In the 1990s, moves towards federalism within the European Union, and the political transition since the collapse of Communism had given rise to a number of developments, such as the resurgence of nationalism and the creation of new nations and alliances which European populations were asked to identify with. These changes posed a number of challenges for social psychology, and provided a highly topical and relevant context for exploring the validity, and extending the limits, of current theories.
In this book, originally published in 1996, reissued here with a new preface, a group of predominantly European academics explore these issues and challenges – primarily through different versions of social identity theory, but also through alternative models such as alienation theory and representational identity theory. This range of approaches made Changing European Identities an extremely useful text for undergraduate and research students, academics and professionals in social psychology at the time. It also provided a valuable and new perspective on people’s reactions to change in Europe for a wide range of social and political scientists and analysts. Today it can be read in its historical perspective.
In this book, originally published in 1996, a group of predominantly European academics explore the issues and challenges for social psychology of a new emerging Europe – primarily through different versions of social identity theory, but also through alternative models such as alienation theory and representational identity theory.
List of Contributors. New Preface Part One: Towards a Social
Psychological Analysis of Social Change in Europe
1. Changing European
Identities and Social Change in Europe: A Challenge for Social Psychology
Evanthia Lyons and Glynis M. Breakwell
2. Identity Processes and Social
Changes Glynis M. Breakwell Part Two: Changing National Identities?
3. Coping
with Social Change: Processes of Social Memory in the Reconstruction of
Identities Evanthia Lyons
4. Unimagined Community? Some Social Psychological
Issues Concerning English National Identity Susan Condor
5. The Construction
of Social Categories and Processes of Social Change: Arguing about National
Identities Nick Hopkins and Steve Reicher
6. Ascribed Identities and the
Social Identity Space: An Ego/Ecological Analysis Marisa Zavalloni
7. Spanish
International Orientations: Between Europe and Iberoamerica José R.
Torregrosa
8. Dimensions of Social Identity in Northern Ireland Karen Trew
and Denny E. Benson
9. Cultural-Political Differences in Perception of Ethnic
Concepts in Central-Eastern and Western Europe Viera Bacova and Patricia
Ellis
10. Changing Social Identities of the Bulgarians Velina Topalova
11.
Nationalism as an International Ideology: Imagining the Nation, Others and
the World of Nations Michael Billig
12. Regional Identity Formation and
Community Integration in the Lega Lombarda Carlo E. Ruzza
13. A Safe European
Home? Global Environmental Change and European National Identities Jonathan
Chase
14. Vietnamese Refugees in Finland Changing Cultural Identity Karmela
Liebkind
15. Migrant Identities in Conflict: Acculturation Attitudes and
Perceived Acculturation Ideologies Gabriel Horenczyk Part Three: Constructing
a European Identity
16. A Social Identity Perspective on European Integration
Marco Cinnirella
17. Social Representations of History and Attitudes to
European Unification in Britain, France and Germany Denis J. Hilton,
Hans-Peter Erb, Mark Dermot and David J. Molian
18. How Group Membership is
Formed: Self Categorisation or Group Beliefs? The Construction of a European
Identity in France and Greece Xenia Chryssochoou
19. Components of Social
Identity or the Achilles Heel of the Field in the Case of the European
Integration? Elisabeth S. Sousa
20. Intergroup Attitudes, Levels of
Identification and Social Change Margarita Sanchez-Mazas
21. English
Childrens Acquisition of a European Identity Martyn Barrett
22. In Search
of the Euro-Manager: Convergences and Divergences in Event Management Peter
B. Smith and Mark Peterson
23. Reality Changes Faster than Research: National
and Supranational Identity in Social Representations of the European
Community in the Context of Changes in International Relations Annamaria
Silvana de Rosa Part Four: Coping with Social Change
24. Social Identity of
East Germans: The Process of Unification between East and West Germany as a
Challenge to Cope with Negative Social Identity Amélie Mummendey, Rosemarie
Mielke, Michael Wenzel and Uwe Kanning
25. Alienation and Social Identity:
The Bringing Together of Two Theoretical Paradigms Mary Horton. Author Index.
Subject Index.
Dame Glynis M. Breakwell is a social psychologist whose work has focussed upon identity (unique and shared), responses to risk and threat (especially in public crises), and the personal and social significance of mistrust and social representation processes. She holds Emeritus Professorships in psychology at the University of Bath and the University of Surrey and is a visiting Professor in the Institute for Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
Evanthia Lyons
