Island Values: Historical and National Identity in Contemporary EU Discourse in Ireland and the United Kingdom
(2024) EUHK30 20241European Studies
- Abstract
- This thesis examines the connection between Irish and British historical, national identity, and the two countries’ current stance and attitude toward the European Union. It will examine ideas, aims and purposes that have defined Ireland’s and the UK’s respective relationship and attitudes towards the EU from the time of its foundation up until the UK’s exit from the union. The thesis furthermore answers questions about how Ireland’s and the UK’s view on the European Union differ, and how these differentiating views reflect history and identity; both historical and national. After an illustration of the historical and political context, the thesis uses critical discourse analysis, national discourse theory, and theory of EU integration to... (More)
- This thesis examines the connection between Irish and British historical, national identity, and the two countries’ current stance and attitude toward the European Union. It will examine ideas, aims and purposes that have defined Ireland’s and the UK’s respective relationship and attitudes towards the EU from the time of its foundation up until the UK’s exit from the union. The thesis furthermore answers questions about how Ireland’s and the UK’s view on the European Union differ, and how these differentiating views reflect history and identity; both historical and national. After an illustration of the historical and political context, the thesis uses critical discourse analysis, national discourse theory, and theory of EU integration to draw conclusions about current stances toward the EU – in between the years of 2017 and 2022 – as they are manifested in the three Governmental publications “Brexit: Ireland’s Priorities”, “Northern Ireland and Ireland, Position Paper”, and “The benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU”. Subsequently, the discourse in these publications are placed into discussions on: Northern Ireland history and the influence of the EU; the balancing of the EU membership and national identity; modernity in the Irish discourse on the EU; how shared history has led to the different outlooks of Ireland as more internationally inclined and the UK as hesitant to loosen their grip on self-governance; and lastly, how EU integration has been successful in Ireland because of its historical identity, and not equally as successful in the UK because of the inability to negotiate the strong national identity with an EU-identity. The thesis concludes that each countries’ current stance is a reflection of history and identity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9170249
- author
- Sahlin, Astrid LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EUHK30 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Historical identity, Ireland, the UK, National discourse, the European Union, European Studies
- language
- English
- id
- 9170249
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-11 10:10:20
- date last changed
- 2024-09-11 10:10:20
@misc{9170249,
abstract = {{This thesis examines the connection between Irish and British historical, national identity, and the two countries’ current stance and attitude toward the European Union. It will examine ideas, aims and purposes that have defined Ireland’s and the UK’s respective relationship and attitudes towards the EU from the time of its foundation up until the UK’s exit from the union. The thesis furthermore answers questions about how Ireland’s and the UK’s view on the European Union differ, and how these differentiating views reflect history and identity; both historical and national. After an illustration of the historical and political context, the thesis uses critical discourse analysis, national discourse theory, and theory of EU integration to draw conclusions about current stances toward the EU – in between the years of 2017 and 2022 – as they are manifested in the three Governmental publications “Brexit: Ireland’s Priorities”, “Northern Ireland and Ireland, Position Paper”, and “The benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU”. Subsequently, the discourse in these publications are placed into discussions on: Northern Ireland history and the influence of the EU; the balancing of the EU membership and national identity; modernity in the Irish discourse on the EU; how shared history has led to the different outlooks of Ireland as more internationally inclined and the UK as hesitant to loosen their grip on self-governance; and lastly, how EU integration has been successful in Ireland because of its historical identity, and not equally as successful in the UK because of the inability to negotiate the strong national identity with an EU-identity. The thesis concludes that each countries’ current stance is a reflection of history and identity.}},
author = {{Sahlin, Astrid}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Island Values: Historical and National Identity in Contemporary EU Discourse in Ireland and the United Kingdom}},
year = {{2024}},
}