The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity among Youths from Different Nations. 1

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1 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 1 Workshop: Political Cultures and European Integration The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity among Youths from Different Nations. 1 Daniel Fuss International University Bremen (IUB) School of Humanities and Social Sciences P.O. Box D Bremen d.fuss@iu-bremen.de Tel: Summary Starting point of the presented considerations are the complex interactions between identity and citizenship. Against the background of a decreasing public support for the ambitious project of European integration the idea of a common European citizenship and its potentials in fostering a kind of European identity raises more and more expectations. However, the current status of European citizenship is directly dependent on the nationality of one s person. And the decision on acquirement or loss of nationality is completely up to the single nationstate. Due to their different historical developments European states offer varying provisions with regard to nationality and the corresponding citizenship rights and duties. Finally, the issue of nationality and citizenship is closely related to national identity. The paper demonstrates some empirical evidence on attitudes towards requirements for nationality among young men and women from six European nations. Additionally, it compares the strengths of both national and European identity and analyses their particular relations to certain dimensions of nationality. By using an explorative approach it is, on the one hand, intended to identify general structures which apply to all included samples. On the other hand, existing regional or national features should be pointed out and tried to explain by their respective contexts. 1 I want to thank Janina Marguc (IUB) for her support and critical review of the paper in the given time.

2 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 2 1. Identity, Citizenship and Nationality Since the Rome Treaties in 1957, the process of European integration has appeared as a history of progress and great success. The subsequent milestones of this development are almost on the horizon: the Convent will present a first draft of a European Constitution within this year. And soon after, the almost certain inclusion of ten new Member States will establish a new European Union with more than 450 million citizens who live on an area of 4 million square kilometres and produce a gross domestic product that is comparable to the US. Against this background, the European integration seems to be a relentless process. But is this process indeed as unstoppable as most politicians would like to make people believe? With the respect to the failure of the first Irish referendum on the Treaty of Nice in Spring 2001, this question seems completely justified. The more direct the impact of the decisions made in Brussels on appears on people s live, the more sceptical large parts of the population react. Currently, useful indicators of such scepticism are both large-scale surveys such as the Eurobarometer, which point toward an invariable or even stagnating level of acceptance of European Union policies, and relatively low rates of participation in European elections, as a clear hint to the ever-bemoaned democratic deficit. Until a few years ago, the project of Europe was primarily a matter of the political elite, far away from individuals worries. Now that public support is necessary, it becomes more and more debatable in several countries. One measure to deal with that problem can be seen in the several efforts to establish a kind of European identity. Thus, it is a long-term ambition of the European Union to foster a European identity. The issue of how to create a People s Europe which is recognized and taken to heart by its citizens has been intensively discussed in public and in politics for a long time. In parallel, several measures were taken to back up this concept the establishment of common symbols like the European flag or anthem or vital programs such as the inter-european student exchange or the European city of culture project are just some examples for those attempts. The need for a political kind of integration became especially obvious with the far-reaching completion of the economic integration. Accordingly, the focus of interest gradually shifted from a market citizen towards a political citizen who decides on the public support for further integration. However, due to the perceived distance, the abstract character and complexity of the European Union, the establishment of a European identity is a highly complicated matter (Delanty 2000). In contrast to regional or even national entities, the European Union is mostly regarded as a bureaucratic institution at the periphery of personal concerns, or even outside of it. Against this background, some authors favor an understanding

3 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 3 of European identity as a citizenship-identity instead of a national identity, a distinction that is mainly based on the social constructionist approach saying that identities are not attributes that people have or are but resources that people use, something that they do (Jamieson 2002, 509). Here, the concept of European citizenship becomes the focal point of attention (Closa 1992, Meehan 1993, Turner 1993, Marias 1994, O Leary 1997, Kleger 1997). Although the idea of Community citizenship and the rhetoric of a peoples Europe has been in the air for a long time, the formal codification of the status of a European citizen by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992 represents one of the most obvious moves from a European Economic Community to a political Union. It crystallizes the Union s demand to extend the process of integration beyond one that is based on economic aspects onto a social and political stage. The specific status of a European citizen is manifested in six Treaty provisions: the right to free movement (Article 18) municipal electoral rights (Article 19) electoral rights concerning the European Parliament (Article 19) the right to diplomatic and consular protection (Article 20) the right to petition (Article 21) the right to call for an Ombudsman (Article 21). During the development of European citizenship the question of how to strengthen a European identity has always played a crucial role (Shore/Black 1994). Especially the first three articles are capable to promote an active citizenship-identification by encouraging individual contacts and political integration beyond one s own nation. Furthermore, decision makers consciously kept the concept of European citizenship dynamic and open for extensions. Nevertheless, European citizenship rights are by no means exclusive rights. Their acquirement and application is strictly dependent on the nationality of a Member State. The Union citizenship is therefore always mediated by the status of one s own particular nationality. European citizenship does dissolve the exclusive bond of a citizen to its nation-state on the one hand, yet on the other hand the European citizenship does not replace the rights enjoyed by Member State nationals by virtue of their own nationality (Evans 1991, O Leary 1992, Closa 1994). From an analytical point of view, the two concepts are distinct, but in terms of

