Ryby vz. národná identita: Konštruktivistický pohľad na vzťah Islandu a Európskej únie
National Identity: Iceland and the EU from Constructivist Point of View

Summary/Abstract: Fish vs. National Identity: Iceland and the EU from Constructivist Point of View. In this article is author looking for alternative explanation, why is Iceland still not a member of the European Union. He argues that traditional arguments like dependency on fish export or economic reasons in general are no more valid and cannot fully explain Icelandic reluctance towards the EU. Iceland has changed and so did European Union. Export (and therefore also importance) of fish, as the main constraint on the way towards membership, decreased, but reluctance stayed the same. Therefore author assumes that we have to examine also other factors, for instance traditions, norms, values or elites to get the whole picture. Author is using two theoretical approaches to support his assumptions. He claims that rational choice neoinstitutionalism is a useful theory, but it is also convenient to use constructivist approach, which can explain also phenomena like traditions, norms, values etc. Author is applying these two approaches on the case of Iceland. He finds support for his hypothesis that there are other reasons for Iceland for not taking part in integration into the European Union and those reasons can be explained in constructivist terms. This article has three parts, in first theoretical approaches are examined and in second author is showing, why traditional arguments cannot fully explain Icelandic reluctance towards the EU. Third part examines constructivist arguments and also offers several implications. Sociológia 2008, Vol. 40 (No. 4: 299-325)

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