Europa som nation : En ny stil i nationalismens genre
Europe as a nation : A new style in the genre of nationalism
Author
Summary, in English
According to nationalism, every nation should have its own state, and every state should be legitimized by a nation. If the modern passport has been a banal link between nation and state, the EU and its Europeanization of passports have mostly been considered as a separation of nation and state. Given that the symbols of the EU, which as well as a passport include a flag, a day, an anthem, a currency, and a motto, are strongly reminiscent of national symbols it could also be worth considering that the EU framed Europe as a nation. The aim of this thesis has been to understand how the EU could be legitimized by a vague idea of Europe as if it was a nation.
This thesis is based on observations from two border controls—Tarajal in Ceuta at the periphery of the EU, and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam at its centre—and from the immigration museum at Ellis Island in New York City, which is a contrast both as a tourist destination and as a historical border control. In combination with discourses on the EU compared with discourses on different nations, these observations have been understood in relation to theories of nationalism from a sociological point of view.
According to the interpretation presented in this thesis the EU is legitimized by a new national style through a reformulation of assumptions inherent in the genre of nationalism. This national style would imply that the member states’ Gemeinschaft should be realised within the EU’s widening Gesellschaft. The interpretation put forward here serves as a reminder of the assumptions historically connected with the passport. At the same time the interpretation considers the reformulation of these assumptions in relation to undeniable social and cultural changes.
Department/s
Publishing year
2013
Language
Swedish
Publication/Series
Lund Dissertations in Sociology
Volume
105
Full text
Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Lund University
Topic
- Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
Keywords
- EU
- Europeanization
- passport
- external borders
- banal nationalism
- spectacular nationalism
- Gemeinschaft
- Gesellschaft
Status
Published
Supervisor
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1102-4712
- ISBN: 91-7267-356-7
Defence date
20 September 2013
Defence time
13:15
Defence place
Kulturens Auditorium, Tegnérsplatsen, Lund
Opponent
- Lars Dahlgren (Professor)