4 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 4 their factual meaning nationality and citizenship are highly interdependent. 2 Being a German or a Briton or of any other European nationality represents the key qualification that entitles one to enjoy the full privileges of national and European citizenship. The state is the organ of authority in determining the provisions on acquisition and loss of nationality. It guarantees citizenship rights and it constitutes the criteria for becoming a national (Marshall 1950, Gellner 1983, Brubaker 1992). This monopolistic claim is only limited by demands of international public law and the obligation to observe the Common Law. Due to the different developments in the historical formation of European nation-states, current national regulations with regard to nationality and naturalization still vary to a considerable extent. Not in every country a person who has spent a lifetime in that country may enjoy full citizenship rights, because of the missing nationality. This means that different national contexts provide different accesses to resources for the formation of identity. On the other hand, these national contexts are one of the most important sources for political identification, and nationality in turn is a basic element of identification with the nation-state (Habermas 1991, McCrone/Kiely 2000). However, there have been several developments within the last decades, which increasingly question the idea of nation and nationality. The ongoing European integration and the resulting transfer of competencies and sovereignty from the nation-state to the European Union is one such trend. Moreover, the associated demands for harmonizing national provisions of law directly add the issue of nationality and citizenship rights. 3 Apart from that, a considerable number of non-nationals in almost all Western European countries does not have the full range of opportunities to integrate into the society, although they were born in the country (Zig-Layton 1990, Bauböck 1992, Smith 1995, Staples 1999). Not only the status of immigrants or non-nationals is marked by several restrictions, citizenship rights and duties are also not in any case distributed equally to members of the nation-state. For example, in 2 3 McCrone and Kiely (2000, 25) define the difference as follows: nationality and citizenship actually belong to different spheres of meaning and activity. The former is in essence a cultural concept which binds people on the basis of shared identity in Benedict Anderson s apt phrase as an imagined community while citizenship is a political concept deriving from people s relationship to the state. In other words, nation-ness and state-ness need not be, and increasingly not, aligned. In January 2000 a new nationality law, which complements the traditional ius-sanguinis principle of ethnic descent by elements of the territory principle, has come into force in Germany. This law is a good example for the impact of the European Union policy, since the new regulations were mainly reasoned with regard to European Union guidelines and the requirements for full integration of foreigners who permanently live in Germany. The introduction of this law also demonstrates the close and problematic relation between nationality and national identity. Before the law has come into power a public signing campaign against the reform was very successful in mobilizing fears of threatening national and cultural identity among large parts of the German population.

