Prompted by the unification of Europe in 1992 and by recent events inEastern Europe and the Soviet Union, Jacques Derrida begins this compelling essay oncontemporary world politics with the issue of European identity. What, he asks, isEurope? How has Europe traditionally been defined and how is the current worldsituation changing that definition? Might the prospects of a New Europe demand notonly a new definition of European identity but also a new way of thinking identityitself?
Navigating in and through texts of Marx, Husserl, andespecially Val ry, Derrida seeks a redefinition of European identity that includesrespect both for difference and for universal values. The Other Heading appealseloquently for a sustained effort at thinking through the complexity and themultiple dangers and opportunities of the contemporary world situation withoutresorting to easy or hasty solutions.