Europe in chinese eyes symbolizes an image in constant change. From China's diplomatic fiasco in the Paris Peace Conference which incited the May Fourth Movement protesting against imperialism to China's collaboration with some European countries in the Second World War; from isolation and xenophobia after the founding of the People's Republic of China to the increasing political, economic and cultural communications with Europeans after opening-up, Chinese attitude toward Europe has not been consistent in the last century.
The European discourse is not only a powerful idea at the structural societal level, it is also pragmatically used, re‑produced and transformed through the everyday actions of people with specific biographies.1 In this paper, I would like to address the question how Europeanness – i.e. relating to Europe and/or being European – develops during one's life course. I propose a qualitative sociological approach and the methodology of discourse research2 and biographical analysis. 3 The empirical cases to be discussed are social actors who perceive themselves to be civil society activists. As such, they are actively involved in the public arena, thereby contributing to the development of public and media discourses. They talk about Europe from the perspective of specific biographies that have to be reconstructed if we are to understand the genesis of their Europeanness. In analysing the biographies of civil society activists in post‑socialist Poland, two ideal types could be reconstructed that apply to both the activity and the Europeanness: a) a pragmatic, skill and qualification‑related type and b) an idealistic, empowerment and emancipation‑related type. In order to discuss these two types, I shall first outline the methodology applied and the empirical material. I will then focus on the narratives, using the framework of biographical and discourse analysis in the sociology of knowledge tradition. My conclusion summarises the biographical development of Europeanness of Polish civil society activists.
In: Panoeconomicus: naučno-stručni časopis Saveza Ekonomista Vojvodine ; scientific-professional journal of Economists' Association of Vojvodina, Volume 54, Issue 2, p. 185-195
Serbia is considered as "an unfinished state" with a rather "undefined Nation" and as such approaching the European Union. This raises the question to what extent these circumstances will influence the success of Serbia?s EU-integration process, since nation identity and statehood are in this article seen as constitutional parts of the concept of Europeanness. Thus this paper focuses on Europeanness and the identity behind it. It further gives an overview of the Serbian identity, first by presenting its dichotomy and then by highlighting the main factors, which have primarily shaped the identity of Serbia. Finally this paper shows why a clearly defined national identity would facilitate Serbia?s access to the EU.
This article examines the impact of ethno-racial factors on perceptions of refugees and asylum practices in the European postcolonial context. Using Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) the authors analyse "Europe for Europeans" public discourse against the backdrop of the 2015-2016 migration crisis, the humanitarian disaster on the Polish-Belarusian border in 2021 and asylum seekers' influx in spring 2022. The study shows that attitudes to refugees and their "right" to asylum in a European country are impacted by ethno-racial markers of applicants. Such discursive practices call into question one of the understandings of Europeanness, namely Europe as the embodiment of advanced political ethics, since European political discourse has recently positioned a refugee from the Middle East and North Africa as an "alien" "non-European," thus normalizing threats to human life in allegedly "uncivilized" parts of the world. This normalization is consequently affecting the decision making in asylum process. The problematization of discursive aspects of asylum allows us to expand DHA to the international sphere, where different national models and cultural contexts collide, allowing us to talk about the influence of discursive practices on the political decisions in international relations. The evolution of the concept of asylum in the postcolonial context is considered in connection with the ideology of Europeanism, which is currently in the process of formation. Although ideas about Europeanness have undergone major transformations, this study shows that a systematic study of the entire range of conceptual meanings of this discursive object has not yet been carried out. Thus, Europeanness is either interpreted as a set of desired social ideals and values, or, reductively, as a quality associated exclusively with European institutions in their current form. Both interfere with the postcolonial debate about the nature of "Europe" and "Europeanness" in the postcolonial world.
The paper divulges a comparison between the Bulgarian elites, elites in the new democracies and in the old democracies of the European Union and succeeds in interrelating them by using common assumptions, concepts and original and comprehensive empirical data. It shows that the European Union (EU) has been a forerunner and active proponent of the process of integration of Bulgaria in the recent decades and that the EU has played a significant role in mitigating its impact. The analysis on elites' Europeanness is backed-up by an extensive dataset revealing its constantly adapting nature; its diversity of practices; its repeated need to respond to exogenous challenges and, most importantly, its perpetually unsatisfactory quest to make "real existing democracy" conform better to "potentially ideal democracy." The Bulgarian elites' Europeanness is expressed in a high display of trust toward European institutions. However, their trust to national ones is significantly lower. The explanations for these diversities are looked for in the continuity of historical experiences of trust to the state and its institutions, the short period of European Union membership, the discontinuity during the hard economic transformation and the deep social differences in society since the transition has begun.
"The book explores the promotion of Europeanness, which aims to arouse feelings of belonging to the European Union. It demonstrates that the promotion of Europeanness at the EU level does not constitute an overarching identity policy that imposes a homogenous interpretation of European identity. Rather, it is a process of negotiation in which various entrepreneurs of Europeanness within and outside the EU institutions invent and communicate representations of Europe. Both the negotiation and the multilayered representations of Europe that it produces are investigated through three case studies: the academia and the historians, European heritage, and the iconography of the euro"--Provided by publisher.
The question the authors of this paper raise is what kind of positive emotional attitudes the sustained, fruitful existence of the European Union (EU) takes on the part of its citizens. It is argued that the EU as a polity is an inappropriate object for patriotism. The emotions the authors envisage as constituting the necessary affective basis for the political community are based on developing horizontal relationships among citizens and their relationships to institutions that the EU makes possible.