5 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 5 Britain young people are not given the same right to a minimum wage or to financial support as older adults. The question is whether and to what extent such developments or discrepancies promote a new understanding of a common citizenship and hence a European citizenship-identity independent of national restrictions (Kostalakidis 2000)? Or is it that some kind of European identity actually has to exist already as pre-condition for a transnational citizenship (Glick Schiller/Basch/Blanc-Szanton 1992)? And what is the role of national identity then to serve as a foundation and component of a new and comprehensive European identity or to foster a rather exclusive view on integration in terms of nationalism and a growth of ethnic citizenship (Smith 1992)? Within the limited frame of this contribution, these short considerations shall suffice to provide a general impression of the very complex interactions between European citizenship, nationality and European as well as national identity. Of course, meanwhile there are series of scientific publications available which tackle these issues. However, there is only a comparably small number of corresponding empirical analyses. In order to gain deeper insight to the described interdependencies, an extensive research project on Orientations of Young Men and Women towards Citizenship and European Identity has been started in October This study attempts an explorative approach by surveying young people from different European countries and regions respectively. 2. The Research Project Youth and European Identity All following analyses are based on that research project, which is part of the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission. 4 The goal of this study is to explore the salience and meaning of being European among youths who constitute Europe s new citizens. However, new identity formations always depend on existing social identities and values. Against the background of different contexts we therefore intend to provide empirical material for answering two general questions: What is the role of an increasingly integrated 4 The work on this project has started in October 2001, co-ordinated by Lynn Jamieson from the University of Edinburgh. The other partners, researchers and consultants in this investigation are Claire Wallace and Reingard Spannring (Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna), Klaus Boehnke and Daniel Fuss (International University Bremen), Bernhard Nauck (Technical University Chemnitz), Ladislav Machácek, Gabriel Bianchi, Barbara Lásticová and Pavla Machácková (Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava), Maria Ros and Miryam Rodriguez Monter (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Hector Grad and Gema Garcia Albacete (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Susan Condor (University Lancaster), Sue Grundy and David McCrone (University of Edinburgh). For further information see:

6 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 6 Europe in the life of young people and how is it related to other sources of identity such as region, nation, gender, or ethnicity? And which consequences does this entail for ideals and practices of citizenship? In order to obtain substantial results, we devised a complex research design, guided by theoretical considerations. Thus, one critical element of the study is the comparison across and within European states. The first level of distinction refers to the six participating European countries, that is Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Note that with respect to sampling of countries we took into account both longstanding members of the European Union as well as accession states from former Communist countries. For the next level, two cities were strategically selected from each state to represent a particular region. 5 To illustrate, Chemnitz as an East German city and Bielefeld as a similar city in West Germany were chosen in the Federal Republic of Germany. These two regions offer a pattern of a politically and economically dominant partner demonstrating a comparatively stronger cultural alignment with Europe (West Germany) than the subordinate partner (East Germany). Different post-war histories of the formerly separate states gave rise to their specific blends of cultural messages concerning nationalism and the relationship between citizenship and Europeanism. Following this very rationale, each pair of regions displays contrasting alignments to Europe and patterns of political identities, caused by histories of complex relationships such as core vs. periphery and cultural, economic as well as political dominance vs. sub-ordinance. The respective regions of interest are Castile (Madrid) and the Basque Provinces (Bilbao) in Spain, England (Manchester) and Scotland (Edinburgh) in Great Britain, and the Viennese region (Vienna) and Vorarlberg (Bregenz) in Austria. Between May and August 2002 a sample of about 400 randomly selected persons at the age of 18 to 24 were surveyed by face-to-face or telephone interviews in each of the ten localities. 6 The commonly used questionnaire includes a variety of standardised questions with regard to relevant socio-demographic data (e.g. family relations, friends, ethnicity, religion), political attitudes (voting intentions, civic participation, concepts of citizenship, tolerance towards foreign citizens) and particularly identity-related issues (origin, languages, feelings of solidarity, visits abroad). 5 6 At this stage, the Czech and Slovak Republic are treated as two regions of the former Czechoslovakia which was split into two independent states in January Both regions are represented by their capitals, Prague and Bratislava. In the case of these two states the research design does not distinguish between an inter- and intranational level. To complete the comparative research design, data from about 100 well-educated young people who are focused on a European career and particularly likely to be pro-european were additionally gathered in each city. However, these target samples are not included in the analyses presented here.

7 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 7 Table 1 shows that there are only minor differences in the average age of all analysed samples, which is due to the a priori fixed restriction to 18 to 24 year-old participants. The gender split is almost balanced in most of the samples, with the exceptions of Chemnitz and the two British samples. But while the imbalance shifting towards young men reflects the true gender distribution within the youth population in Chemnitz, the young women are overrepresented in the Manchester and Edinburgh samples mainly due to a higher willingness of female youths to take part in the survey. Since questions of national identity are relevant, the table also includes the percentages of participants who were born in the country of survey. Only a small minority of respondents was actually born abroad; most of them come either from Russia and states of the former Soviet Union, or from Poland. Table 1: Socio-demographic characteristics Germany Austria Great Britain Spain CZ / SLO Chem. Biel. Wien Breg. Manc. Edin. Madr. Bilb. Prag Brat. total Sample size (n) Age (mean) Male (%) Female (%) Born in country Empirical Findings on Nationality and Identity Nationality For the questions pertaining to citizenship we used an instrument with ten items about the requirements to obtain the respective country s nationality, including the full entitlement to citizenship rights and benefits provided by the state. Every respondent was asked to assess the importance of each given requirement on a 5-point-scale from not important at all (0) to very important (4). In a first step, a factor analysis shall clarify the structure of these separate requirements: Is it possible to identify underlying basic dimensions and how does this structure vary between and across the countries? The sorted results of the exploratory factor analysis (varimax rotation) on the basis of data from all respondents are given in Table 2. It shows that three factors with Eigenvalues >1 can be extracted that account for about 65 per cent of the total variance of all ten items. This finding indicates a less complex structure

