Identity and Solidarity in Foreign Policy: Investigating East Central European Relations with the Eastern Neighbourhood
Résumé
The core idea of this special issue is to investigate the link between identity and solidarity in the foreign policy of members of the European Union (EU).1 The term ‘identity’ has various definitions in external relations. In a classical way, one may state that ‘nationhood and national identity represent necessary myths which underpin foreign policy. They constitute the distinction between the “national community” which the government represents abroad and the foreigners with whom it deals’ (Wallace, 1991: 66). In a constructivist understanding, the self is thus defined in relation to a specific other. Therefore, identity is not given; it is considered as the process of self-identification of the individuals in a group (Bloom, 1990) or an
‘imagined community’ (Anderson, 1983). In this vein, solidarity represents one of the forms of expression of foreign policy identities. Like the self, it is subject to relative evolution and redefinition.
