Еffects of the Socialization Process on Europeanization of EU Member States' National Identities

The author of this article seeks to explain Europeanization of EU Member States’ national identities in the European integration process from a perspective of social constructivism. According to this approach, interests are not exogenous and immutable, but endogenous ones, because they are product of ideational structure and social interaction. Social constructivism insists on the importance of socialization process, which gradually changes identity and interests of member states. The article is divided into two parts. In the first part, the author discusses basic features of social constructivism, and clarifies the concept of socialization, which is understood as a process of inducting actors into the norms and rules of the community. In the second part, the author explains the Europeanization of EU Member states’ identity under the influence of socialization process. The author concludes that through the process of interaction and practice structures are formed that influence behaviour and create identities