8 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 8 of three dimensions behind the respondents conceptions of necessary personal characteristics for acquiring citizenship. The first dimension, the origin or ethnic aspect of nationality is clearly summarized in the requirements regarding place of birth and descent. The second dimension is characterized by those requirements that represent important contributions to an active integration into society, such as language, work, and law thus, the civic aspect of nationality. The third dimension, the obligatory aspect of nationality, represents a conscious declaration of one s belief in belonging to the country in terms of knowledge, emotions, and loyalty. Table 2: Factor Structure of Requirements for Nationality (N = 3890) Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 - having at least one parent from nation/country.89 - being born in the nation/country.85 - having national ancestors.83 - working in nation/country.81 - having lived in country for at least 5 years.74 - speaking the national language agreeing to abide by the countries laws and institutions passing a test about country.79 - taking an oath of allegiance to the country.77 - feeling that one belongs to the country The high loads on each factor indicate a strong relationship between the respective requirements on the one hand and a clear distinction between the identified dimensions on the other hand. However, these dimensions are positively correlated with one another, as the Pearsons correlation coefficients show (origin civic r = 0.16; origin - obligatory r = 0.32; civic - obligatory r = 0.37). This means origin, civic and obligatory aspects of nationality are not mutually exclusive or independent in the opinions of young men and women. A person who strongly emphasizes civic features does not necessarily reject or ignore characteristics like the place of birth or the ethnic background and vice versa. It is now the question, to what extent this structure is applicable to the individual national and regional contexts.

9 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 9 The repetition of the factor analysis for each sample results in far-reaching similarities. A first indication of a general structure lies in the fact that every single analysis reveals three factors. Also the percentages of explained total variance are quite alike, ranging from 61 per cent in Chemnitz to 72 per cent in Madrid. Furthermore, across all samples, the vast majority of items are analogous assigned to the factors as shown in Table 2. Hence, the three dimensions of nationality can be reproduced in every sample. Merely, the demands of having lived in the country for at least 5 years and feeling that one belongs to the country take an intermediate position between the origin and civic dimension or the civic and obligatory dimension. 7 All in all, the idea of a general framework of nationality can be accepted for the used data. 8 Interestingly, there is one difference between the countries of the former Eastern Bloc and the other states with regard to the relations between the three dimensions. While in Chemnitz, Prague and Bratislava the two aspects of origin and civic requirements are independent from each other or even negatively correlated, the corresponding coefficients for the Western Europe samples are constantly both positive and significant. The next step of analyzing the concept of nationality compares the level of importance which respondents attribute to each of to the three dimensions. Across the entire sample of 3890 youths the obligatory aspect of nationality has the least important role. The according mean on the 5-point-scale between not at all important (0) and very important (4) is x = 1,29. Only 14 per cent of respondents give higher importance to it in terms of having a mean above 2,50. This percentage amounts to 26 per cent for the dimension of origin. However, there is still a majority of more than 50 per cent of young men and women who regards origin characteristics as less important preconditions for gaining nationality (x < 1,50). The highest average importance is attributed to civic requirements (x = 2,96). Being integrated in a country s society in terms of work, language and acceptance of institutions is obviously the basic precondition for nationality and full citizenship; almost three quarters of all respondents rate this aspect with higher importance. Thus, a general order of demands can be identified in which civic requirements enjoy highest priority, followed at distance by origin and obligatory aspects of nationality. But the following three graphics show that there are considerable variations behind the aggregated means of the total sample. With regard to the ethnic-based requirements of origin it is especially striking that young people from both British cities and from Madrid 7 8 Because of this ambiguity both items were not considered for the corresponding index variables. There is only one regional peculiarity in the assignment of the given requirements to the extracted factors. In Madrid, speaking Spanish and abiding by the Spanish laws and institutions are rather seen as a matter of obligation than as civic requirements.

