How Does an “Envisioned” European Identity Correspond to a “Realized” European Identity? A Critical Analysis of the Efficacy, Effectiveness, and Outcomes of European Union Policy-Based Construction of a European Identity

Kelly Soderstrom

doi:10.22151/politikon.29.15

Authors

Kelly Soderstrom Mannheim Business School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.29.15

Keywords:

citizenship, collective identity theory, constructivism, EU enlargement, European Union, international relations

Abstract

As European integration progresses, scholars have become increasingly interested in the definition and development of a collective European identity. Based upon analysis of European Union (EU) policies and viewed through the lenses of constructivism and collective identity theory, this paper examines construction of an emergent European identity and why it differs from that initially envisioned by the EU. Due to the intersubjective and context-dependent nature of collective identity, policies not explicitly intended for identity construction have had a profound impact on the ultimate constructed identity. While somewhat subtle, the difference and, perhaps, contradiction between the initially envisioned and emergent European identities can change the effectiveness of EU domestic and international policies. This impacts not only relations among those living in the EU, but also interactions between the EU and the international community as a whole.

Author Biography

Kelly Soderstrom, Mannheim Business School

Kelly Soderstrom, 26, from Boulder (Colorado, USA), is a graduate who received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science/International Relations (cum laude) at Carleton College (USA) in 2011. In 2013, she obtained an MSc in International and European Politics (distinction) at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). She wrote her Master’s Thesis on the efficacy of elite-driven European identity construction. In 2014, she was a Research Fellow at the University of Hohenheim conducting a research project of youth immigrant integration non-profit organizational structures. Currently, she works as an MBA Program Management Assistant and Social Project Coordinator at the Mannheim Business School in Mannheim, Germany. Her academic interests include migration studies (especially citizenship, integration, and asylum/refugee policy), European Union studies, and non-profit organizations.