Political Identity; Using the Moreno Scale to measure identities Alistair Cole

What is Political Identity? Has Identity been ‘murdered’? Is it useless ‘scientifically’. The phrase identity does not refer to an objective phenomenon and there is no agreed meaning. The meaning of identity has evolved, indeed been misused. Identity started off as meaning sameness of two objects, in the sense of identical. It then evolved to mean the continuity of an individual personality. By extension, identity has been used in a metaphorical sense to signify a broader use; social identity, collective identity, where the social or collective is given an individual personality. ‘ The phrase is a metaphor, moving from individual to collective’. Other derived uses include to identity with, legal identity, shared identity. ‘The phrase political identity has been so widely used that it has become devalued’. There has been a slide from personal identity, to identification with, to common sense of identity to larger national identity’.

Identity and the social sciences Cultural anthropologists, such as Margaret Mead writing in the 1920s, assumed that each culture was unique, consistent and binding. Individual identity could not be comprehended outside of a collectivity. Cultural identity theorists became tared with the brush of ‘national character’. For psychologists, such as Erikson, identity played out within an individual personality. Sociologists (Goffmann), identity was only comprehensible in a social - group - context, since identity was shaped by interactionism. For Goffmann ‘the individual exists only in situations of social interaction’.

A Compound meaning Whatever its initial meaning, identity has a compound sense; identity can be personal, social, or collective. In practice these levels interact and are mutally entangled. Political identity can be understood as ‘common purpose’, as an entity that persists through time. Collective forms of political identity are class, race, religion and nation. In most cases, a rheotoric of identity strengthens - or otherwise - the cohesion of a group.

Multiple identities and metaphors Identities can be multiple; indeed individuals will have several identities, limiting the impact of any specific identity. They can be mutually reinforcing, or cross cutting We tend to understand identity as common purpose, something that persists through time. It consists of a combination of myths, symbols, rituals and ideology. Myths: the founding images of groups, nations, social groups, regions…. Symbols, such as flags, signs, language; rituals: especially understood in a political sense; ideology; coherent patterns of belief.

What is the Moreno scale? The Moreno identity scale was initially developed as a means of mapping the revival of ethno-territorial identities in the union states of Spain and the United Kingdom. The Moreno ‘question’ measures dual identities through asking respondents how they combine their ‘ethno-territorial’ (regional) and their ‘civic state’ (national) identities. Logically, this measure only makes sense where there are overlapping identities.

Minority nationalism As well as a precise survey-based method, the Moreno scale rests upon a precise thesis about the evolution of contemporary European societies. Rather than withering away, as predicted by modernistic social science, minority nationalism has emerged as a powerful force across Europe. There has been a revival of ethno-territorial identities and a challenge to the centralist model of the unitary state Moreno (2006) and McEwen and Moreno (2005) contrast majority (civic) and minority (ethnic) nationalism. In the prevalent model of civic nationalism, a predominant ethnic group forged a state and unified a ‘nation’. Moreno (2003) insists that nations were built by core hegemonic groups, such as the Piedmontese in Italy, the English in Britain, the Castilians in Spain, the Franks in France, the Prussians in Germany and the Walloons in Belgium. None of these states could completely eradicate forms of minority nationalism, however, which periodically reasserted itself to express pre-state identities. Minority, or ethnic nationalism, has been revived across Europe. It challenges the belief citizens should have only one - civic - identity and should interact in a neutral public sphere. Minority nationalists challenge the claim of the state to govern in the name of ‘one people’ and seek to shift loyalties from the civil state to the sub-state level.

Lesser Used languages as sources of identity There is a strong argument that recent moves to more differentiated forms of regional and local governance are likely to encourage linguistic pluralism (see, for example, Keating, Loughlin and Deschouwer, 2003). In countries such as Spain, Belgium and Italy, the move to enhanced regional self-consciousness in the 1980s and 1990s was associated with a rediscovery of the value of lesser-used languages and cultures and the adoption of new policy instruments to plan language revival. In the age of ‘think global, act local’, language can exercise a useful signalling function, demonstrating clearly the distinctiveness and value-added identity of specific regions.

