#PragueSummit 2016: Workshop A - Identity: European Togetherness,Values and Nationalism

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• published: 13 Oct 2016
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A shared political identity – a “national we” (Roger Scruton) or “a sense of moral like-mindedness” (Frank Knight) – is commonly seen as a necessary feature of a democratically governed society. Yet, as shown by the experience of multiethnic and multilingual democracies, and by the emergence of a political nationhood in the United States, such identity is fluid. Not even Europe’s political nations are immutable structures and have been shaped by myriad historical accidents, wars, and political reforms. Does Europe need a common political identity? What are the benefits from joint political decision-making, as opposed to ad hoc cooperation between sovereign nation states? Does a shared political identity exist in Europe? If so, what are its elements? A chicken & egg question: What comes first, joint political institutions (such as the EU) or a shared political identity? The Eurozone and refugee crisis seem to have fostered nationalism and xenophobic populism across Europe. How well has the existing form of European integration served us in building a shared political identity on the European continent? How have individual political leaders? What needs to change in order for the common European decision-making not lead to populist backlashes such as the ones that now threatening to undo the European project altogether? Moderator: Wojciech Przybylski, Editor-in-chief Eurozine & chairman Res Publica Rapporteur: Dalibor Roháč, Research Fellow, American Enterprise Institute