Changing European Identities : Social Psychological Analyses of Social Change

In the 1990s, moves towards federalism within the European Union, and the political transition since the collapse of Communism had given rise to a number of developments, such as the resurgence of nationalism and the creation of new nations and alliances which European populations were asked to identify with. These changes posed a number of challenges for social psychology, and provided a highly topical and relevant context for exploring the validity, and extending the limits, of current theories.

In this book, originally published in 1996, reissued here with a new preface, a group of predominantly European academics explore these issues and challenges – primarily through different versions of social identity theory, but also through alternative models such as alienation theory and representational identity theory. This range of approaches made Changing European Identities an extremely useful text for undergraduate and research students, academics and professionals in social psychology at the time. It also provided a valuable and new perspective on people’s reactions to change in Europe for a wide range of social and political scientists and analysts. Today it can be read in its historical perspective.

Dame Glynis M. Breakwell is a social psychologist whose work has focussed upon identity (unique and shared), responses to risk and threat (especially in public crises), and the personal and social significance of mistrust and social representation processes. She holds Emeritus Professorships in psychology at the University of Bath and the University of Surrey and is a visiting Professor in the Institute for Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

Evanthia Lyons