While in political debates identity is often considered as given, scholars of social sciences concentrate on the formation of new and particularly transnational identities. Insights from nationalism reveal mechanisms of identity formation but European integration has taken its own way. We...

AbstractIn our analysis we argue that the EU eastern enlargement did not result in significant change of predominantly ethnos based collective identity in the new EU countries. Consequently, we argue that, the EU eastern enlargement has, by and large, been understood by citizens of new EU...

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the identity problem of the European Union (EU). In order to do so the EU’s justifications of past and present enlargements are investigated. What kind of understanding of the EU do decisions to enlarge speak to? Given that the EU is based on more than...

In this paper we empirically test three of the most significant theories about the emergence of a European identity. The three approaches considered here are, respectively: first, a "cultural" theory, which understands identities as being based on ethno-cultural factors generated through a...

The relationship between EC law and minority protection is ambiguous. EU law remains, at least prima facie, and in contrast to international law, silent on this topic. This is interesting as there exists a (supposed) tension between the restricting character of some minority protecting measures...

The acquis communautaire is almost always (self-re)presented as a rock hard principle, as something applicant countries have to adapt to. Employing a Nietzsche-Foucauldian genealogical method, the paper explores an important instance of intersubjectivity of meaning among European integrators,...

The paper describes the status quo of government in Europe as (slightly) less democratic than the real state of democracy in the Member States and stresses the transparency-deficiencies. It examines the extra-legal factors of a functioning democracy and argues that they are present in nuce and...

In this paper I would like to elaborate on the interaction between law and language. The use of the different (legal) languages of the European Union Member States is one of the most practical and most difficult problems in the process of European integration. The linguistic matters are directly...