Some examples Catalonia, Basque country, Galicia: ability to speak the ‘regional’ language essential for self-promotion Ireland: Gaelic speakers 2-3% of the population, but mastery essential for higher office Wales: Welsh Language Act (1993) introduces bilingualism

The Welsh Language: Identity, institutions In broad socio-economic terms, Welsh has expanded its usage considerably in the past two decades and the language is now used widely in education, the media, leisure and selected public services. Language survey data suggests that social context, family language transmission and exposure to formal bilingual education are the key factors in language reproduction. In the case of Wales, community and family are less powerful agents of language reproduction than they were previously, but formal bilingual education and language planning has slowed the rate of absolute decline. Analysis of family/household composition patterns by Aitchison and Carter (1997) show that an extremely high proportion of Welsh speakers is linguistically isolated within their home environments. Many communities of the northern and western heartland seem to be fragmenting irretrievably, threatening the transmission of the Welsh language. Welsh is not secure as a community language despite its official status.

Multiple identities Though civic and ethnic nationalism are often in conflict, the core of Moreno’s argument is that modern states have witnessed the emergence of multiple identities. There is evidence that ‘citizens in advanced liberal democracies seem to reconcile supranational, state and local identities, which both majority and minority nationalisms often tend to polarise in a conflicting manner’ (McEwen and Moreno, 2005: 22).

Constructing Identities Moreno emphasizes the constructivist dimension of identity building: ultimately, individuals choose between varying identity markers. He develops an ideal-type against which to measure ethno- territorial identities. Ethno-territorial identities reflect themselves in sub-state political institutions, distinctive party systems, language rights movements and cultural traditions and specific forms of elite accommodation.

Polling Identities At the heart of the Moreno method is the empirical investigation of dual identities in territories where there are overlapping loyalties. Brittany and Wales were identified as potentially comprising such territories and two polling organisations were commissioned to carry out parallel surveys in June 2001

The ‘Moreno’ Identity Scale for Wales Do you consider yourself... Welsh, not British 20 More Welsh than British 17 Equally Welsh and British 35 More British than Welsh 22 British, not Welsh 6 Don’t know 2

Identities and Institutions There is a debate today in Wales on the future of Devolution. Which one of the following options do you prefer ? Abolish the National Assembly for Wales 24% Retain a National Assembly with limited powers 24% Create an elected parliament with tax-raising and legislative powers 38% An independent Wales 11% Don’t Know 3%

Identity and Institutions cross tabulated Those with an exclusive sense of Welsh identity (17%) are more favourable to independence than any other group (26%) Those with a primary sense of Welsh identity (17% +20%, the first two positions, i.e. Welsh not British, more Welsh than British) are more favourable to either independence, or a Parliament with tax- varying and legislative powers. The starkly opposed positions in relation to identity and institutional preferences suggest that opinion in Wales was divided about institutional futures. Even those with an exclusive sense of Welsh identity, however, are reluctant to espouse the solution of full independence. Brittany: number of exclusive identity Bretons too weak to measure meaningfully the link with political independence

Identity and electoral choice Amongst those with an exclusive sense of Welsh identity, preferences were evenly split between Labour and Plaid Cymru, with the other parties registering virtually no support. Those considering themselves as more Welsh than British also divided their support mainly between Labour and Plaid Cymru. While Labour maintained its support in all identity configurations, support for Plaid Cymru steeply declined amongst those considering themselves as equally or more British than Welsh. Conversely, the Conservatives were supported by those with a primary or exclusive sense of British identity. From this indicative survey, Labour appeared as the pivotal party in Wales, able to appeal across the entire identity spectrum. Plaid Cymru support is limited to those who identify themselves primarily as Welsh; Conservative support is confined to those identifying themselves mainly as British. The Liberal Democrats can also mobilise across electorates, but from a much weaker numeric base.