Abstract
Perceptions of identity are formed by means of oppositional thinking, by contrasting the Self with the Other. The British are not French, the French are not German. The case of Britain is special in that the Other can also be Europe. The Europeans are either viewed en masse as non-British, or one nation is made to represent Europe as a whole. The pervasiveness of these perceptions is illustrated in a brief discussion of British historiography. It is no longer widely acceptable to treat Europe as a single identity to be contrasted to Britain, yet the custom proves so strong that it even acts upon modern studies purporting to want to break the mould.
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© 2015 Menno Spiering
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Spiering, M. (2015). The European Other. In: A Cultural History of British Euroscepticism. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137447555_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137447555_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49623-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-44755-5
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