EU Memory Politics in the Context of Understanding Decolonization and a Common European Identity

УДК 323.2 ББК 66.3(0)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the relationship between the processes of Decolonization, the search for strengthening European identity and building a memory policy on the example of the European Union with the aim of identifying problematic and promising points at the current stage of development of the association. The terminological difficulties of using such categories as “memory policy”, “decolonization” and “European identity” and the process of their constant filling with new meanings are shown. Particular attention is paid to the moral aspect of decolonization and the problems of responsibility of the former European metropolises to developing countries, which for a long time were part of their formal and informal empires. It was revealed that the migration crisis of 2014-2016. It became a kind of “break point” in relation to migrants in general and refugees in particular, casting doubt on traditional European values and the willingness of EU countries to resolve the crisis in the spirit of humanitarian assistance and a development philosophy. The interpretation of Decolonization in a number of European countries not only did not end, but also did not begin at the ideological, political and institutional level. Such a situation is determined by the relevance of the considered subjects and their scientific, practical and political significance.