The Eurovision Song Contest has, since its establishment in 1956, became a forum for European interaction and space where European identity is defined and performed. Participating states are...Show moreThe Eurovision Song Contest has, since its establishment in 1956, became a forum for European interaction and space where European identity is defined and performed. Participating states are expected to embrace the established shared norms and values, while presenting their cultural identity to a global audience. Examining Eurovision through mega-events theory, this thesis will answer: how are mega-events utilised by states and their critics to present and disseminate competing narratives on the host state’s identity and right to host? To do so, the 2019 contest in Israel will be examined as a case study to demonstrate how mega-events can be instrumentalised by states and critics. In doing so it also explores the dangers inherent in hosting a mega-event. This thesis will conclude that Israel utilised the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019 as an opportunity to present a clear narrative of Israel as a legitimate and worthy member of Eurovision, and by extension Europe, by echoing the values of the contest. However, critics of Israel also utilised the same show to counter this narrative by challenging Israel’s adherence to Eurovision’s values and the ability of Eurovision to uphold its apoliticality when hosted by a controversial state. These competing narratives demonstrate how mega-events create a forum both for hosting states to disseminate their narratives and for critics to counter it, it also demonstrates how the values of a mega-event can be instrumentalised by critics to attack and delegitimate the hosting state.Show less
The idea of a common European identity is formed and influenced by many different factors. Orientalism and internal religious and cultural differences have historically been the main pillars on...Show moreThe idea of a common European identity is formed and influenced by many different factors. Orientalism and internal religious and cultural differences have historically been the main pillars on which the concept of Europe was founded. However, these foundations seem outdated within the modern framework, arguably to be seen in recent crises such as the Eurozone crisis, rising nationalist tendencies and a decreasing sense of European solidarity. Therefore, this essay explores the possibility of a reimagination of the European identity in such a way that it can cope better with the challenges modern Europe faces. To this end, the first part of the essay will investigate the historical foundation on which current European identity is based, and the limits this identification has. After which, the essay explores both Charles Taylors concept of the politics of recognition – a communitarian multicultural identity politics – and Francis Fukuyama’s model of a liberal democratic identity politics. While a ‘perfect fit’ model to reimagine European identity lays far beyond the scope of this enquiry, the third chapter shall conclude with lessons that can be learned from the Fukuyaman and Tayloresque models to reimagine the European identity.Show less
The political history and lived experience of Russians in the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia plausibly constitutes an historic example of civic Othering. The hybrid, multi-layered identities...Show moreThe political history and lived experience of Russians in the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia plausibly constitutes an historic example of civic Othering. The hybrid, multi-layered identities and subjective perceptions of nationality amongst these communities have been covered by academic research. At the same time, Latvia and Estonia have engaged in the political dialogue of ‘Europeanization’ as Member States of the European Union, as part of a top-down process to understand and, at times, promote a common ‘European identity’, which has also been frequent analyzed and discussed in academic literature. While both these aspects of research have been extensive, there has been less contemporary investigation at their crossroads: European identity amongst Russians in Estonia and Latvia. This paper performs a ‘research synthesis’ type of meta-analysis on academic and policy papers to shed light on this potential gap between academic literature and policy research. Its conclusions have implications for researchers and practitioners of both kinds, as well as grounds to consider the gap as a form of ‘methodological Othering’ itself.Show less
