"Experiencing the system: Social integration in the European Union"

Winston, Nessa. (1997) "Experiencing the system: Social integration in the European Union". In: UNSPECIFIED, Seattle, Washington. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

There is considerable debate about the effects of European integration on different forms of identification (sub-national, national and European). Using European survey data, this paper examines identification change in the European Union (EU) between 1973 and 1990. The results show that identification has remained fairly static during this period. In particular, the fact that European identification is low and has not increased over time suggests that social integration in the EU is very limited. This paper also advances and tests a conceptual framework for the study of European identification. My main hypothesis is that the more European citizens experience the EU in their daily lives, the more likely they will be to identify with it. The types of experiences examined include social, economic and cultural experiences and evaluations of these experiences compared with those of the nation state. Empirical findings support this hypothesis.

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