scholarly journals Illiberal Cultural Christianity? European Identity Constructions and Anti-Muslim Politics

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 774
Author(s):  
Anja Hennig ◽  
Oliver Fernando Hidalgo
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Identity Constructions ◽  
Muslim Politics

This paper refers to the ambivalence of secularization in order to explain why Cultural Christianity can show both a liberal and illiberal character. These two faces of Cultural Christianity are mostly due to the identity functions that, not only faith-based religion, but a particularly culturalized version of religion, entails. Proceeding from this, it will be demonstrated here how Cultural Christianity can turn into a concrete illiberal marker of identity or a resource for illiberal collective identity. Our argument focuses on the link between right-wing nationalism and Cultural Christianity from a historical-theoretical perspective, and illustrates the latter with the example of contemporary illiberal and selective European memory constructions including a special emphasis on the exclusivist elements.

scholarly journals How Is Collective Identity Possible in Democracies? Political Integration and the Leitkultur Debate in Germany

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Bein
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Political Community ◽  
National Identities ◽  
Political Integration ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Modern Democracy ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Functional Inclusion

AbstractThe quest for a common collective identity has become a challenge for modern democracy: Liberal demands for greater inclusion and individual freedom, aspirations for a strong and solidaric political community, as well as nationalist or right-wing populist calls for exclusion and a preservation of hegemonic national identities are creating tensions that cannot be overlooked. This article therefore formulates the central question of how collective identity can be possible in a liberal democracy. Based on a case study on Germany, it will therefore be examined whether Leitkultur as a model of political integration can serve in generating a functional democratic collective identity. The necessary benchmarks guiding the analysis will be defined beforehand from a systems-theoretical perspective, balancing inclusion and exclusion within three crucial dimensions: normative basics, historic continuity, and affirmative bindings. The results show that a static definition of a German Leitkultur would in the long run neither achieve functional inclusion nor be able to generate the necessary cohesion of a political community, especially regarding the second and third identity dimensions.

The European identity formation in Ukraine

2017 ◽  
pp. 102-109
Author(s):  
Larysa Kovryk-Tokar
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Community ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Political Integration ◽  
European Identity ◽  
European Values

Every nation is quite diverse in terms of his historical destiny, spiritual priorities, and cultural heritage. However, voluntary European integration, which is the final aim of political integration that began in the second half of the twentieth century from Western Europe, provided for an availability of large number of characteristics in common in political cultures of their societies. Therefore, Ukraine needs to find some common determinants that can create inextricable relationship between the European Community and Ukraine. Although Ukrainian culture is an intercultural weave of two East macrocivilizations, according to the author, Ukraine tends to Western-style society with its openness, democracy, tolerance, which constitute the basic values of Europeans. Keywords: Identity, collective identity, European values, European integration

scholarly journals Modern Forms of Populism and Social Policies: Personal Values, Populist Attitudes, and Ingroup Definitions in Support of Left-Wing and Right-Wing Welfare Policies in Italy

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Anna Miglietta ◽  
Barbara Loera
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cognitive Sophistication

We analyzed the relationship between modern forms of populism and citizen support for exclusive welfare policies and proposals, and we focused on support for left-wing- and right-wing-oriented welfare policies enacted or proposed during the Lega Nord (LN)–Five Star Movement (FSM) government in Italy (2018–2019). In light of the theoretical perspective of political ideology as motivated by social cognition, we examined citizens’ support for the two policies considering adherence to populist attitudes, agreement on the criteria useful to define ingroup membership, and personal values. We also took into account the role of cognitive sophistication in populism avoidance. A total of 785 Italian adults (F = 56.6; mean age = 35.8) completed an online survey in the summer of 2019 based on the following: support for populist policies and proposals, political ideologies and positioning, personal values, and ingroup boundaries. We used correlation and regression analyses. The results highlight the relationships between populism and political conservatism. Populism was related to the vertical and horizontal borders defining the “people”; cognitive sophistication was not a relevant driver. We identified some facilitating factors that could promote adherence to and support for public policies inspired by the values of the right or of the left, without a true ideological connotation.

Lost in uncertainty: How the Euro crisis affected European identity constructions in national media discourses

2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (6-8) ◽  
pp. 602-622
Author(s):  
Dennis Lichtenstein ◽  
Christiane Eilders
Keyword(s):  
Financial Stability ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Euro Crisis ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Identity Constructions ◽  
Weekly Newspapers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Media Discourses ◽  
The Eu

The Euro crisis has revealed severe conflicts between EU member states and challenged a shared European identity. This article investigates how the crisis was reflected in identity constructions in media discourses in EU key countries. European identity construction is conceptualized as framing of the EU in favour or against belonging to the EU and togetherness with other members. Conducting a systematic content analysis of two weekly newspapers and magazines in Germany, France and the UK, we compare identity constructions between 2011 and 2014. Findings show that while support of belonging to the EU is low in general, the countries differ remarkably in terms of their sense of togetherness. This particularly applies to strong or weak political integration, market regulation or market freedom and financial stability or impulses for economic growth. The positions reflect long-term political conflicts between the countries but are also flexible enough to adapt to the particular event context.

