This study shows that many who identify themselves with the European Union do so because they feel that they have actively built social capital in this polity and that they have done so in a way that reflects the perceived ideals of the EU as a polity. Political identification entails feeling equipped to communicate in a meaningful way with most others in the political community. Participants revealed little desire to discuss EU institutions and organizations in order to express their connection to the EU. We may interpret this result as a check from exclusive binding of these European identities to the European Union.
This may mean that in the future, as EU institutions become more established and more concretely defined, European identifiers such as the participants in this study may find identification with a still less tangible “globalized society” or world community more appropriate.
Another important finding of this study is that these participants do not see supranational identity (in this case European identity) as a threat to national identity.
43
Nationality continues to represent a primary source of political identity for most of the individuals interviewed here. This confirms the contextual nature of identity and the presences of multiple layers of identity in every individual. The flexibility of European identity and the range of communicative abilities interviewees associate with it represent the most appealing aspect of identifying oneself with the European Union for
interviewees in this study. Further study in conjunction with the development of EU institutions will be necessary to see if the communicative skills linked here to the EU continue to be associated with a European identity for these individuals. This will be especially important to watch as, in time, institutions become more concretely defined and any conservative policy measures may erode the relatively progressive image that the European Union now enjoys. This might, in effect, cause individuals such as the
participants in this study to transfer the communicative skills they associate with the European Union to a less restrictive entity.
At any rate, we see that the “virtuous cycle” of integration laid out by Fligstein— increasing economic interdependence leading to increased political integration which leads to further economic interdependence—also translates into personal identity:
increased opportunities for positive interaction tend to lead to positive interactions which stir social identification, which encourages further positive interactions. We should explore, then, how social capital can inform and shape the construction of political institutions at the supranational level.
This study shows that for those who assume a European identity, this act tends to be an expedient yet still expressive articulation of a set of skills that an individual
44
“Other” against which to highlight the importance of these skills, a national other is the most comfortable choice, as individuals tend to feel most familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of their national community and feel that within this national context, they can gauge their own skills most appropriately. Similarly, when they describe
communicative skills they wish to acquire and deem necessary for a successful
supranational political society, they tend to describe these skills as being characteristic of general “Europeans.”
These findings confirm the view that European identity is dynamic and that communicative actions play a vital role in identity formation. European identity is in fact relational, as Triandafyllidou (2008) has suggested, but less in relation to any particular “Other” and more in relation to the contexts in which an individual perceives his or her communicative skills to be most valued. Whether these individuals and others like them continue to associate communicative skills necessary for positive, supranational
interactions with the EU will depend on the extent to which EU institutions respond to the development of social capital.
45
Appendix I: Study Participants
Note: Interviews were conducted during the month of May 2008 in Siena, Italy.
Name Sex Age Nationality Foreign Languages Studied (Years Studied)
Occupation Language of Interview
Andrea F 22 Irish English Hebrew (5), Irish
(5), French (3)
student English Claire F 24 British English German (3), Dutch
(1)
student English
Dan M 25 British English German (8) Law student English
Eugenio M 38 Italian Italian English (3) Wheat farmer English Francesca F 30 Italian Italian English (4) Administrative
assistant
Italian
František M 25 Czech Czech English (12),
German (4)
Student English
Gabča F 22 Czech Czech English (10),
German (4), Spanish (1)
Student English
Gregory M 23 Belgian French Flemish (9),
Italian (6), English (4), Spanish (2)
Student Italian
Ilaria F 22 Italian Italian English (10),
French (2)
Student Italian Johann M 28 German German English (15), Latin
(4), Swedish (3)
Technology specialist
English
Lizzie F 22 German German English (13),
Spanish (6)
Student English
Marco M 32 Italian Italian English (15) Financial
advisor
Italian Mariangela F 28 Italian Italian English (8) Film production
assistant
Italian
Milena F 24 Czech Czech English (12),
German (3)
Student English Monika F 26 Swedish Swedish English (17),
German (6)
student English
Olivia F 20 British English German (4),
Spanish (2)
Student English
Pavla F 23 Czech Czech English (10),
German (6)
Pre-school teacher
English
Sabine F 26 German German English (12),
French (5), Italian (2)
Student English
Stefania F 28 Romanian Romanian English (12), Italian (6)
Student Italian Tina F 27 Slovenian Slovenian Italian (10),
English (8), German (6), French (3)
Marketing Italian
Veronica F 23 Italian Italian English (20), French (6)
Student Italian Yann M 35 French French English (18) Public Relations English
Zuzka F 27 Slovak Slovak English (12),
French (8)
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