Introduction: Democratization, Collective Identity Formation, and the EU Enlargement

The chapter attempts to clarify the concept of collective identity and its intrinsic relationship to democracy. Further on, there arediscussed possible configurations of democracy in the European Union that give expression to different national, supra-national, or post-national identitarian projects (the so-called three RECON models). Finally, it outlines the contributions of the volume and shows exemplary ways how to apply collective identity research to the process of the EU enlargement and accession of Central and Eastern European (CEE) states.