“Constructing Europe: Identity and Interests in France and Germany, 1989-99”

Mazzucelli, Colette. (1999) “Constructing Europe: Identity and Interests in France and Germany, 1989-99”. In: UNSPECIFIED, Pittsburgh, PA. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The line of inquiry taken in this paper is to apply the concept of “project identity” to assess its relevance to the social construction of Europe. In Castell’s terminology, “project identity” occurs “....when social actors, on the basis of whichever cultural materials are available to them, build a new identity that redefines their position in society and, by so doing, seek the transformation of overall social structure.” This process of constructing project identity relates to Alain Touraine’s discussion of “subjects,” a term that defines the “collective social actor through which individuals reach holistic meaning in their experience.” In this case, constructing identity may be a project which is expansive, transforming society as the prolongation of the project. The construction of identities is a matter of social context. Identity politics “must be situated historically.” Thus, this paper focuses on project identity to explore this concept in a specific context: its interaction with interests defined by France and Germany to construct Europe via significant decisions taken during the last decade.

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