Introduction to the construction and the interplay of European, national and ethnic identities in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

This special issue challenges the concept of fluidity and flexibility of identities by demonstrating that ‘new’ European identity is not easily adopted and that the co-existence of ethnic and national identities is an ongoing process of negotiation. The theoretical approach assuming multiple identities can be confirmed for ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe who were often thought to be focused on ethnic identities. This issue provides empirical quantitative and qualitative evidence for showing that ethnic minorities typically relate to their ethnic identity and to the national identity of their residence country simultaneously. The individual papers reveal that the development and maintenance of ethnic, national and European identities are often linked to the socio-economic situation and possible benefits. Also, social and cultural practices such as language and media consumption are crucial for the construction of identities. Furthermore, articles in the special issue highlight that national and European politics, above all minority rights and integration policies, may contribute to ethnic and European identification.

Keywords:

• identity construction
• ethnic minorities
• Central and Eastern Europe
• ethnic identity
• national and European identity
• ENRI-East

Acknowledgements

The production of this special issue would not have been possible without the ground-breaking research project ENRI-East, coordinated by Alexander Chvorostov and supervised by the principal investigator Hans-Georg Heinrich. The authors would like to thank every partner team and expert in the ENRI-East research consortium, acknowledging that the high-quality outputs of the study are the result of collective efforts of all project partners and individual experts. Our particular thanks go to the journal editors of Identities: Global Studies of Culture and Power for their patience and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. ENRI-East – European, National, and Regional Identities, an FP7-SSH collaborative research project (2008–2011) funded by the European Commission under the seventh Framework Programme (FP7-SSH Grant no. 217227): http://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/research/new-europe-centre/enrieast-project-364.php

Additional information

Funding

The research project that this special issue is based on was only made possible through the funds of the European Commission under the seventh Framework Programme [FP7-SSH Grant no. 217227].

Notes on contributors

Natalia Waechter

NATALIA WAECHTER is a Professor in the Department of Educational Science at University of Graz.