European Identity and Loyalty to the Nation: A Feasible Settlement

• Published in: Revista española de ciencia política no. 12; pp. 99 - 127
• Main Author: Ruiz Jimenez, Antonia Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: 01.04.2005
• Subjects: European Union; National Identity; Nationalism; United Nations
• ISSN: 1575-6548

In this article I empirically test three of the most significant theories about the emergence of a European identity. The three approaches considered here are, respectively: first, a "cultural" theory, which understands identities as being based on ethno-cultural factors generated through a long-term (historical) process; second, an "instrumental" theory, which conceives of identities as being based on self-interested calculation (whether economic or political); & a third "civic" theory, which understands identities as being based on agreement over rules for peaceful political co-existence. I also pay attention to a general common preoccupation, within these theories: the relation between citizens' European & national identities. The empirical test of these theories exploits Eurobarometer data. In recent years, many researchers have become increasingly dissatisfied with the way these surveys poll attitudes towards the EU. The article contributes to this debate by designing special new questions to measure national & European identities which were included in Eurobarometer 57.2 & are used here for this analysis. The results provide only partial support for the theories mentioned above. None of them is completely correct, although some parts apply either to the national or the supra-national level. The article points also to the factors that make national & European identities compatible (or inclusive), & the factors that explain why these two identities are more compatible in some countries than in others. Tables, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.