Uses of the Other : "The East" in European Identity Formation

In the wake of the Cold War, European identities are up for grabs.

Identity formation is an integral and tangible aspect of contemporary European politics.

Drawing on an array of approaches, the author investigates empirically how six national, regional and "all-European" identities involve the exclusion of "the East".

The focus is on how identities are being renegotiated in practice.

The readings of how Europe is constituted by its discourse on Turkey and Russia respectively argue that European identity of marked by these exclusions.

The exclusions are part of the preconditions for action which are undertaken in political forums where European identity is seen as relevant, such as the debates about NATO and EU enlargement.

Readings of regional discourses constituting repectively Northern and Central Europe argue that the politics of these regions serve to exclude those living further East.

The two readings of Bashkir and Russian discourse demonstrate how the self/other nexus may be used as a springboard for analyzing national identities.

The conclusion addresses the question of how far our present theoretical approaches may take us.