<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>European integration is obviously impeded by the national and nation-state idea that is still vigorous and motivates European Union (EU) member states’ refusals to cede powers to the EU or subnational levels. Recent events like the global economic crisis, the Euro crisis, the migration crisis and the coronavirus pandemic have, however, demonstrated that it is not just the national idea and the nation state that appear to seriously hinder further integration, but that fundamental differences in cultural attitudes in different parts of Europe are also responsible. They can be traced back to earlier periods of history and a Europe that consisted of parts with very divergent economic, social and political attitudes. These disparities are difficult to equalize. The article highlights Europe's major cultural differentiation processes in history, hints at their current traces in economic, social and political attitudes and relates those attitudes to problems in European integration.</p>
</abstract>

European integration is obviously impeded by the national and nation-state idea that is still vigorous and motivates European Union (EU) member states’ refusals to cede powers to the EU or subnational levels. Recent events like the global economic crisis, the Euro crisis, the migration crisis and the coronavirus pandemic have, however, demonstrated that it is not just the national idea and the nation state that appear to seriously hinder further integration, but that fundamental differences in cultural attitudes in different parts of Europe are also responsible. They can be traced back to earlier periods of history and a Europe that consisted of parts with very divergent economic, social and political attitudes. These disparities are difficult to equalize. The article highlights Europe's major cultural differentiation processes in history, hints at their current traces in economic, social and political attitudes and relates those attitudes to problems in European integration.

<bold>Europe's cultural diversity</bold> as a problem for European integration

Miscellanea Geographica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

European integration is obviously impeded by the national and nation-state idea that is still vigorous and motivates European Union (EU) member states’...

Europe's cultural diversity as a problem for European integration

Published Online: Jul 04, 2022

Page range: 126 - 135

Received: Oct 06, 2021

Accepted: Feb 22, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2022-0003

Keywords
European integration, European Union, cultural macro-regions, cultural factors, cultural diversity

© 2022 Peter Jordan, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Europe's cultural diversity as a problem for European integration

Published Online: Jul 04, 2022

Page range: 126 - 135

Received: Oct 06, 2021

Accepted: Feb 22, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2022-0003

KeywordsEuropean integration, European Union, cultural macro-regions, cultural factors, cultural diversity

© 2022 Peter Jordan, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
European integration, European Union, cultural macro-regions, cultural factors, cultural diversity