Review of Europa în context. Identități și practici discursive [Europe in Context. Identities and Discursive Practices] by Camelia BECIU and Nicolae PERPELEA (eds.). Bucharest: Ars Docendi, 2011, 244 pages

Abstract

The book “Europe in Its Context. Identities and Discursive practices” is focused on a rather sensitive subject: Europeanization as a social construct. The key research question is formulated by the two editors – Camelia Beciu and Nicolae Perpelea: “How do institutional and non-institutional actors start to use the European repertoire (e.g. the official terminology, the regulations, various institutional opportunities) as a means of surpassing the expert or political-like approaches?” (p. 7). The authors approach the Europeanization as a vivid academic arena, where various theories and concepts mix in order to create a fertile field of research. Several operational questions play an important role in configuring the authors’ discourse on Europeanization: “What kind of developments would lead to Europeanization processes?” or “How could one analyze the Europeanization of various organizations, institutions, and public spaces?” (p. 10).