National and EU Identity, Public Opinion & Democracy Markus Thiel, Ph.D. Dept. of Politics and International Relations Florida International University

Introduction Before EU, Europe as birthplace of modern nationalism Europeans today have many commonalities: mixed economy & welfare states common historical determinants common attitudes toward life + ‘Critical junctures’ of the Maastricht Treaty provisions (1992/93): Euro, CFSP, citizenship A dichotomy between EU supporters and opponents visible ( e.g. with rejection of the constitution/Lisbon Treaty, ‘post-Maastricht Blues’ and current ‘identity crisis of the EU’)

Identity as a social concept Diverse and often generalizing, undifferentiated use of theoretical constructs such as collective ID, nation Matters on an individual and group level (Social) identity is essentially a categorization framework made up of sets of comparisons and contrasts used to emphasize distinctions among groups (‘us’ against ‘them’)

Collective identities theorized 2 basic camps regarding the general logic of identity- formation: essentialists & modernists Essentialists/Primordialists (Connor, Smith): Ethnic nationalism as an expression of the eternal and essential constituents of collective identities – sceptical about European Identity Modernists/Constructivists (Anderson, Gellner): emphasize fluidity of ID, social learning & mobilization & theorize civic nationalism as an elite-driven project for nation-building - optimistic about Eur Identity

Theory & Literature  European ID consists of cultural and civic aspects of a pan-European common identification (Bruter)  Cultural aspects/ID recognize(s) the common history and cultural commonalities, though the extent of this is disputed (McCormick) – ‘shared heritage argument’  Civic ID builds upon the Member States’ liberal- democratic governance (HR, democracy, welfare & tolerance) and the EU’s integration measures (internal homogenization & differentiation)

Relationship of national & European identities (Nested, cross-cutting & blended model) Local/Regional National European Party Group European National European Local/Regiona l

Consequences for European ID? Blended model most appropriate one: EU membership leads to an identity change which impacts upon the previous national identity Since EU membership identity then interacts with rather different national identity constructions, the overall effect will not be homogenous leading to a generalized EU identity but rather, we find (27) nationalized European identities (different meanings of what ‘Europe’ means in different countries e.g. France, Germany, UK, Ireland etc.)

Criticism Absence of popular support for the EU (only half of EU-27 support membership and identify with the EU) Democratic deficit (=lack of democratic input by citizens) Knowledge & participation deficits (EP elections) ‘Euronationalism’, ‘Superstate Europe‘ Devolution & Stateness problems Constitutional problems Important: to recognize the idea and reality of European identity, ideological component (Delanty)

Public opinion (EB 70, Fall 2008) The three main indicators covering the general attitudes towards the EU – the support for EU membership (53%) and the image of the EU (45%) – have either remained stable or declined slightly since : 46% of citizens support further enlargement of the EU in future years and 42% oppose it For EU citizens, the three values which represent best what the EU is, are human rights (38%), democracy (38%) and peace (36%).

The future of transnationalism & democracy in the EU The upcoming EP elections serve as signifier for the degree of civic engagement with the EU & its pro/contra- position reg. EU: the EP evolving into a truly representative body? Enlargements weakens the dominant Anglo-Franco- German position but produces disunity among institutions & fears among EU citizens: broadening vs. deepening? The Lisbon Treaty, rejected by the Irish who thus block reform for the rest of Europe, aims at balancing (more) supranational integration and national interests & strengthening of external face: an end of national vs. European interests? (More) Democracy, Delivery, Diversity, Dreams needed?