Final Activity Report Summary - SICKLE AND CRESCENT (Study of Two Significant Others (...). The Cases of Eastern European Communism in the 1950s (Sickle) and Islamism (Crescent) in Recent Years)
This project resulted in a series of paper presentations in 11 international conferences, five of which were to be published in peer-reviewed journals and three as chapters in edited volumes. Some of the deliverables were already published or online by the time of the project completion, while more papers were due in the months following this threshold. The findings were therefore available to the scientific community and their quality was checked through the blind peer-review process. In the months succeeding the research completion, and apart from the material which was accumulated through archival work, analysis of official documents of the European Union, media analysis and textbook analysis, I had planned to work on integrating the different chapters and elements of the research into one single book.
In terms of findings and achievements, I would like to insist on the fact that most histories of Europe were inside-out, i.e. they told the story of the emergence, ripening and expansion of the European project from its source and the insiders perspective. In this sense, the others of Europe often did not figure in the narrative of European construction. This research drew attention to the others of Europe in different times and places and sought to embed the other in narratives of Europe. External others had indeed a serious impact in the negotiation of a common political identity that was carried forward by Europe and one should seriously take them into account, because what was at stake was also the political recognition of the internal others inside Europe, such as western communist parties during the 1950s and Muslim minorities nowadays. It was also about the creation of a common narrative of Europe that was more inclusive and attentive to its internal diversity and its own societal changes.
In terms of findings and achievements, I would like to insist on the fact that most histories of Europe were inside-out, i.e. they told the story of the emergence, ripening and expansion of the European project from its source and the insiders perspective. In this sense, the others of Europe often did not figure in the narrative of European construction. This research drew attention to the others of Europe in different times and places and sought to embed the other in narratives of Europe. External others had indeed a serious impact in the negotiation of a common political identity that was carried forward by Europe and one should seriously take them into account, because what was at stake was also the political recognition of the internal others inside Europe, such as western communist parties during the 1950s and Muslim minorities nowadays. It was also about the creation of a common narrative of Europe that was more inclusive and attentive to its internal diversity and its own societal changes.