10 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 10 attribute a importance above average to them. While about 48 per cent of the respondents in Manchester have a mean of x > 2,50 the corresponding proportion within the Viennese sample is only 13 per cent. Even more telling than national differences is the fact that there are significant variations between the two localities within all national samples, except for Germany. Figure 1: Origin Dimension of Nationality Germany Austria Great Britain Spain Czech/Slovakia Chemn. Bielef. Vienna Breg. Manch. Edinb. Madrid Bilbao Prague Bratisl. Compared with the first dimension, the civic-based requirements are fundamentally stronger emphasised by respondents from all samples (see Figure 2). Nevertheless, significant differences exist as well, again mainly between the two localities within one nation. And once again, the only exception is Germany and it is Spain where the variation between the Basque sample and the sample of Spain s capital is particularly conspicuous. The proportion of youths in Madrid, who attaches higher significance to civic demands, is almost twice as large as in Bilbao (70 to 36 per cent). A further relevant detail is the finding that the direction of all intra-national differences is identical with the first dimension: young people from Bregenz, Manchester, Madrid and Bratislava stress the importance of both civic and origin dimension more than their peers from Vienna, Edinburgh, Bilbao and Prague. Figure 2: Civic Dimension of Nationality Germany Austria Great Britain Spain Czech/Slovakia Chemn. Bielef. Vienna Breg. Manch. Edinb. Madrid Bilbao Prague Bratisl. The finding mentioned last also applies to the third dimension, the one of obligation to a country or declaration of one s loyalty to it. Particularly the youth population in Bilbao holds less restrictive attitudes towards the requirements for nationality than the corresponding

11 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 11 population in Madrid. The two German cities, Chemnitz and Bielefeld, are the only cases in which no significant regional effect at all was observed. Figure 3: Obligatory Dimension of Nationality Germany Austria Great Britain Spain Czech/Slovakia Chemn. Bielef. Vienna Breg. Manch. Edinb. Madrid Bilbao Prague Bratisl. However, the above stated priority of the three dimensions holds true for almost all localities. Only respondents from Chemnitz and Vienna give a slightly higher importance to the obligatory dimension than to origin-based aspects of nationality. Additionally, it is not surprising that in the largely autonomous and independence-seeking region of the Basque Provinces people attach hardly any meaning to the demand for an expression of loyalty to the country. More than 90% of the respondents from Bilbao discard higher importance of this dimension. On the other hand, young men and women from Manchester not only show the highest means for the origin dimension of nationality, they also put emphasis on demanding a test about the country and an oath of allegiance more than all other samples. To sum up, there are a number of remarkable differences with regard to all three dimensions of requirements for nationality. These differences exist on both levels of comparison: nations and regions/cities. The question to which extent national regulations on awarding nationality and naturalisation are responsible for these differences will be shortly discussed in the final section of this article. First, one should explore whether and in what sense the opinions about requirements for full citizenship are related to a certain level of European and national identity Political Identities This research project claims to go beyond counting how many young people come to have a sense of European identity, aiming to unpack the types of European identities that are emerging by locating the meaning of being European in relation to other sources of political identity, such as region or nation, and to gain some insight into the consequences of a more or less strongly pronounced European solidarity. In the context of citizenship and nationality, the

