Are the European Union and Europe a “Community of Values”? Socio-scientific reflections with special consideration of Southeastern Europe

Abstract

This study is focused on the question of whether Europe, including Southeastern Europe, and the European Union can be understood as a "Community of Values." The article thus proceeds to explain the concept of cultural values and the special significance of value systems. This is accomplished by firstly outlining the important social manifestations relating values and value systems to behavior, namely social norms, socio-moral belief systems, institutional orders, collective concepts of identity, and aesthetic orientations and standards. Subsequently, the analysis proceeds with a deepened empirical discussion of the central question regarding the relationship between legal institutions and aesthetic values. In so doing, we attempt to balance extant common value foundations in the European cultural area and in the EU with indubitably significant differences in culture-specific values.