Challenges to Union
Ethnicity and National Identity in
Europe
Key Terms
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State
Nation
Ethnic Group
State-Nation
Ethnic-Nation
Ethnie
Nation
State
Ethnonationalism
 Territorial ethnic movements seeking
autonomy or independence
 peripheral to the union – OR –
 pro-Europe
 'Europe of the regions'
 No threat to EU
'Europe of the nations'
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Different type of ethnicity and nationalism
Pose a challenge to the EU
1. Dominant Nationhood
2. Ethnic minorities/immigrant minorities
3. Dominant ethnicity
The EU: A cosmopolitan project
 Long idea of establishing a realm of 'universal' law
and governance in Europe
 Began with the 'European Idea' of reunifying the
continent under one church and one empire
 Collapse of Roman Empire and the rise of the
Reformation led to periodic attempts
 Sully, Podiebrad – seek comity among nations and
return to Latin-Christendom ideal
Enlightenment Europeanism
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Penn, Diderot, Paine, St Simon and others
Were cosmopolitan liberals
Europeanism and cosmopolitanism linked
Favoured Europeanism as a ticket to peace,
prosperity and Enlightenment
 St Simon claims in 1821 that Europeanism as a
sentiment already took precedence over nationalism
 St Simon sees Anglo-French hub as motor of Europe
 End to Papal and Roman dreams; harmony among
peoples rather than rulers
The Evolution of the European
Idea
 Napoleon speaks of one European fatherland
 After Napoleonic Wars, St Simon's ideas influential
and popular. Influenced Lemonnier's Les EtatsUnis d'Europe (1872)
 Revival of interest in St Simon after WWI
 Most schemes were federal, though some postWWI radicals rejected the nation outright
 Paneuropa (1923) and other organisations lobby
 Link between world unity and European unity,
between peace organisations and paneuropean
ones
Diplomatic Pressure of
Paneuropean Groups
 Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi writes Pan-Europa (1923)
manifesto. Links to French politicians like Herriot, Loucheur,
Leger, Briand
 Edouard Herriot, 1925: 'My greatest wish is to see one day the
United States of Europe become a reality'
 First Pan-European Congress, 1926. Sponsored by Chancellor
Seipel of Austria
 Many Paneuropeans also strongly supported the League of
Nations
 Briand's Memorandum on a European Federal System (1930)
circulated to European statesmen
EU structure
 Degree of centralisation varies by
function:
– A Federation (i.e. 'State') in monetary
affairs, agricultural, trade and
environmental policy. Also in legal-social
aspects and citizenship
– A Confederation in social and economic
policy, consumer protection, internal affairs
– An International Organisation in foreign
affairs
Council of Europe's Cultural
Cosmopolitanism
 Developed European flag
with 12 golden stars
(1955)
 Established 5 May 1949
as Europe Day (1964)
 Anthem based on
Beethoven's Ode to Joy
(1972)
 Has 46 members today:
distinct from EU, but
complementary
Three Types - Three Challenges
 Dominant Nationhood (civic nationalism)
 Ethnic minorities or Immigrant Minorities
 Dominant ethnicity (ethnic nationalism)
Dominant Nationhood
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(civic nationalism)
Fears loss of sovereignty,
loss of economic policy
Loss of political-legal efficacy and national
democracy
 Foreign policy identity depends on the
country
France: Gaullist proEuropeanism
 Seeks to reclaim French cultural predominance of
18th-19th c
 Seeks to challenge Anglo-Saxon hegemony of
19th-20th c
 Sees Anglo-Saxon west as ‘other’
 De Gaulle positions France at the heart of a
Europe that includes Russia and is flanked by
Anglo-Saxon West and Chinese East
 1963 crisis over UK entry into EEC which De
Gaulle seeks to block UK entry
German pro-European Idealism
 Nazi period discredits nationalism
 Cosmopolitan as opposed to Gaullist spirit
 Desire for influence and self-respect without
nationalism
 Less anti-Anglo-Saxon due to post-WWII
(witness different attitudes toward English
as language)
 More truly cosmopolitan than French proEuropeanism
Smaller Nations: Benelux
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History of neutrality and fear of larger nations
History of pooling sovereignty in alliances
Only chance of agency is through a larger unit
Identity is less significant in absence of larger
blocks
 Belgium and Luxembourg lack clear linguistic or
religious markers of nationhood unlike say
Germany or France
Views of Unification (1995)
Growing Cosmopolitanism in
Europe?
'Very Proud' of Country, Eurobarometer
(1983)
60%
40%
20%
0%
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
Growing Cosmopolitanism in
Europe…
'Very Proud' of Country,
1970 and mid-80s
N
y
m
an
G
er
Be
lg
i
um
s
et
h
er
la
nd
ce
Fr
an
Ita
m
bo
xe
Lu
ly
1970
1981-85
ur
g
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Growing Cosmopolitanism in
Europe…
Predictors of Lack of National Pride, 1982-2002
140
120
z-score
100
80
60
40
20
0
back EU
membrshp
year
education level
low or non-church
attender
National Pride and Opinion of EU Membership,
Pride in Nation
1982-2002
Membership Good or
Bad EU
95%
90%
85%
80%
75%
70%
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1988 1994
1997
1999
2000
2001
2002
Do you feel national,
European or Both (2004)?