12 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 12 meanings of European and national identity seem to be especially relevant. Both constructs were measured by using instruments asking for: (1) a general feeling of attachment to nation and Europe, (2) the strength of respondents feelings about being a national and a European, and (3) the importance for him or her to be from the particular country or to be a citizen of the European Union. 9 All respondents were asked to rate these items on a 5-point-scale ranging from 0 (no feelings of identity at all) to 4 (very strong feelings of identity). Is there any kind of what one might call Europeanness among young people from different countries? According to the gathered data and our operationalization of European identity the answer is yes. A mean index variable of all three items about feelings for Europe generates a mean of x = 2,18 for the total sample of all 3890 persons. 10 This mean is slightly above the theoretical centre of the answering scale. To illustrate this finding, almost 38 per cent of the respondents show relatively strong relations to Europe, having a mean greater than 2,50. And only every fourth person reports a low level of European identity, having a mean less than 1,50. In general, young women see themselves as more pro-european than their male peers. 11 The average level of European identity, however, is by no means equally distributed within and across the sampled nations, as Figure 4 demonstrates. Figure 4: European Identity (mean index variable) Germany Austria Great Britain Spain Czech/Slovakia Chemn. Bielef. Vienna Breg. Manch. Edinb. Madrid Bilbao Prague Bratisl. Surprisingly, the list of strong European sentiments is headed by the samples from both accession states. In this context, Prague and Bratislava are the only samples where an absolute majority of respondents holds strong feelings of European solidarity. Bielefeld and Chemnitz from Germany as well as Bregenz and Vienna from Austria go behind without any significant 9 In the surveys of both accession states Czech and Slovak Republic the item formulation was adjusted to being a future citizen of the European Union. 10 The computed index variable for European identity is consistent and reliable; the value for Cronbachs Alpha is more than satisfying (α =.72). Interestingly, it does not seem to make a difference for European identity if the respondents are asked for Europe in general or for the European Union in particular. 11 The only exception is Bregenz in Austria where young men have a slightly higher mean on European identity. Bregenz and Vienna are special in another respect: Because the survey in Austria was done on the basis of a reduced questionnaire the identity items of attachment to Austria and Europe respectively are missing in the dataset. Therefore, the index variables for both constructs include only two measurements of identity.

13 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 13 regional variations. The level of European identity is lowest among youths from Great Britain. Every second respondent in Edinburgh and more than 40% of the respondents from Manchester mainly reject the idea of belonging to Europe in terms of identity. In contrast to the requirements for nationality, differences in the degree of Europeanness seem to be rather a matter of national than regional variations, with Spain as the only country that deviates from this pattern. Whereas participants responses hardly differ between those from Madrid and Austrian or German youths, the level of European identity among respondents from Bilbao is far lower. In relation to European identity the average feeling of national identity is still stronger pronounced within the total sample (x = 2,60) as well as in every single sample. 12 The portion of respondents with a relatively high level of national identity (x > 2,50) ranges from 27 per cent in the Bilbao sample up to 83 per cent in the Prague sample. However, the gap between national and European identity is not very large. Especially in Germany and Austria the strength of sentiments regarding Europe is hardly less important than national identity. Respondents from Manchester on the other hand identify themselves clearly stronger as Britons than Europeans. And for youths from Edinburgh and Bilbao, each city representing a region with strong efforts to reach further independence from the national context, neither Europe nor the nation are such important sources of political identity. Figure 5: National Identity Germany Austria Great Britain Spain Czech/Slovakia Chemn. Bielef. Vienna Breg. Manch. Edinb. Madrid Bilbao Prague Bratisl. Note that national and European identity are always positively correlated. There is a highly significant Pearsons correlation coefficient of r =.45 for the total sample. In other words, nation and Europe serve as complementing rather than competing sources of political identity for young women and men. Feelings of national solidarity are generally more pronounced, but this priority does not imply that there is a trade-off between a strong identification with one s own nation and the level of European identity. It seems far more appropriate to draw a line 12 Analogous to the procedure with regard to European identity, a sufficiently reliable mean index variable for national identity was computed consisting of the three items described above (Cronbachs Alpha =.68).

14 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 14 between the different sources of identification to distinguish people who preferably use political entities, like nation or Europe, for their self-definition, and those who prefer other sources of identity, such as religion etc. This positive connection between national and European identity applies to almost all samples, with coefficients oscillating between r =.32 in Prague and r =.70 in Madrid. Bratislava shows a positive but non-significant correlation close to zero and is thus the only exception. Strikingly, for young people in the capital of the Slovak Republic the identification with Europe is obviously independent from their level of national solidarity and vice versa. This result is particularly astonishing in the light of two facts: firstly, the Bratislava sample shows highest ratings for both national and European identity. Secondly, there are hardly any differences in the level of political identification between respondents from the two regions of the former Czechoslovakia. But while the Czech Republic and Europe seem to serve as compatible sources of identity for young people in Prague, this cannot be argued for youths from Bratislava Political Identities and Nationality The last step in the analyses introduced here is to relate the three dimensions of requirements for nationality to national and European identity. Remember that the starting point of this article were considerations about the natural relevance of the state for defining criteria of it s membership in terms of nationality and citizenship. This unity of state and nationality becomes more and more questioned by several developments. Especially, the ongoing integration of European countries and the growing impact of the European Union challenges the individual national policies on nationality and naturalization. Against this background, the question arises how young people from different national and regional contexts deal with the issue of nationality and in which sense their identification as nationals or Europeans influences the opinions about requirements for nationality. On the basis of the data at hand it is possible to explore some empirical evidence to the kind of connections between political identities on the one hand and concepts of nationality on the other hand. Using the procedure of multiple linear regressions, the importance of each of the three dimensions of requirements for nationality was related to the extent of national and European identity. 13 The bar chart in Figure 6 represents the standardized Beta coefficients for 13 The statistical method of multiple regressions was chosen in order to control the mentioned intercorrelations between the index variables and to see the isolated effects of identity. That means, three independent regressions were calculated, one for each dimension of nationality as a dependent variable. Each regression equation includes both kinds of political identity and the two remaining dimensions of nationality as independent variables.

