Uses of the Other
“The East” in European Identity Formation
The field of international relations has recently witnessed a tremendous growth of interest in the theme of identity and its formation, construction, and deconstruction. In Uses of the Other, Iver B. Neumann demonstrates how thinking about identity in terms of the self and other may prove highly useful in the study of world politics.
“Uses of the Other illuminates an important political subject, European identity politics, through a variety of theoretical approaches. Iver Neumann’s imaginative insights challenge the reader on every page. This important book will be widely debated by both specialists of international relations theory and European political affairs.” Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University
The field of international relations has recently witnessed a tremendous growth of interest in the theme of identity and its formation, construction, and deconstruction. In Uses of the Other, Iver B. Neumann demonstrates how thinking about identity in terms of the self and other may prove highly useful in the study of world politics.
Neumann begins by tracing the four different paths along which this thinking has developed during this century-ethnographic, psychological, Continental philosophical, and “Eastern excursion”-and he shows how these blended at the margins of the discipline of international relations at the end of the 1980s. There follow several incisive readings of European identity formations on the all-European, regional, and national levels.
The theme that draws these readings together is how “the East” is used as a sign of otherness at all three levels. Whereas previous studies framed this process as part of colonial and postcolonial developments, this book suggests that “Easternness” is also present as a marker in contemporary discourses about Russia, Turkey, Central Europe, and Bashkortostan, among others.
Situating his work in contemporary critical debates, Neumann argues that, while the self/other perspective is always of relevance, it is now more in need of being used as a perspective on specific sequences of identity formation than of further embellishment.
ISBN: 0-8166-3082-8 Cloth $49.95xx
ISBN: 0-8166-3083-6 Paper $19.95x
248 Pages 5-7/8x9 November
Borderlines Series, Volume 9
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“Uses of the Other illuminates an important political subject, European identity politics, through a variety of theoretical approaches. Iver Neumann’s imaginative insights challenge the reader on every page. This important book will be widely debated by both specialists of international relations theory and European political affairs.” Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University
“Iver Neumann asks questions from the perspective and in the language of political science, but his questions need to be addressed by historians as well. This book contains many stimulating insights for the historians of Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Europe in general. It will be read with benefit by those who want to understand how our thinking on current political issues is shaped by historical conceptualizations and interpretations.” Roman Szporluk, Harvard University
“The book is an analysis of how the various identities subsumed under the category of ‘the East’ have been crucial for European identity formation since Europe began to gain political significance. A very interesting read.” Millennium - Journal of International Studies
“Neumann’s work is significant for several reasons, especially the innovative use of a dialogical approach, the variety of source materials, and the wide range of case studies. Uses of the Other furthers our understanding of identity formation in general and European identity formation in particular.” Ethics and International Affairs
Neumann points out controversies, raises innovative questions and masterfully challenges conventional views, and it is precisely here that one finds the main contributions of this book. Uses of the Other points to an unexplored territory in the study of world politics and opens up room for innovation in this discipline.
Slovak Foreign Policy News
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Contents
Preface
1. Uses of the Other in World Politics
2. Making Europe: The Turkish Other
3. Making Europe: The Russian Other
4. Making Regions: Northern Europe
5. Making Regions: Central Europe
6. Making Nations: Russia
7. Making Nations: Bashkortostan
8. Conclusion: Self and Other after the Death of the Sovereign Subject
Notes 2,2
References 2,43
Index 2,67
