An Identity for Europe : The Relevance of Multiculturalism in EU Construction

This book looks at the role of multiculturalism in the complex construction of the European Union, acknowledging the tension of creating a new political space for identities that are simultaneously national, regional, linguistic, and religious, and yet strive to encompass a political and geographic whole. The author investigates the difficulty of conjugating the complex, pluralistic sense of belonging that individuals and groups in the EU experience in efforts to form a cohesive political identity, and one that is expressly European Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction “Multiculturalism”: An Identity for Europe?....Pages 1-23 Front Matter....Pages 25-25 The Practitioners of Europe....Pages 27-44 Communication and Europe: From Multiculturalism to Cultural Cohabitation....Pages 45-57 Against Euroculture....Pages 59-70 Front Matter....Pages 71-71 Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Boundaries: Common Standards and Conflicting Values in the Protection of Human Rights in the European Legal Space....Pages 73-101 Human Rights, Constitutionalism, and Integration: Iconography and Fetishism....Pages 103-114 The New Legal Frameworks for National Minorities in Europe....Pages 115-129 Multiculturalism and European Law....Pages 131-156 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 The European State....Pages 159-196 Nation, Democracy, and Identities in Europe....Pages 197-219 Space, Culture, and Boundary: Projecting Europe Abroad....Pages 221-231 Conclusion “Multiculturalism” and Democracy in Europe?....Pages 233-238 Back Matter....Pages 239-255 "The process of European unification raises one set of difficulties for the self-understanding of nationals of the member-states: Are we citizens of country X, or Europeans? The presence of minorities - whether indigenous or immigrant - creates further conundrums, for these relativize the status of the dominant group. Add the question of whether Turkey is 'European, ' and the dilemmas are legion. This volume contributes context and perspective to the vexed debate over what 'Europe' is and where multiculturalism might fit into its future. A valuable addition to a complex discussion."--John Torpey, Professor of Sociology, City University of New York, Graduate Center