Building Europe The Cultural Politics of European Integration

The EU today seeks to forge ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe and to lay the foundations for a new system of government that will supersede the nation-state. But corruption scandals in Brussels and declining public support for European institutions highlight serious deficiencies, and reveal a corrosive lack of democracy and accountability. In the search for solutions, the EU has increasingly turned to cultural action. However, can a European identity be developed to underpin the integration process and lend cultural legitimacy to the EUs institutions and ideals? Is ever-closer union compatible with democratic self rule? What sort of political entity is the EU creating? Building Europe details the attempts of EU elites to use culture as a tool for forging a sense of cohesion and belonging among Europeans - from invented Euro-symbols and statistics to European citizenship and the single currency. Unprecedented first-hand insights into the organisational culture of the European CommissioShore, Cris is the author of 'Building Europe The Cultural Politics of European Integration', published 2000 under ISBN 9780415180153 and ISBN 0415180155.