Chinese Journal of European Studies

The European integration has had a lasting and profound impact on the national identity of Ireland, which provides significant empirical facts for understanding the transformation of a nation-state’s identity in the context of globalization and regional integration. Ireland’s Europeanization process has converged with its quest for the path to modernization, bringing about significant changes to its national identity in the dimensions of statehood, economic model, social governance and foreign relations. Moreover, Brexit has confronted Ireland with another critical historical juncture, which helps the nation abandon its psychological dependence on the UK and which constitutes a potential “constitutional moment” as well as an opportunity to further transform its national identity. Conducting an in-depth interdisciplinary research on this topic could not only help us expand theoretical and empirical research agenda of Europeanization in the field of historical institutionalism, but demonstrate the academic value of both country studies and comparative studies from a broader perspective of European studies and globalisation studies.