But still, it (does not) move. Functional and identity based determinants of European Identity

Abstract

This chapter discusses three set of issues related to European identity. It first reviews the existing theoretical and empirical literature on European identity, organizing it around two major perspective, the neofunctionalist and the identitarian one. Second, it discusses the different ways European identity has been measured over time and it traces its evolution, based on different indicators, from the early 1970s up to 2007. The format of the question appears to be the most important element in explaining variation in levels of European identity, followed by the nation and, last, time. Third, the chapter assesses the relative weight the functional and identity models play in explaining variations in levels of European identity cross-nationally and over time. Using a pooled design, the results show that both functional and identity components are important in explaining variation in level of European identity over time and cross-nationally. As to identity, the quality of government index and the percentage of foreign workers are both significantly and negatively related to European identity. While all functional variables point in the right direction, length of duration of EU membership, a controversial and important indicator of the aggregate level of European identification, is found not significantly related with the aggregate level of European identity.