The Question of European Identity and the Impact of the Changes of 1989/90 Michael Wintle Gauri S Nadig I39024

What is Identity? Identity in this context is more than “sameness” Identity as an allegiance to people, group, place and past. This provides meaning in times of upheaval. A sense of collective identity is always incomplete and if tried to make complete can be destructive. Most times, identity is discussed only when there is a perceived wrong with it. A lot can be discussed if collective identity is static or dynamic in nature But most experts agree that it is based on the physical and social environment of a person

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European Identity In the Middle Ages, aristocrats, merchants and soldiers became aware of being European in a physical sense. But there is no cohesive European identity as the history is broken and wide. During Renaissance, the sense of European identity was influenced by the discovery of other nationalistic identities. This era also saw a sense of superiority rise in the shared Europeanness.

The Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union

European Identity post 1989/90 In theory, European identity should not have affected the solidarity of being European. Historically, scholars argue that European identity was based on a ‘shared heritage’ “The political culture must serve as the common denominator” Post the fall of the Iron Curtain, Russia’s place in Europe has been widely speculated. But not until the 19th century was in fully accepted as European Away from a political sense, many Eastern European countries’ identity was based on inclusivity While it is a passive form of identity in West Europe, for Central and East Europe it is not their primary identity.

European National Identity A more nationalistic sense of identity among the European states was characterized by patriotism Can there be an inclusive sense of nationalistic belonging post the fall of the Iron Curtain? Against: “A family of culture” Varied history cannot translate to political unity For: The unification of political systems Council of Europe; European Economic Community Sports, culture and grassroots politics are the basis of the beginning of a European ‘civil society’

Post The Wall, the European identity has become politically complicated National identities have grown stronger But on the other hand, a sense of East European identity was lost Leading to a question of ethnicity and tolerance The 1990s saw a defensive and defence-related policies against globalization The dissolution of the threat of Communism moved forward issue of one European identity Although it is easy to associate EU identity to an European identity, there is need to reconstruct a new ideology of ‘Europe’

The Interested Parties Euro-enthusiasts: EU and its predecessors Pre 1989/90, based on uniformity and post 1989/90 on pluralism Central and Eastern Europeans: There is sense of betrayal and grief and of being denied Visegrád countries, in an attempt to be more ‘European’, ridicule the claims of other nations But the primary identity has been Anti-Communist or Anti-Russian “The Others”: Based on the assumption that any identity should have an alterity -’the other’ Post Communism, Islam and European Muslims have filled the role of being Europe’s ‘others’

Europhobes: Migrants: Rise of xenophobia after the fall of the Soviet Union gave rise to many conservatist politicians and scholars Especially in Britain and Russia Migrants: The primary icon of European identity can be seen as a migrant - Europa Rise of asylum seekers after 1989 has led to the question of European tolerance, compassion and inclusivity

Conclusion Almost three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall what does it mean to be European? It has formed an incomplete sense of association bridged in part by the EU. While the EU might move to for economic and political integration, there is still a sense of ‘othering’ among the collective European identity. Culture and sports is an important tool in bringing forth inter-European contact. Europe is not the EU Europe in a way has had to been shown that there is more to European culture and identity than what they have always known.

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