"Between Maastricht and Sarajevo: European Identities, Narratives, Myths"

Beer, Francis A. and Kopstein, Jeffrey S. (1993) "Between Maastricht and Sarajevo: European Identities, Narratives, Myths". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 1993 (3rd), May 27-29, 1993, pages 18, Washington, DC.

Abstract

European identity emerges from narrative. The multiple narratives of Historical Europe include Cold War Europe, a hegemonic narrative, or myth. The end of the Cold War has lessened the political authority of this narrative, increasingly opening it to revisionist interpretations and releasing previously repressed competitors to contend in a more pluralistic, multivocal European environment. The legitimate heir of Cold War Europe is Europe-Maastricht, an integrative identity that beckons into the future with a Europtimistic vision. Based on instrumental rationality and development, it promises peace and prosperity. It is, however, challenged by an increasingly powerful Europe-Sarajevo, a disintegrative identity that emphasizes deeper historical ethnic and cultural roots and threatens the dominant political and economic construction of Europe during the last half century.