Resources of the European Works Council — empirical knowledge and prospects

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Lecher
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Empirical Knowledge ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
Ability To Act ◽  
Metalworking Industry ◽  
Works Council ◽  
Development Paths

There typical EWC development paths can he singled out. To a certain extent these paths already exist. They can also he described as development stages of individual EWCs: the EWC with an exclusively national frame of reference: the EWC which is taking on an international quality, but focusses on the industrial relations within the parent company's country: the EWC deliberately working to develop a supranational collective identity with a European underpinning amongst members tending towards equality. Four dimensions can be analytically distinguished in this regard: time, money, information and power. The better the EWC can equip itself in terms of these four “claims”, the greater is the chance of developing a European identity and ability to act effectively. Naturally, the reverse is also true. The four claims are here differentiated in relation to EWCs, based on empirical knowledge mainly derived from two projects in which the author was or is a participant. As examples, the cases of Hoechst (chemical industry), Schmalbach-Lubeca (metalworking industry), AXA/UAP (insurance) and Kredietbank (baiting) are succinctly described. The evaluation looks selectively at a few other relevant empirical project results without detailed substantiation. The results are generalised in terms of a “good EWC practice”. The final part deals with the main subjects of the forthcoming revision of the EWC Directive, which focuses on improvement of the four main claims of EWCs' resource situation.

scholarly journals The Symbols Role in the Creation of a European Identity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana-Sabina Prisacariu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
European Identity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constitutional Treaty ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
National Symbols ◽  
May Day ◽  
Education Culture

The present paper focuses on the symbolic aspects of the process of formation, sustainment, and change of identity in the European Union. We first establish the role of the symbolisms and symbols in forming links among European citizens and in shaping a European identity.We present a number of initiatives, which have been taken, aimed at forming a collective identity related to the concerns expressed in the recent years over the democratic deficit of the European Union. We consider Andonnino Reports especially significant in this sense through the recommendation of adopting Community symbols. After presenting other activities organized with this aim, in education, culture, and youth fields, we argue that the symbols established by the Constitutional Treaty are the most readily identifiable symbols of integration process.We consider important to have a theoretical presentation of the social and anthropological functions of the symbols. The role of the national symbols of any state is to provide an identity, having at the same time a unifying and a federating power. We show the political implication of the symbols at the level of European citizens. The citizens can be influenced by means of symbols and their symbolisms, to leave aside their differences and act in the common public good. We can conclude that the first important steps to emerging European Union as a new post-national political system (where the national interest coincides with the European interest) have been made. We emphasize how the European symbols such as the flag, the anthem, the motto, the currency, and the Europe Day help to make the European Union more legitimate in the eyes of its citizens by creating emotive images and rites.At the end of the paper, we describe the 9 May Day as a performance of a ritual festivity. We have in mind especially the capacity of this moment to act as a sequence of events within a fixed space and time and to involve simultaneously all stimuli. Our aim is to show how particular aspects of the process of construction of a European identity work in practice, in relation to the symbolic context of ideologies, images, and worldviews.

Constructing the ‘European’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrix Futák-Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
European Identity ◽  
European Neighbourhood Policy ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Culture History ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Economic Ties ◽  
European Civilization

This chapter is about collective identity and how practitioners define this highly complex topic. Two main patterns emerge from the corpus. Practitioners’ main concerns while discussing the concept of ‘European’ identity are as follows: to differentiate between European neighbours and the neighbours of Europe, and to account for the European credentials of the South Caucasus or Kazakhstan. In addressing differentiation between the neighbours, practitioners draw on geography, culture, history and economic ties to distinguish between countries which are in Europe and those which are not. At the same time practitioners make explicit distinctions between the key EU policies: the European Neighbourhood Policy and the enlargement policy. They also build up the category of the ‘European’. When they offer accounts of the South Caucasus and Kazakhstan, one practitioner relies on a heredity account of the European civilization, while others seek to justify, in different ways, the European-ness of the Caucasus and potentially Kazakhstan.

