Constitutional Identity as Competing Historically Driven Narratives

This chapter argues against the legal unified and essentialised concept of national constitutional identity which is frequently constructed by the scholars of European Law and Constitutional Law. Instead, a pluralist, de-constructivist and de-essentialised concept of national constitutional identity is advocated. Relying on interdisciplinarity, especially on critical historical studies, constructivist sociology, and psychosociology, I understand national constitutional identity as a plurality of perpetually diverging and historically driven narratives constructed by particular social actors. Undertaking a special survey of Central and Eastern Europe, I shall highlight that the contemporary Hungarian national constitutional identity should not be equated with the illiberal identitarian narrative enshrined in the constitutional text and preached by the politicians in power, while the Romanian national constitutional identity should not be equated with the liberal-civic identitarian narrative which seems to be dominant nowadays.