Revista Română de Sociologie (Apr 2009)
The Romanian Identity in the Context of Trend-setting Modernity
Abstract
This work deals with national identity, a very important national dimension in the context of European integration. The first part of this article comprises a review of ideas on identity in order to point out, on the one hand, the variety of views on national identity, and, on the other, the significance of this indisputable problem for the theoreticians and actors of the European construction. The last two parts of this work propose an approach to Romanian identity. The Romanian identity is investigated from the point of view of the national character.National character determines, via individual behavior, a certain individuality of a national group, and reflects the personality of a nation. It is precisely these distinctive features that make up Romanian identity. We are dealing with the relationship between Romanian identity and the modern development of Romanian society. We try to support with arguments the idea that Romanian identity cannot be understood in a different way than as a process deriving from the historical and cultural evolution of Romanians, from a certain type of modernity, i.e. a trend-setting modernity.
