Keeping the European Faith : Collective Identity before and after the Euro-Crisis

Ettore Recchi (1) , Justyna Salamonska

1 OSC - Observatoire sociologique du changement (Sciences Po, CNRS)

Media discourses have conveyed the message that European identity has been severely undermined by the Euro-crisis. We test this contention with Eurobarometer data. Conceptually we distinguish two dimensions of collective identity: ‘image’ and ’belonging’. We surmise that economic downturns can alter the superficial layer of identity (image-like assessments), but not its underlying substance (belonging-like assessments) which depends on deeply ingrained socio-psychological mechanisms. These two dimensions are expected to be affected by the crisis in different ways: the image being a more volatile reflection of historical circumstances, and the sense of belonging being more stable over time. Keywords: Eurocrisis; EU image; European identity; European citizens; European public opinion

Domains: Sociology

Ettore Recchi, Justyna Salamonska. Keeping the European Faith : Collective Identity before and after the Euro-Crisis. Partecipazione e conflitto - PArticipation and COnflict, 2014, 7 (3), pp.509 - 531. ⟨hal-03470320⟩