Upvoting extremism: Collective identity formation and the extreme right on Reddit

2020 ◽  
pp. 146144482095812
Author(s):  
Tiana Gaudette ◽  
Ryan Scrivens ◽  
Garth Davies ◽  
Richard Frank
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Aggregation Site ◽  
Social News

Since the advent of the Internet, right-wing extremists and those who subscribe to extreme right views have exploited online platforms to build a collective identity among the like-minded. Research in this area has largely focused on extremists’ use of websites, forums, and mainstream social media sites, but overlooked in this research has been an exploration of the popular social news aggregation site Reddit. The current study explores the role of Reddit’s unique voting algorithm in facilitating “othering” discourse and, by extension, collective identity formation among members of a notoriously hateful subreddit community, r/The_Donald. The results of the thematic analysis indicate that those who post extreme-right content on r/The_Donald use Reddit’s voting algorithm as a tool to mobilize like-minded members by promoting extreme discourses against two prominent out-groups: Muslims and the Left. Overall, r/The_Donald’s “sense of community” facilitates identity work among its members by creating an environment wherein extreme right views are continuously validated.

scholarly journals Europe of “Others”

2015 ◽  
pp. 58-73
Author(s):  
Abigail Keating
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Personal Identity ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
National Belonging ◽  
Use Of Space ◽  
European Context ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Mise En Scene

This article explores Carmine Amoroso’s Cover Boy (2006) through the themes of deviation, mobility and identity construction and from the textually analytical perspectives of the director’s use of space and mise en scène in establishing a dialogue on “otherness” in a cross-European context. Specifically, I argue that it is through Amoroso’s use of movement within the film’s principal setting of Rome and, in an overt way, cross-nationally that more intricate questions of the constructedness of Western (and privileged) European identity are able to emerge. Along the way, the problematics of identity are also revealed through Amoroso’s narrative interest in performance, both conventionally (through the arts and Italy’s fashion industry) and, more implicitly, as many of the characters in Cover Boy present themselves falsely, in varying complex ways. Further to this, the film’s themes of queerness are addressed not only in light of personal identity, but also under the rubric of national belonging and inclusion. As I shall examine, this (re)configuration of identities can then be read in the broader context of Amoroso’s aesthetic of (re)presentation, wherein the themes of performance and individual and collective identity are strikingly evoked. Finally, my analysis exposes the film’s sociopolitical and socioeconomic interest in “otherness” alongside Zygmunt Bauman’s essay “Europe of Strangers”—to which, I argue, the issues raised in the final moments of Cover Boy adhere.

scholarly journals RELIGION IN DEBATES ABOUT THE EUROPEAN IDENTITY

2018 ◽  
pp. 27-39
Author(s):  
Ivan Cvitković
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Religious Identities ◽  
Religious Symbols ◽  
Religious Cultures ◽  
Identity Problems

A short reflection on the books and publications in which I have already written about religious identities in Europe is presented in the introduction. A situation with religious identities varies from one society to another, from one continent to the other. There are three types of religious identity that dominate in Europe (church, churchless and “distanced“). Have religious identities or their “folklore” aspect become stronger in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the 1990s? Then I come back to the very term and type of identity (acquired, chosen etc.) and their basic sociological characteristics. The importance of self-identification and others’ perception of our identity is discussed. Considering the multiplicity of human identities, there will be elaboration of the place of religion among multiple identities. In what social conditions does religious identity gain significance? What is the correlation between religious identity and family, national and professional identities? What happens if the religious identity is rejected? There will be some elaboration also of the place and the role of religious symbols in identities. What kind of social "game" can these symbols play? The examples of conflicts over religious symbols are provided. In particular, migrations and the religious identity of Europe will be discussed. Migrations lead to establishing more regular contacts between different religious identities. Who does not understand whom: is it that the domicile population does not understand migrants or vice versa? Is the migrants' arrival experienced more as an encounter of different religious cultures than as an encounter of different religious identities? Is the relation of those with the Christian and those with the Muslim identity in fact the central issue in all this matter? Approaching migrants as a "threat" to the "Christian European identity". Who is bothered by the plurality of religious identities in Europe? Above all, conservative consciousness, then right-wing politics growing stronger in Europe and inciting hatred towards the non-Christian, especially towards the Muslim identity. The inability of the left-wing to develop a different, more tolerant model towards migrants. Does this mean that the position of the minority in Europe will become more difficult? Something about the sacrilege and the ways in which it is demonstrated in Europe and in our region. The religious identity in the creeps of criticism and art. How far does the freedom of artistic provocations go? The conclusion will be about whether religious identities lead to their separation from others. How to talk about religious identity of "the other" from the standpoint of a personal worldview and religious identity in a society with multiple religious identities? Are we confident that identity problems will not cause further conflicts and instability in European societies?

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