The Search for a European Identity - Values, Policies and Legitimacy of the European Union

This book examines the link between political identity and legitimacy in the European Union. Stimulated by the crisis of legitimacy and identity suffered by the EU after the referenda on the Constitutional Treaty, the editors have developed a theoretical framework to examine the interplay between these two items in the problematic development of the EU into a fully-fledged political actor. The contributors to the volume seek to: * Redefine the key notions in the rigorous way of political philosophy, thus avoiding the generic or imprecise language usage found in a large part of political science literature on identity * Test these concepts in the analysis of EU policies that may reveal the world views and the principles upon which EU legislation is based, and whose degree of acceptance on the side of the citizens is an indicator of how far a shared political identity has developed. Featuring case studies on foreign and environmental policy, biosafety policy, biotechnology regulation, civil society, human rights promotion, as well as studies on the role of memory, space and external views on the process of European identity-building, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, political philosophy, European politics and European Studies.

Part 1: Theorizing the Link between Identity and Legitimacy 1. Why Legitimacy and Political Identity are Connected to Each Other, Especially in the Case of the European Union 2. Identity, Legitimacy and Foreign Policy Part 2: Memory and Space 3. Europe, War and Remembrance 4. Identity and Capital Cities: European Nations and the European Union Part 3: Politics and Ethics: The Regulation of Technology 5. Global Warming and European Political Identity 6. EU Food Safety Policy and Public Debate 7. EU Red Biotechnology Regulations and European Values Part 4: Social and Civil Europe 8. The European Social Model(s) and the Self Image of Europe 9. The Double Face of Civil Society Part 5: Outside the EU: Policies and Images 10. Human Rights Promotion 11. Judicial Policies and European Enlargement 12. How Do the Others See Us? European Political Identity and the External Image of the EU 13. Conclusions