SICKLE AND CRESCENT · Study of two significant others to the european construction in a historical perspective; the cases of Eastern European Communism in the 1950s (Sickle) and Islamism (Crescent) in recent years
FP6 — Marie Curie Actions (Human Resources and Mobility)
- Duration
- 2006-11-01 → 2008-10-31
- EU contribution
- €121,728
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- EIF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Final Activity Report Summary - SICKLE AND CRESCENT (Study of Two Significant Others (...). The Cases of Eastern European Communism in the 1950s (Sickle) and Islamism (Crescent) in Recent Years)
This project resulted in a series of paper presentations in 11 international conferences, five of which were to be published in peer-reviewed journals and three as chapters in edited volumes. Some of the deliverables were already published or online by the time of the project completion, while more papers were due in the months following this threshold. The findings were therefore available to the scientific community and their quality was checked through the blind peer-review process. In the months succeeding the research completion, and apart from the material which was accumulated through archival work, analysis of official documents of the European Union, media analysis and textbook analysis, I had planned to work on integrating the different chapters and elements of the research into one single book. In terms of findings and achievements, I would like to insist on the fact that most histories of Europe were inside-out, i.e. they told the story of the emergence, ripening and expansion of the European project from its source and the insiders perspective. In this sense, the others of Europe often did not figure in the narrative of European construction. This research drew attention to the others of Europe in different times and places and sought to embed the other in narratives of Europe. External others had indeed a serious impact in the negotiation of a common political identity that was carried forward by Europe and one should seriously take them into account, because what was at stake was also the political recognition of the internal others inside Europe, such as western communist parties during the 1950s and Muslim minorities nowadays. It was also about the creation of a common narrative of Europe that was more inclusive and attentive to its internal diversity and its own societal changes.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
European construction has been a complex process. Much has been written on the problem of potentially conflicting national and supra-national identities in the EU, but less so on the importance and impact that external significant Others have (had) on the shaping of a common European identity.How has the political identity of Europe been influenced and potentially shaped by the presence of significant Others? What does a historical analysis of such external influences tell us about the nature of the European project? The project intends to shed light on the impact of two different significant Others at two crucial moments of European construction in a cross-historical perspective and in a multidisciplinary manner.The first external presence under scrutiny is the threat embodied by Eastern European communism during the first years of the European construction. The second is the current debate about the integration of Muslim majority Turkey into the EU and of the challenge that, according to many, Islamist ideologies represent to the political order of a democratic and secular Europe. The significant Others for the Europe construction might have been symbolized by the Sickle (of the communist flag).Now it could be argued that the liminal threat is that of the Crescent (symbol of Islam). This multidisciplinary research would link together a historical research about the past of European construction/integration and current debates about the political identity of the European Union, through the analysis of 1) intellectual discourses, 2) media representations, and 3) public opinions about these two Others.This is a topic of burning actuality for Europe (Turkey into the EU? Religious values in the European Constitution?). The study of these two Others, indirectly, should also shed some light on the nature and content of a European political identity based on the commitment to democracy.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE · SAN DOMENICO DI FIESOLECoordinatorItaly
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union