The question the authors of this paper raise is what kind of positive emotional attitudes the sustained, fruitful existence of the European Union (EU) takes on the part of its citizens. It is argued that the EU as a polity is an inappropriate object for patriotism. The emotions the authors envisage as constituting the necessary affective basis for the political community are based on developing horizontal relationships among citizens and their relationships to institutions that the EU makes possible. Moralinė europietiškumo psichologija: įvairus horizontalusis afektyvumas Santrauka.Straipsnyje keliamas klausimas – kokiomis pozityviomis emocinėmis nuostatomis remiamasi, siekiant Europos Sąjungos kaip ilgalaikės produktyvios institucijos poveikio emocinėms jos piliečių nuostatoms. Teigiama, kad Europos Sąjunga negali būti patriotizmo objektas, nes ši institucija nesuderinama su patriotinėmis emocijomis. Emocijos, neatsiejamos nuo visaverčio politinės bendruomenės egzistavimo, pasak straipsnio autorių, paremti Europos Sąjungos piliečių horizontaliųjų santykių plėtra bei jos piliečių ir institucijų bendradarbiavimo plėtote. Reikšminiai žodžiai: nuostata, Europos Sąjunga, patriotizmas, politinis afektas. First Published Online: 14 Oct 2010
The question the authors of this paper raise is what kind of positive emotional attitudes the sustained, fruitful existence of the European Union (EU) takes on the part of its citizens. It is argued that the EU as a polity is an inappropriate object for patriotism. The emotions the authors envisage as constituting the necessary affective basis for the political community are based on developing horizontal relationships among citizens and their relationships to institutions that the EU makes possible. Moralinė europietiškumo psichologija: įvairus horizontalusis afektyvumas Santrauka Straipsnyje keliamas klausimas – kokiomis pozityviomis emocinėmis nuostatomis remiamasi, siekiant Europos Sąjungos kaip ilgalaikės produktyvios institucijos poveikio emocinėms jos piliečių nuostatoms. Teigiama, kad Europos Sąjunga negali būti patriotizmo objektas, nes ši institucija nesuderinama su patriotinėmis emocijomis. Emocijos, neatsiejamos nuo visaverčio politinės bendruomenės egzistavimo, pasak straipsnio autorių, paremti Europos Sąjungos piliečių horizontaliųjų santykių plėtra bei jos piliečių ir institucijų bendradarbiavimo plėtote. Reikšminiai žodžiai: nuostata, Europos Sąjunga, patriotizmas, politinis afektas. First Published Online: 14 Oct 2010
Georgia's turn to the West signifi cantly aff ected its geopolitical and foreign policies. The author shares the view expressed by Georgian scholars that the country's continued commitment to the Western vector is a direct consequence of ideas expressed by political elites (constructivist theory) and their self-identifi cation as "European," coupled with Western-style liberal democracy as a social order preference (liberal theory). Georgia's political elites are driven by the concept of "Europeanness" and thus focus primarily on the state's aspirations to be integrated into the "Western world," which is pushing the state towards European and North-Atlantic integration. Georgian elites believe that institutional reunifi cation with "European family" under the NATO defence shield will not only deter Moscow but will fi nally put an end to Moscow's attempts to bring the post-soviet state under its control. Moreover, due to the tensions between the generalized West and Russian Federation, the Kremlin's aspirations to stop what it perceives as a geopolitical expansion of the West to the east, Georgia's approach has become even more radical. The paper argues that the concept of "Europeanness" has been transformed into "radical Europeanness," meaning that the political elites maintain economic cooperation with non-Western countries, but there is no proactive foreign policy beyond that, even with its most important strategic partners, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. In spite Tbilisi enjoys trade relations with these countries, the existing level of political and military cooperation between them conceals signifi cant bilateral challenges. Additionally, this approach is perfectly refl ected in Georgia's relations with China, when the country's political elites pushed for free trade, without attention to the political and geopolitical aspects of economic cooperation. Thus, Georgia – China relations are also the part of research interest in this paper, as the free trade regime between the two countries is subject to serious scrutiny after the Donald Trump administration made it clear that Washington would not welcome Chinese economic and geopolitical expansion in Georgia.
The postwar experience has shown that the implanting of European consciousness, or Europeanness, calls for coordinated efforts among the European institutions, national states, and NGOs. Such consciousness, a key pillar of the European integration, is necessary for the EU to effectively function and motivate member states' - also the EU's - citizens. And yet European institutions and EU governments show little interest in promoting the formation of this European consciousness. Pro-European social movements are weak, while anti- European ones gain strength. This désintéressement of the EU countries probably results from the conviction that the goal has been reached and that there is no more need for a widespread pro-European education of their societies. However analysis of the problem, and in particular of the interaction between European and national identities, shows that this is not the case. We fear that this lack of proactive measures mobilizing EU citizens to keep on struggling for a common Europe will lead to the erosion of existing achievements of integration within the EU, and undermine European values. It may threaten the future of the EU, which is not an ordinary integration grouping but a great peaceful, civilizational, social and economic project. Our hypothesis - positively verified in this article - is that the promotion of Europeanness in the EU societies is urgently needed to maintain the unity (and even membership) of the Union, and to avert trends unfavorable for all of Europe and therefore for the West as a whole.
