{"id":1272,"date":"2019-03-07T08:28:46","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T08:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/doing\/?p=1272"},"modified":"2019-03-07T08:28:53","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T08:28:53","slug":"project-proposal-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/doing\/2019\/03\/07\/project-proposal-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Proposal: EU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Research Question:<\/strong>  To what extent\ndo supranational organisations impact individual identity in the case of the\nEuropean Union (EU)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Thesis <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    While EU citizens\nidentify themselves as Europeans, they foremost<\/strong> identify with their national\nroots<\/strong>. However, all Europeans share an identifying economic, social and\npolitical congruency that helps create a sense of comradery that transcends\nborders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Historical Relevance  <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Dating back to\nBohemia in the 20th<\/sup> century, the concept\nof the European identity has continually tormented historians. With the rise of\nsupranational[1]<\/a>\norganisations such as the EU, the question of European identity becomes\nincreasingly more urgent. Historical events such as the Brexit vote of 2016,\nand possibility of Turkey joining the EU, have kept the question of European\nidentity relevant<\/strong>, and an ongoing debate. For this reason, this project\nproves a key tool in evaluating theprogression of the EU from its\ncreation to the present, and the tremendous impact<\/strong> it continues to have\non individual lives<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Methodology<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        In order to add an\nhistorical time frame to the question of European identity, this project will give\na brief summary of the EU, beginning with the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. With this\nbackground explained, this project will then critically assess the concept of individual\nEuropean identity. This will be accomplished by examining the case studies<\/strong> of two nations: Spain and Hungary<\/strong>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Before delving into\nthis analysis, the concept of \u2018identity\u2019 needs to be investigated.\nHistoriography for years has been met with the challenge of producing an\nefficient way to measure identity. While this project does not claim to settle\nthe methodological debate of how to measure identity, it does attempt to add to\nthe conversation. In terms of this project, identity will be analysed through\nthe change in political, economic, and social policies and assessing how these\nchanges affected Europeans. This will be done by explaining how national policies<\/strong> were enforced prior to the EU<\/strong> and compare<\/strong> how policies were enforced after <\/strong>the creation of the EU<\/strong>. For example, when joining the EU, many\ncountries forfeited their national sovereignty in terms of conforming to the\nlaws of the newly created European Economic Community (EEC). This EEC created\ncongruent economic, political, and legal policies, historically altering the\nfuture of Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        This project will then\nflesh out the concept of the \u201cEuropean identity\u201d using two case studies: Spain and Hungary<\/strong>. The case study of\nSpain was chosen to represent the Mediterranean member states within the EU,\nholding a polar-opposite history to that of Eastern European members such as\nHungary. Being part of Eastern Europe, Hungary has unique communist ties that\nset it apart historically from many EU member states, deeming it an interesting\ncase study. First, Spain will be\nexamined, explaining the shift in Spanish policies before the creation of the\nEU in 1992 and after the creation of the EU. Next, the same exercise will be\ndone with Hungary. It should be noted that by choosing such distinct member\nstates, this project will ground its conclusion on the extreme contrast<\/strong> between Spanish and Hungarian history. This is\ndone to show the tremendous difference in policy changes within Spain and Hungary\npre-EU and EU. By arguing from extremes, this project has the ability to clearly show<\/strong> how these policy changes altered the day-to-day lives<\/strong> of Spanish\nand Hungarian citizens. The divergences between the effect of EU policies\nwithin Spain and Hungary give rise to the conclusion that while member states\nare bound by shared policies, citizens chiefly consider themselves Spanish or Hungarian before European.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Practical Considerations <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Though measuring\nidentity by critically assessing policy changes<\/strong>, is a supported and\nrecommended practice by academics such as Antje Wiener and Thomas Dietz, there\nremains resistance to this method of analysis. It can be argued that policy\nchanges merely generalise the impact on individual lives, and could overly\nmarginalise the effects of certain policies. For example, most EU member states\nbenefited from the creation of the Euro, creating a more stable economy for EU\ncitizens. However, this statement is a generalisation, as some citizens may\nhave felt constrained by this new currency rather than liberated. Therefore,\nthis project acknowledges that some individuals\u2019 opinions may be overlooked in\nthe critical analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Additionally, due to\nthe constraints in word limit, this project will only look at two case studies.\nWhile this will provide in-depth examples, it will concurrently only use two\nmember states to prop up its argument. Though this gives the reader a unique\nmicro-history of two EU member states, it is notably an incomplete account of\nthe full European identity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Primary Sources:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n