“It is not only the economy, stupid”
the importance of national and European identity for the future of Europe
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60054/PEU.2018.5.179-190Keywords:
European integration, European identity, national identityAbstract
The European Union has always been a political project, using the economy as instrument to reach the political goals. Therefore, a European identity is of utmost importance for the success of the European integration process. European identity is not the contrary of a national identity but the result of the combination of national identities. The French philosopher François Jullien recommends replacing identity differentiation, which is always exclusive as well as inclusive, with the concept of distance. According to this concept, differences in cultures are certainly taken into account, but they are not used for exclusion, but to construct a greater common whole.
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