15 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 15 the total sample. None of these coefficients is particularly high but due to the large number of cases, they are all of statistical significance (p < 0.05). The portrayed relations are therefore more than just random phenomena within the data. The only non-significant relation exists between European identity and the obligatory dimension of nationality requirements. These two constructs are completely independent from each other, i.e. the extent of European solidarity has no influence on the importance of such requirements as passing a test or taking an oath of allegiance in order to obtain citizenship. Note however, that there is a considerable relation between national identity and the obligatory dimension. The more a person feels attached to his or her nation the more he or she emphasises the importance of the latter dimension. Similar positive coefficients with national identity can be derived from the two other dimensions of nationality. Thus, a stronger identification with one s own nation is associated with a generally more restrictive view on demands for gaining nationality. Figure 6: Regression Coefficients of Political Identities on Requirements for Nationality Origin Civic Obligation European Identity National Identity In contrast to national identity, the negative correlation between European identity and the origin dimension of nationality supports the assumption that people whose sources of identification go beyond that of nation attribute less meaning to classical characteristics of nationality, like place of birth or ancestry. On the other hand, young people with a comparatively high level of European identity assign more importance to civic requirements. This relation, however, is less strong in comparison to the impact of national identity. That means the individual strength of solidarity with Europe or the nation really makes a difference with regard to the opinion towards requirements for nationality. Hardly any different results occur when splitting the total sample into the ten sub samples. For instance, the effect of European identity on the obligatory aspect of nationality does not reach significance for any of the samples. However, it is positively correlated on a significant level with national identity in eight out of ten cities, ranging from β =.11 (Prague and Bregenz) up to β =.25 (Edinburgh). The pattern on the second dimension of nationality, the civic-based

16 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 16 requirements, is slightly more heterogeneous yielding significant positive coefficients with national identity for half of the samples (Chemnitz, Madrid, Prague, Vienna and Bregenz). The only case with a negative correlation is the Manchester sample, indicating that young people with stronger national identity attribute lower importance to the demands for civic integration. Yet, only in four of the samples - Bielefeld, Bregenz, Prague, and Bratislava - there is a meaningful positive correlation between European identity and civic requirements. The remaining coefficients are close to zero and do not achieve statistical significance. Finally, there is a moderate relationship between a higher level of national identity and a stronger emphasis on origin-based requirements in all samples, with corresponding coefficients ranging from β =.08 (Edinburgh) and β =.28 (Bielefeld). However, the only cities in which the level of European identity affects this origin dimension of nationality to a considerable extent are Bielefeld (β = -.14), Edinburgh (β = -.18) and Bratislava (β = -.15). Again, all other coefficients are close to zero. Of course there are regional differences in the strengths of relations between national and European identity on the one hand and the three dimensions of requirements for nationality on the other hand, yet there is hardly any systematic deviation from the general pattern shown in Figure 6. The only exceptions from this are Bilbao and Manchester. Bilbao is the only city where neither the level of national nor European solidarity seems to have a significant impact, whereas Manchester is the only sample with a negative relation between national identity and civic requirements. 4. Discussion The intention of this article was to throw some light on the complex relations between national and European identity on the one hand and conceptions of nationality on the other hand by using empirical material from an international youth survey. The descriptive analyses have shown that the predetermined requirements for the acquirement of nationality can be condensed to three distinct dimensions which apply to all included nations and regions. Two of these dimensions reflect the frequently discussed differentiation between ethnic-based characteristics (e.g. parents from nation, national ancestors) and civicbased demands (e.g. language skills, economic self-supply). Young men and women of each sample attach highest importance to the latter aspect; civic integration seems to be the general base for the notion nationality. Attributes of origin are far less important but in no case

