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European Identities at Times of Crisis

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Book cover The Euro Crisis and European Identities

Part of the book series: New Perspectives in German Political Studies ((NPG))

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Abstract

Combining a social constructivist approach to identify with discursive institutionalist understandings of the ideational change, this book considers European identities to be ‘multiple’ and coming in ‘national colours’ but argues that the conceptualisations of change at ‘critical junctures’ are insufficient for understanding the change and continuity at a time of crisis. Instead, the chapter calls for a focus on ‘communicative discourse’ in the public sphere to take account of the role of actors in the construction of crisis and the public contestation between political elites and the media. The chapter then outlines the way in which identities are likely to be reproduced in public debates through the meaning given to Europe and the construction of the ‘Other’, positing that dramatic change at a time of crisis is highly unlikely.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It should be noted that the concept of punctuated equilibrium is taken from a theory of evolution by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould (1977) intended to explain gaps in the fossil record by suggesting that species remain stable except at rare moments of sudden change. This theory has been criticised and rejected by other scientists. For example, Gingerich notes that Eldredge and Gould based their theory on negative evidence – the absence of fossils – rather than positive evidence (1984). Furthermore, John notes that the use of evolutionary theory in the social sciences tends to be vague and fails to offer satisfactory explanations of the selection mechanisms involved in evolutionary change in public policy (2003, p. 491). John, thus, highlights the need to ‘address the problems of transferring models from the natural to the social world, mainly because the causes are different’ (2003, p. 495). The use of punctuated equilibrium within the social sciences therefore often functions as an analogy rather than direct application of evolutionary biological theory to the study of political institutions. This book, therefore, does not seek to develop a model for identity change based on punctuated equilibrium but rather engages with one of the specific problems with viewing institutional change in this way – that of the conceptualisation of crisis.

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  1. Media, Cognition and Communication, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Charlotte Galpin

  2. Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom

    Charlotte Galpin

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Galpin, C. (2017). European Identities at Times of Crisis. In: The Euro Crisis and European Identities. New Perspectives in German Political Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51611-0_2

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