Original scientific paper
Nation-state and the European Union: Lost in a Battle for Identity
Erika Harris
orcid.org/0000-0001-9284-0215
; Department of Politics, Roxby Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Abstract
This article, based on studies of nationalism, discusses identity formation in
the European Union and compares it to the nation-state. The starting point is
that for all its economic benefits and political innovation, the EU is failing to
provide people with the sense of belonging and extract political loyalty. By exploring
what function identity serves – for the nation-state in the past and for
the EU in the present – it is argued that while there are limits to the EU’s ability
to project a meaningful European identity, there are also limits to the nation-
-state’s ability to meet the political challenges of contemporary societies. One
way, and possibly the only way out of this ‘battle for identity’ is to acknowledge
the real impact of the EU on the nation-state and open an honest debate
by both European and national elites about which challenges of our time can be
met by the EU and which are better kept at the national level. A better understanding
of how people’s national aspirations, concerns and political demands
are mediated between different levels of governance may lead to adapting their
identities accordingly – loyalty and passion for the EU may follow too.
Keywords
nation-state; nationalism; national identity; European Union; European identity
Hrčak ID:
72014
URI
Publication date:
4.10.2011.
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