"Get Back to Where You Once Belonged": Identity, Citizenship, and Exclusion in Europe

Abstract

The symbols of statehood of the European Union (EU) are increasingly prominent across Europe. The EU flag is displayed widely. The EU Parliament not only has been established but subsequently has enlarged its power. ¹ Legislative, judicial, and executive activity is extensive. Union citizenship is now available for the peoples of member states. Furthermore, [End Page 592] the prospect of a common currency, as well as an internal market, promise to actualize in the near future. ² The exponential increase in cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights (European Court), a pan-European institution, indicates the collective recognition of a European jurisdiction and further adds to the semblance of statehood. However, these powerful indicators of supranational cohesion belie urgent and contested questions of belonging and inclusion within the new European polity. Such questions relate to territorial boundaries, cultural attributes, legal rights, and the various fora in which a line between Europe and non-Europe, or Europeans and non-Europeans, is drawn. This article purposes to explore some of these contested dividing lines.