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Cultural Integration in the European Union - and the future of Sweden's past in Europe

Isaksson, Natali LU (2014) EUHA20 20141
European Studies
Abstract
Cultural integration has been recognized as an inevitable feature in the making of a coherent European Union, and for further approval of systematic integration. The initial cultural policy of the Union was based on normative assumptions and essentialist views on a European civilization. But issues in legitimization made for a more relativistic stance, and since the 70:ies, a more pluralistic approach towards the European cultures has been introduced. The European Heritage Label is a representation of the recent interaction between unity and diversity in cultural integration. Today the cultural politics of the member-states are to become Europeanised, but the decentralized view of the European identity will simultaneously allow for the... (More)
Cultural integration has been recognized as an inevitable feature in the making of a coherent European Union, and for further approval of systematic integration. The initial cultural policy of the Union was based on normative assumptions and essentialist views on a European civilization. But issues in legitimization made for a more relativistic stance, and since the 70:ies, a more pluralistic approach towards the European cultures has been introduced. The European Heritage Label is a representation of the recent interaction between unity and diversity in cultural integration. Today the cultural politics of the member-states are to become Europeanised, but the decentralized view of the European identity will simultaneously allow for the member-states to have larger influence in shaping that process. This leads to the second aspect of my essay, where Europeanisation remains in a tug-of-war between the national and supra-national level, as we can see in the example of Sweden's hesitation to join. One conclusion was that such a decision was the result of diverging self-images between the EU and Sweden, since identity will favor certain heritages over others. The Swedish discourse has favored internationalization over supra-nationalization, and the Nordic geopolitical affinity has yet proven stronger. Sweden has been generous in sharing its cultural heritage to the other member-states, but the question remains on whether Sweden can share it with the European Union. (Less)
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author
Isaksson, Natali LU
supervisor
organization
course
EUHA20 20141
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Cultural integration, identity politics, EU, The European Heritage Label, the Swedish self-image, Europeanisation
language
English
id
4461336
date added to LUP
2014-07-07 11:34:26
date last changed
2015-12-14 13:23:21
@misc{4461336,
  abstract     = {{Cultural integration has been recognized as an inevitable feature in the making of a coherent European Union, and for further approval of systematic integration. The initial cultural policy of the Union was based on normative assumptions and essentialist views on a European civilization. But issues in legitimization made for a more relativistic stance, and since the 70:ies, a more pluralistic approach towards the European cultures has been introduced. The European Heritage Label is a representation of the recent interaction between unity and diversity in cultural integration. Today the cultural politics of the member-states are to become Europeanised, but the decentralized view of the European identity will simultaneously allow for the member-states to have larger influence in shaping that process. This leads to the second aspect of my essay, where Europeanisation remains in a tug-of-war between the national and supra-national level, as we can see in the example of Sweden's hesitation to join. One conclusion was that such a decision was the result of diverging self-images between the EU and Sweden, since identity will favor certain heritages over others. The Swedish discourse has favored internationalization over supra-nationalization, and the Nordic geopolitical affinity has yet proven stronger. Sweden has been generous in sharing its cultural heritage to the other member-states, but the question remains on whether Sweden can share it with the European Union.}},
  author       = {{Isaksson, Natali}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Cultural Integration in the European Union - and the future of Sweden's past in Europe}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}