Uneven and combined. A historical sociological approach to the European collective identity crisis

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyse the current EU crisis from the perspective of international historical sociology. By re-reading Jenö Szücs' essay 'The Three Historical Regions of Europe' [1983] through the lens of the concept of 'uneven and combined development' [Rosenberg 2016], I argue that the countries that have assumed a prominent role in the EU as part of the Visegrád 4 coalition, have been shaped by two hegemonic powers to the East and West respectively. Supplementing the concept of uneven and combined development with a constructivist understanding of state identity, interest and action, I argue that the V4 cooperation is an act of emancipation from the East-Central European region against a perceived Western hegemony, triggered by the multi-level European crisis.