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The 'Difference Engine': Constructing and Representing the International Identity of the European Union

Manners, Ian, Whitman, Richard G. (2003) The 'Difference Engine': Constructing and Representing the International Identity of the European Union. Journal of European Public Policy, 10 (3). pp. 380-404. ISSN 1350-1763. (doi:10.1080/1350176032000085360) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:14746)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1350176032000085360

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to develop more fully the notion of the international identity of the European Union (EU) in world politics. We will attempt to balance our previous focus of work on the 'active dimension' of the EU's attempts to 'assert its identity on the international scene' by looking at the 'reflexive dimension' of the EUs international identity from a more sociological perspective. Our article will argue that the distinctive polity perspectives and role representations of the EU can be thought of as a form of 'difference engine' which drives the construction and representation of the EUs international identity. Like Babbage's original difference engine, the EU's international identity is not a multiplier of difference, exaggerating the dissimilarities between the EU and the rest of the world through the generation of a new European supranational identity, but functions on the basis of addition - by adding an international EU element to Europeans' complex and multifaceted identities.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/1350176032000085360
Uncontrolled keywords: construction; difference; European Union; international identity; reflexive; representation
Subjects: J Political Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Suzanne Westhead
Date Deposited: 20 Mar 2009 08:54 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:53 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/14746 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Manners, Ian.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Whitman, Richard G..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9105-4180
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
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