and the realization of a European Union. Images of the nation in four EU member-states – Britain, Germany, Greece and Italy – are analyzed. Furthermore, their intertwining with or contrast to representations of the European Union, images of other Western and Central-Eastern European nations, as well as ethnic minorities and immigrant communities are highlighted. At the theoretical level, the book explores how transnational and sub-national challenges to the power and legitimacy of the nation are dealt with in the national press discourse. The extent to which national identity is compatible, or indeed, overlaps with notions of a European identity and culture are also discussed. In answering these questions, new conceptual tools for the study of national identity in contemporary European societies are explored.

Reviews

“ ... combines a sophisticated theoretical framework with a concentrated empirical study of four European countries (Britain, Germany, Greece and Italy) to examine this relationship in a well-presented analysis ... The author's conclusion is that new ways of representing the nation are in evidence as a result of national interaction with transnational (European) and sub-national (often ethno-regional) levels and the post-Cold war emergence of issues such as immigration and Eastwards enlargement ... It presents a clear model of identity formation based on a command of the relevant theoretical literature ... likely to have a broad market, appealing to students of European studies, academics and media professionals.” – Dr. John Hutchinson, London School of Economics and Political Science

“This book is a theoretically important, empirical-methodology innovative and, in addition, very well written comparative study on the contemporary reconstruction of national identities in current member states of the European Union ... makes a very fruitful contribution to the recent debate on the relationship between national and European identities by including immigration and ethnic minorities as well as the reconfiguration of Europe as crucial factors ... it provides rich and important data on the (re)construction of the presentations of ethnic minorities, the nation and Europe on the elite and mass levels in the four cases. And finally, as each case is interesting as such, the comparative method used generates systematic knowledge about commonalities and differences.” – Professor Willfried Spohn, New York University

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
1. Immigrants, Minorities, and the European Union: A Challenge to National Identity
2. National Identity Reconsidered
3. Greece: Between East and West
4. Italy: A European Nation
5. Britain: A Crisis of Identity
6. Germany: Between Re-unification and European Integration
7. Comparisons Across Europe
8. New Discourses of Nationhood
Appendix
Bibliography
Index

ISBN10:  0-7734-7129-4   ISBN13:  978-0-7734-7129-0    Pages:  340    Year:  2002   

Subject Areas:  England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland - History, Ethnic and Immigrant Studies, Europe General - History, Germany - History, Italy - History, Nationalism, Political Science, Political Philosophy & Theory, Sociology & Social Sciences,

Imprint: Edwin Mellen Press

USA List Price: $139.95 UK List Price: £ 94.95  

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