Does the European Identity Really Exist? An Analysis of the European Unity Value Foundations in the Case of Its Mediatory Role in The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Abstract

As the issues of cultural identity (a hidden code that shapes cultural identity of states or supranational organisations) in the context of international actors’ attitudes and world politics as such are topical, it is necessary to analyze specific indicators of such codes and behavior patterns. The tensions between the real attitudes manifested in foreign policy and the values declared in official documents prevent the formation of a single cultural identity, but shed light on real policy drivers. The article deals with the features of cultural identity as a phenomenon in international relations in the particular case of the European Union’s value orientations, indicated in official documents, and the EU foreign policy when mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As now the EU single cultural space faces internal crisis, it is legitimate to raise the issue of whether single European culture or common European values exist. A particular axiological analysis of EU Common Foreign and Security Policy in the Middle East, of both actions and declarations in the abovementioned peace talks shall contribute to the research. In this context, a passive role of the European Union in such a complex conflict as the Palestinian-Israeli one demonstrates the peculiarities of internal processes in the EU. This allows us to conclude whether the cultural identity of the European Union is real, or whether the EU is a legal fiction, an artificial union of different national identities.

Keywords

• philosophy of culture
• cultural identity
• european values
• eu foreign policy
• the palestinian-israeli conflict