Building Europe: The Cultural Politics of European IntegrationThe development of the European Union has been one of the most profound advances in European politics and society this century. Yet the institutions of Europe and the 'Eurocrats' who work in them have constantly attracted negative publicity, culminating in the mass resignation of the European Commissioners in March 1999. In this revealing study, Cris Shore scrutinises the process of European integration using the techniques of anthropology, and drawing on thought from across the social sciences. Using the findings of numerous interviews with EU employees, he reveals that there is not just a subculture of corruption within the institutions of Europe, but that their problems are largely a result of the way the EU itself is constituted and run. He argues that European integration has largely failed in bringing about anything but an ever-closer integration of the technical, political and financial elites of Europe - at the expense of its ordinary citizens. This critical anthropology of European integration is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the culture and politics of the EU. |
Contents
Forging a European nationstate? The European Union and questions of culture | 15 |
Creating the peoples Europe symbols history and invented traditions | 40 |
Citizenship of the Union the cultural construction of a European citizen | 66 |
Symbolising boundaries the single currency and the art of European governance | 87 |
EU civil servants | 123 |
European Commission civil servants the new Europeans? | 125 |
A supranational civil service? The role of the Commission in the integration process | 130 |
The Brussels context integration and engrenage among EU elites | 147 |
Transnational supranational or postnational? The organisational culture of the Commission | 171 |
Conclusion European construction democracy and the politics of culture | 206 |
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Common terms and phrases
A-grade administrative anthropological argue argument banknotes become Belgian British Brussels bureaucratic campaign cent Central Bank chapter cited civil servants civil service claims comitology Commission officials Commission's Committee concept countries created creation cultural politics debate Delors democracy democratic discourse economic elites emerging engrenage EU's euro Europe's European citizens European citizenship European Commission European Community European consciousness European construction European culture European identity European integration European Parliament European public European Union Europeanisation fieldwork fonctionnaires forging French German idea important independent institutions integration process interest internal invented Jacques Delors Jacques Santer Jean Monnet language legitimacy loyalties Maastricht Treaty MEPs monetary union nation-state national civil neofunctionalist particularly pean people's Europe personnel politicians problem promote question recruitment role Santer senior sense single currency social sovereignty Spence strategy supranational supranationalism symbolic tion transnational Treaty of Rome
References to this book
The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing ... Jeremy Rifkin No preview available - 2004 |
The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing ... Jeremy Rifkin No preview available - 2004 |