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Imagining the European Economy: 'Competitiveness' and the Social Construction of 'Europe' as an Economic Space

Imagining the European Economy: 'Competitiveness' and the Social Construction of... New Political Economy, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2002 Imagining the European Economy: ‘Competitiveness’ and the Social Construction of ‘Europe’ as an Economic Space BEN ROSAMOND It is not uncommon to argue that ‘the notion of Europe as a continent is a social construction’. The concern of this article, however, is to explore the ways in which ‘Europe’ is imagined in various forms of European Union-level economic policy making. It argues that categories such as ‘the European economy’, ‘European competitiveness’, ‘European industry’ and ‘European rms’ are not self-evident entities, but social constructions. The suggestion is that these elements are somewhat neglected in both (a) studies that seek to discuss the complexities of identity formation around the processes of European integration and (b) work on the changing European political economy more generally. The idea of a self-evident European economic space has become a staple of public and policy discourse. Yet, as this article seeks to show using the particular example of ‘European competitiveness’, the articulation of this idea is a matter of intensive discursive practice. There seems to be considerable weight attached to the assertion of a European economic self as the basis for enhancing the legitimacy of both the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png New Political Economy Taylor & Francis

Imagining the European Economy: 'Competitiveness' and the Social Construction of 'Europe' as an Economic Space

Rosamond, Ben
New Political Economy , Volume 7 (2): 21 – Jul 1, 2002
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References (70)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN
1469-9923
eISSN
1356-3467
DOI
10.1080/13563460220138826
Publisher site
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Abstract

New Political Economy, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2002 Imagining the European Economy: ‘Competitiveness’ and the Social Construction of ‘Europe’ as an Economic Space BEN ROSAMOND It is not uncommon to argue that ‘the notion of Europe as a continent is a social construction’. The concern of this article, however, is to explore the ways in which ‘Europe’ is imagined in various forms of European Union-level economic policy making. It argues that categories such as ‘the European economy’, ‘European competitiveness’, ‘European industry’ and ‘European rms’ are not self-evident entities, but social constructions. The suggestion is that these elements are somewhat neglected in both (a) studies that seek to discuss the complexities of identity formation around the processes of European integration and (b) work on the changing European political economy more generally. The idea of a self-evident European economic space has become a staple of public and policy discourse. Yet, as this article seeks to show using the particular example of ‘European competitiveness’, the articulation of this idea is a matter of intensive discursive practice. There seems to be considerable weight attached to the assertion of a European economic self as the basis for enhancing the legitimacy of both the

Journal

New Political Economy – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jul 1, 2002

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