Search results

1. Constructing EU's Political Identity in Policy Making (Sabine Saurugger & Mark Thatcher) -- 2. Constructing and De-constructing the European Political Identity: The Contradictory Logic of the EU's Institutional System (Sergio Fabbrini) -- 3. Affirming Europe with Trade: Deal Negotiations and the Making of a Political Identity (Francesco Duina & Ezekiel Smith) -- 4. Transforming Identity in International Society: The Potential and Failure of European Integration (Thomas Diez) -- 5. Do Central Bankers Dream of Political Union? From Epistemic Community to Common Identity (Erik Jones) -- 6. The EU's Legal Identities and the Court of Justice of the EU (Sabine Saurugger & Fabien Terpan) -- 7. Common Market, Normative Power or Super-State? Conflicting Political Identities in EU Asylum and Immigration Policy (Sandra Lavenex) -- 8. Direct and Market Governance Paths for the Creation of an EU Political Identity: Cultural Heritage Policy (Mark Thatcher) -- 9. Understanding the Identity of a Policy Field: The European Commission and Liberal Modernization in the Doman of Labour and Social Policy (Georg Menz) -- 10. Comment: The EU and European Identity (Neil Fligstein) -- 11. EU Political Identity, Integration and Top-down Analysis: A Reply to Neil Fligstein (Sabine Saurugger & Mark Thatcher).

In early 2011, students at a Christian liberal arts university won a nearly two-year battle for the official university recognition of a faith-based student organization centered on fostering a spiritual dialogue regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) identity and student sexuality. This article utilizes in-depth personal stories of the founding group members to examine current gaps in the identity-based social movement literature. The author argues that individual and group identities are formed reflexively through interaction and self- and group-reflection. Additionally, the author examines respondent stories to shed light on the various collective action frames made possible through discursive opportunity structures. Unforeseen openings within repressive environments may ultimately open the door to social change formerly thought unattainable. Possible implications for future research, specifically that pertaining to LGBT populations and movements, are also discussed.

Abstract  This paper explores the culture of taste in the production of an urban, Hindu, Bengali middle class in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Bengal/India. It analyzes how the Bengali middle class, the bhadralok, attempted to construct a "doxa" of gastronomy in order to subsume a dominant position for itself and to classify hierarchically other classes and social groups. The aspirations of this class as the future guardians of an incipient nation were in reality a politics of self‐identity, which was based on ideas of a cultural exclusivity. This politics of self‐identity for the Bengali middle class were inextricably inter‐woven with issues of modernity, nationalism, and colonialism. Through my analysis, I stress the importance of the "historical" or the "collective", particularly in the context of formation of the bhadralok, as a dominant class.

National identity issues exist when two or more identities within a nation compete over self-determination,territories, narratives, myths, rights and goals. This paper discusses whether democratization provides the means to resolve national identity problems in such a way that these problems are transformed into constructive dialogues between groups and the state instead of leading to violence or exclusion of groups. Democratization can transform national identity problems by providing political equality between groups and handing the state legitimacy toconstruct a national identity. It concludes that democratization on its own is not enough; it needs to be accompanied by certain conditions such as the construction of a civic national identity and internal political will. These conditions can also be seen as prerequisites for the establishment of a stable and strong democracy.

In the study reported in this article the roles of social cohesion, residential satisfaction, and place identification are examined for their effect on place-related social identity and its consequential impact on attitudes to environmental sustainability. Two neighborhoods in Guildford, Surrey, England were selected on the basis of their social histories, housing types, and socioeconomic composition. Ninety residents in each neighborhood were sampled. Research methods included cognitive mapping and a questionnaire survey. A structural equation model was used to analyze the covariances between the different factors. The results show clear differences between the two neighborhoods in terms of residential satisfaction, with only some differences in terms of identification and social cohesion and sustainability. Conclusions are drawn that suggest an important relationship between identity and sustainability behavior that is suggestive for future research.

The purpose in the pilot study reported here was to develop a process to test, quantitatively, the relationship between information about families' social identities arrived at through three different sources: 1) coders' ratings of family photographs, 2) family self-ratings of social identity, and 3) family scores on a true and false instrument that measures social identity. The process that was developed has been labeled the Family Photo Assessment Process or FPAP. From the results of preliminary testing, it appears that coders can be trained to reliably assess several dimensions of the family's social identity from viewing family photos and interviewing family members. It also appears that there are cultural differences in the dimensions discernable from family photos. Subsequently research will reveal if these cultural differences are evident in comparisons between American and Japanese photos. The long range questions are: Will the family photo album emerge as another "slice of data" on which to access family social identity? Will the family photo album emerge as a source of information on which to make cross-cultural comparisons of family life?

ABSTRACTDrawing upon a narrative study investigating the personal experience of 20 non‐resident mothers in the UK, the paper discusses how the atypical nature of their situation poses a potential threat to women's identity at both the personal and the social level. It is argued that more constructive adjustment is linked to women's ability to maintain a positive view of themselves as a 'good' mother in spite of their non‐resident status and that providing opportunities for women to 'tell their story' may be helpful in this respect. In addition to the cathartic effect of openly sharing an atypical mothering experience and defending against negative social judgements, exploring narratives can open up space, creating opportunities for new meanings and possibilities to emerge.