Politics Of Becoming European, The

Description: This book examines the relations between security, identity and collective memory by focusing on the dynamics of identity formation among the elites of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in relation to security and foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. Drawing on the idea of Orientalism, Malksoo explores how a state can become European. She assesses the attitudes of these four states and their desire to be seen as, and to act as, 'proper' Europeans by examining key issues, including relations with Western Europe, Russia, and the United States (US), as well as the war in Iraq. Malksoo argues that despite entering 'institutional Europe', Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have been constructed as 'not quite European' by the dominant and long-standing Western European narrative and that this construction has fundamentally shaped security and foreign policy discourse over the last twenty years. "The Politics of Becoming European" makes an important contribution to the rethinking of Europe's eastern enlargement through a prism of postcolonial critique of the prevailing Orientalism of the EU-studies. It will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, international relations theory, European politics and critical security studies.

Contents: 1. The Politics of Becoming European 2. Dialogical Understanding of Collective Identity Formation 3. Liminality in the Politics of Becoming 4. 'Becoming European' As Identity Politics: Europe and Old and New 5. The Memory Politics of Becoming European: The East European Subalterns And the Collective Memory of Europe 6. The 'Carnival' of Iraq as the Meeting Point for Identity, Memory and Security Politics of Becoming European 7. Conclusion: How We Become What we are