Sanja Ivic – författare

This book uses a theoretical and empirical approach to explore the philosophies of European citizenship and European identity.

The Concept of European Values: Creating a New Narrative for Europe offers a philosophical analysis of the concept of European values from its origin to the present day. This book rethinks European values in light of the crises—economic, political, migration, identity, and pandemic—that the European Union (EU) has faced from 2008 until today and analyzes EU initiatives to create a new narrative for Europe. Sanja Ivic reexamines the concept of European values as well as the philosophical and political assumptions on which this concept is based. In times of crisis, the EU has shown a lack of solidarity. As evidenced by Brexit, the migration crisis, and the pandemic crisis, the EU is experiencing a clash of national and postnational norms and values. Ivic argues that the EU did not react in accordance with the supranational values and principles on which it is based, as stated in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union: respect for democracy, human dignity, freedom, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Its reaction to these crises shows a turn from postnational values (which the EU advocated as a supranational political community) to nationalist paradigms.

This book explores Western and non-Western conceptions of human dignity and human rights in order to demonstrate the hermeneutical nature of the concepts of human dignity and human rights, discussing examples of violations in Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, the EU, and the Western Balkans. While human rights are considered a universal framework for ensuring the dignity, rights, and freedoms of all human beings, their conceptualization and practice vary within different cultural, social, and philosophical traditions. While the Western tradition emphasizes the concept of inherent human dignity combined with an individualistic notion of autonomy and rights, in Islamic thought it is underpinned by morality and combined with duties and divine guidance, and the Confucian approach focuses on the harmony of society and relational ethics. The concepts of human dignity and human rights are contingent and dynamic categories, which means that they are open to different interpretations. Sanja Ivic also highlights the relevance of philosophical hermeneutics for legal and political studies. Drawing on the hermeneutical (interpretative) nature of human rights, this book explores different philosophical solutions to achieving a global consensus on human rights, engaging with thinkers such as Hans-Georg Gadamer, John Rawls, Charles Taylor, Gianni Vattimo, Onuma Yasuaki, and Dimitrije Mitrinovic.