Ethnic minorities/
immigrant minorities  Religious beliefs may challenge
Enlightenment beliefs
 EU identity diluted (i.e. 'from Tsar to
Sultan')
 Strengthens dominant ethnicity
Immigrant Integration
 Different paths to integration
 In UK, second generation is doing much
better (esp. Hindu, Chinese)
 UK: Intermarriage more among Afro-Caribs
than Indo-Pakistani
 UK & Holland: Caribbean Christians &
'Indos' better integrated than Muslim ethnic
groups
 Evidence of racial segregation in friendships
'Superdiversity'?: Inflow by
region UK 2001
West Europe
North Europe
Other Europe
South Europe
East Asia
Eastern Europe
Other America
South America
North America
South-Central Asia
Central Americ
Caribbean
Other Africa
West Africa
Southern Africa
South-East Asia
North Africa
West Asia
other Asia
Middle Africa
East Africa
Source: Home Office
Newham (London) by country of birth, 2001
South America
Other Oceania Australia
Other Caribbean
USA
New Zealand
Jamaica
Canada
Other
Other South Asia
Pakistan
India
Bangladesh
Japan
Malay sia
Other Far East
Singapore
China
Hong Kong
Iran
Cy prus
Other Middle East
Other South and Eastern Africa
Zimbabw e
South Africa
Keny a
Other Central and Western Africa
United Kingdom
Nigeria
Central and Western Africa
North Africa
Other Eastern Europe
Poland
Non EU countries in Western Europe
EU Countries
Republic of Ireland
Religious Retention among Second
Generation Immigrant Stock in the UK
Religious Retention by Faith and Birthplace, UK, 2001-3
(Excludes nonidentifiers. 'Practice' is self-description)
UK BP Muslims
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Foreign BP Muslims
UK Afro Christians
Foreign Afro Christians
UK White Christians
Foreign White Christians
2001
2003
Attend Worship*
Retain Religious Practice*
Dominance: Ethnic, National, or
State?
 A group can be BOTH ethnic and
national (ie. Welsh in Wales)
 A group can be ethnic, national, and
possess its own state (ie. Japanese)
 Dominant Ethnic groups can dominant
states or sub-state nations (ie. Ethnic
Germans in Germany, Scots-Protestants
in Scotland, Jews in Israel)
Dominant Ethnic Group
 Ethnic Community which possesses
political power in a given state
 2 types:
•Elite Minority (Tutsi, ‘WASP’, Gulf Arab)
•Majority Group (English in England,
Japanese in Japan)
 Most in Europe are dominant majorities
 Omission in Current Literature
Dominant Ethnicity
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(mainly ethnic nationalism)
Fear of internal migration
Possible cultural fears (language, religion)
Ethno-national congruence
Friction with OSCE codes, multiculturalism
and EU human rights conventions
 Expressed as rise of the far right &
accommodation by centre-right parties
Dominant Ethno-Nationalism
 Ethno-national
congruence
 Fear of immigration
 Possible cultural fears
(language, religion)
 Friction with OSCE
codes, multiculturalism
and EU human rights
conventions
 Expressed as rise of the
far right &
accommodation by
centre-right parties
A Rising Force?
Far Right Share of Popular
Vote, c. 2000
G
er
m
an
y
UK
Ita
ly
Au
st
ria
Sw
itz
er
la
nd
D
en
m
ar
k
No
rw
ay
Fl
an
de
rs
Fr
an
ce
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
The Role of Education & Age,
Germany
Support For Republikaner Party,
by Age & Education, Bavaria 1989
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Low
Med
High
18-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60+
The Far Right as a Worker's
Party?