17 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 17 categorical antipodes to civic demands. In fact, these attributes pose as additional conditions as well as obligation-orientated requirements, the third dimension of nationality. Besides, an elementary common structure a number of differences concerning the importance of these three dimensions can be ascertained across the particular samples. These differences are less a reflection of varying national regulations for bestowing nationality but rather an expression of regional distinctions. This fact becomes especially obvious in the cases of Spain and Great Britain where the respondents from both cities of the subordinate regions (Bilbao and Edinburgh) are clearly less restrictive in their ratings than the respondents of the corresponding partner cities (Madrid and Manchester). Against the background of the wide autonomy of the Basque Provinces and Scotland the regional level comes to the fore and narrows the importance attached to nation-based requirements at the same time. In contrast, the comparison between all German and British respondents for instance does not lead to systematic differences with regard to the respective nationality laws. Although the German nationality law was modernized in 2000, it is traditionally more focused on the ethnic principle of consanguinity whereas the British nationality law stronger emphasizes the territory aspect and civic requirements. British youths from Manchester and Edinburgh actually attribute more importance to the demand for being born in the country than their German peers but this difference similarly applies to the two items of ethnic descent. And with regard to civic requirements only small variations between Germans and Britons are existing in the presented survey, tending towards higher ratings among the respondents from Chemnitz and Bielefeld. It remains to retain that attitudes towards requirements for nationality do not mirror the respective national regulations. And even more important, civic aspects of integration enjoy highest priority whereas commitment to the nation and origin-based characteristics are less crucial for youths. This finding is of some relevance for the idea of a common European citizenship, since the civic dimension is not primarily based on a nation or nation-state. On the other hand, a number of nationality regulations just prohibit that kind of civic integration by refusing certain citizenship rights for persons who are not nationals. This discrepancy touches on the general debate about nationality as pre-requisite for integration versus integration as pre-requisite for acquiring nationality. However, integration in turn is always connected with issues of identification as both depends to a large degree on active participation and a feeling of belonging. Accordingly, the surveyed demand for emotional relatedness to the country is closely connected with the civic dimension

18 Fuss: The Meaning of Nationality and European Identity. (ECPR 2003) 18 of nationality across all samples. And the high level of attached importance shows that young men and women consciously stress this aspect as an important requirement for becoming a member of the nation. But this article raised the question of how and to which extent individual identifications with the nation and with Europe are connected with attitudes towards nationality. A first result of these analyses can be seen in the fact that Europe constitutes a significant source of political identification for young people, especially in the two samples of the future Member States (Prague and Bratislava). The feeling of solidarity with Europe is less strong than with one s own nation but reaches a considerable level in all samples, except of Manchester, Edinburgh and Bilbao. In general, both identifications are positively related which supports the idea of a comprehensive European identity which is largely based on the mutual respect of national identities. Confronting the respondents attitudes towards nationality with the extent of their national and European identity results in moderate but not negligible coefficients. Apart from the absolute level of coefficients the directions appear very interesting. While an increasingly stronger national solidarity leads to a higher importance attributed to all three dimensions of nationality this positive relation applies only to the civic dimension with regard to European identity. And in contrast to national identity the positive sign turns into a negative sign for the relation between European identity and origin-based requirements the higher the level of European identity the lower is the importance of this dimension. This pattern is widely identical across the single samples, only for respondents from Bilbao the identification with Spain or Europe has no impact at all on the significance of requirements for nationality. But in general, a strong European identity seems to foster an understanding of nationality which rather emphasizes civic instead of origin characteristics of nationality. And civic requirements in turn are most appropriate for establishing a kind of common identity which is rather based on European citizenship than on the nation. Of course, the presented analyses are not able to give exhaustive answers to the initially posed questions. The purpose of this contribution was to give some empirical descriptions in order to get a first impression of the relations between different identity references and the issue of nationality. A number of other relevant factors like nationalism, xenophobia or voting behavior could not be included in the calculations. In general, it is questionable to which extent conventional methods of quantitative analyses embrace the complexity of this topic. For that reason, the second part of the introduced research project on Youth and European Identity will collect further knowledge by conducting a number of qualitative in-depth interviews with young men and women from all places of the first survey. Therewith, it is

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