Europe’s identity as the West fused internal cohesion with opposition to external worlds.

Evidence

But in the Age of Exploration and Conquest, Europe began to define itself in relation to a new idea—the existence of many new “worlds,” profoundly different from itself. The two processes—growing internal cohesion and the conflicts and contrasts with external worlds—reinforced each other, helping to forge that new sense of identity that we call “the West.” — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 565

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘reinforcing processes’ mirror the double constitution of European identity (internal cohesion + external Other) that the Islamophobia field builds on.