 Anti-elitist, anti-political
class
 Claim that elite
consensus 'represses'
debate on immigration
 In virtually no European
country does main leftwing party retain
majority support among
white male workers
Dominant Ethno-Nationalism:
Theories
 Instrumentalist - dominant ethnonationalism is driven by immigrant
competition with natives for jobs
 Ethno-symbolist - perceived violation of
‘sacred,’ historicised ethnie-nation link is the
key
 ‘Constructivist’ (Psychological) - Rapid
change brings disorientation and a quest for
order among those affected by change
Multiculturalism
 Kymlicka's Liberalism,
Community and Culture
(1989), followed by a
number of works in 1990s
 Taylor's Multiculturalism and
the Politics of Recognition
(1994)
 Inspired partly by
'multicultural' movement of
minorities for 'recognition' vis
a vis majority culture in
Canada
 Canadian multiculturalism
policy dates from 1971,
similar demands in US since
late 60s
Typology of Multiculturalism
Varieties of Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Demographic
Fact
Polyethnicity
Federalism
(Yugoslavia,
Switzerland)
State Policy
Multinationality
Consociationalism
(Lebanon, Bosnia)
Ideology
Cosmopolitan
Multiculturalism
Communitarian
Multiculturalism
Integration
(UK, United States)
Cultural Recognition
Political Empowerment
Socio-Economic Redistribution
Cosmopolitan-multiculturalist vision
 Dominant ethnic groups lose identity and
members become cosmopolitan
individualists
 Ethnic minorities retain their identity and
provide consumer choice and 'colour'
 Bourne, c. 1916: WASPs 'breathe a larger
air', Jews 'stick to their faith'
 Contradiction: cosmopolitanism among
hosts, ethnicity among immigrants
The New Cultural Cosmopolitanism
 European idea was mainly one of political
unity rather than cultural unity
 American idea had a much earlier emphasis
on melting (i.e. Crevecoeur's 'strange
mixture of races', c. 1782)
 But Europe has now adopted the cultural
cosmopolitanism once found only in America
The EU and Cultural
Cosmopolitanism
 EU approach: Multiculturalism, Human
Rights, Border Control - in tension.
 Reflects tensions between cosmopolitan
and realpolitik/intergovernmental spheres
 Multiculturalism and human rights reflects
cosmopolitan side
Cosmopolitanism for Majorities
 All become consumers and world citizens
 Weak identities, apart from European
project, lifestyle and egalitarian-liberalism
 Identity forged vs USA. Defined by liberal
egalitarianism, i.e. 'European Dream'
(Rifkin)
 Hope given by rise in university education,
generational replacement
 Effect shown in social surveys
The Reaction to Multiculturalism
 Dominant ethnic nationalists resist all forms
of multiculturalism
 Surveys show that anti-immigration and antiEU attitudes are linked
 Even those who are willing to accept
immigrants are afraid of threat to secular
culture, language and civic-national identity
 A majority of most electorates
90s Intellectual Opposition
 Individualist Liberals (i.e. Brian Barry, Michael
Ignatieff)
 Civic Nationalists (David Miller, David
Goodhart, New Labour, Francis Fukuyama,
etc)
 'Civic Nationalist' Critiques:
–
–
–
–
Hinders welfare state
Reduces civic trust and political participation
Decline in common values and national identity
Increased ethnic conflict
 Ethnic Nationalists: threat to survival of
dominant ethnic groups, 'reverse
discrimination'
Multiculturalism in Retreat
 Multiculturalism in retreat in the US and
Australia in the 1990s
 Changes in France, Holland, and elsewhere in
Europe (partly linked to challenge from far
right) since 1990s
 Change in Britain (criticism of Parekh report;
Trevor Phillips of CRE) in 2000-2004 (linked to
9/11)
The Return of Assimilation
 An attempt to navigate between ethnic nationalism
and multiculturalism
 Ethnic conflict prompts increased call for national
unity in the face of diversity (i.e. Germany,
Holland, UK, France)
 Hopes are for integration into nations, reducing
inter-ethnic conflict
 Shift from multiculturalism to integration. Even a
return of assimilation/republicanism and civic
nationalism
Civic or Liberal Nationalism
 From Kohn (1944) to Miller (1995) and Tamir
(1993)
 Civic nationalism will reinforce resistance to EU as
nations become more 'American'
 Will not assuage anxieties of dominant group
 Minorities must organically come to feel
attachment to the nation, cannot be cajoled out of
old identities
 Civic identities must be universal and thin, difficult
to compete with ethnic traditions
Dominant groups will not go away,
Minorities may not assimilate
 Dominant groups may reject newcomers entirely
 Assimilation a long-term process. European and
US examples
 May not be fast enough to absorb immigrants or
respond to demographic crisis
 Real key is at the level of the dominant ethnic
group, and its ability to assimilate
 Ethnic groups should not be rigid, but retain their
cores and engage in assimilation
Liberal Ethnicity (Kaufmann 2000)
 Recognition of both minority and dominant
ethnic groups
 Devolves task of assimilation to ethnic
groups
 Longer-term view
 Ethnic cores remain relatively fixed, but
boundaries can absorb newcomers
 No coercive state-nationalism from above
A Europe of Liberal Nations
 Need to consider better guarantees of
ontological security: including limits on
migration between member states
 EU as Europe of nations, pooling many
functions
 Recognition of both dominant and minority
ethnic groups
 May in time lead to closer political
integration
Summary
 EU as cosmopolitan movement
 Three forms of ethnic and nationalist
resistance to EU
 Multiculturalism and 'Europe of the regions'
idea are inspired by cosmopolitanism
 Will not succeed with electorates
 Integration, liberal ethnicity and 'Europe of
the nations' more promising