Representing the future of the European Union: Consequences on national and European identifications

Abstract

Since the creation in Maastricht of the status of citizen of the Union, member States' nationals possess a dual citizenship: they are both citizens of their country and of the European Union. This raises the issue of the relationship between subordinate (nations) and super-ordinate (EU) levels of identification. This paper first investigates the relevance of Social Representations and Social Identity Theories for understanding geopolitical identity building processes. The national model is examined, then its role as a source of social cognitive anchoring in the development of social representations of Europe is outlined. It was predicted that anticipating antagonistic relationships between the nation and the EU would elicit a perception of threat and therefore hinder European identification whereas anticipating a complementary relationship would facilitate it. Results of three correlational studies with French-speaking Belgian psychology students addressing their national and European identifications and their anticipatory representations of the European integration process are presented. They show that participants were generally euro-enthusiastic, but that potential losses of cultural distinctiveness and of national sovereignty were perceived as threatening. Moreover, they confirmed that identification with Europe is facilitated by a representation of Europe and the nation as complementary rather than antagonistic. Results are discussed with respect to their theoretical contribution and to their implications for the pursuit of the European integration project.