National and European Identity

The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 different countries. It consists of about half a billion citizens, and its combined economy represents about 20 percent of the world’s total economy (Briney, 2015). Today The European Union works as a single market, with free movement of people, goods and services from one country to another. There is a standard system of laws to be followed, and since 1999 many countries share a single currency called the Euro (Europa.eu, 2015). This essay will explore the background history of the European Union and the benefits and drawbacks of the European Union.

Cultural Identity is “The definition of groups or individuals (by themselves or others) in terms of cultural or subcultural categories (including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and gender)” (Oxford Reference). Everyone has cultural identity even though some are unaware of theirs because their habits and traditions might be seen as normal to the person and they might not make the connection that it is a cultural tradition or connected to their cultural identity. Some people are very aware of their cultural identity and have conflict within their identity because the cultures may not coincide. Frida Kahlo’s Self Portrait: On the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States and Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien” both show cultural conflict through symbolism, conflict, and purpose.

The EU was created in the midst of a war in attempts to unite Europe under a common government. After 43 years of rebuilding foreign affairs, have their attempts made a positive impact on the modern Europe? Many argue that the EU takes a toll on country's sovereignty. They lack in allowing countries to be apart of the union, without masking the unique culture and diversity of that country. Despite the advantages of being apart of the EU, the disadvantages highly outweigh them in the areas of economic, independence and cultural identity.

Very few states today are so similar culturally that the culture is shared with the state. Europe’s prominent nation-states have developed into diverse societies, their nations defined more by a “national spirit” and emotional commitment than by cultural or ethnic homogeneity.

Within the frames of the new reality, those immigrants face myriad problems associated with finding their way to cope with the assumed expectations and identifying their relatively split identities. This leads to a multi-level conflict that results from the conception or definition of national identity according to the visionary of state versus the socio-cultural diversity reflected in real life.

Richard Handler, an Anthropology Professor at the University of Virginia, writes, "Nationalism is an ideology about an individuated being, it is a form of group identity that arose during the French Revolution and Napoleonic period, it provides people with a form of identity-based on a common language, culture, historical situation, and religion or race(Handler H. (1988).” Based on this description when we think about the role of Nationalism in Europe during the 20th century we are inclined to remember that the strong feelings of nationalism ultimately came to define the attitudes of people during this time in Europe. Nationalism was a key initiative in the creation of World War 1 and 2 and as well as made some big impacts in the times to come after these wars. As I continue, I will attempt to shed some light on how Nationalism played a significant role in these historic times in our world history timeline and even the ways in which it still affects us today.

Having understood what identity and culture mean, it is now much easier to navigate their significance in global politics and IR. I argue that there are two main drivers of these nodal points in the contexts of this paper. The first is at the individual level, where people utilize identity and culture to locate other individuals of similar or identical nature, almost as a kind of social radar as described by Hale when discussing ethnicity (2004). In reality, Hale’s argument fits well within this one due to ethnicity arguably being a subdivision of identity. This conception

Part of the exceptional nature of the EU stems from the notion that nothing like it has ever been attempted successfully before. The European Union is an international institution with a single market and shared currency. It strives to maintain singular goals and make its way towards being an “ever closer union”. Today, the European Union has expanded to include twenty-eight member countries with an influence that reaches every continent. This institution has had an impressive history, but it has reached a point of concern. The golden years which held high hopes of a united supranational Union are long over. The EU faces destructive problems today, which could ultimately end their impressive era of cooperation. The Union has come

Ethnic identity much like racial identity is difficult to clearly discern and delineate. As a social construct, it is an umbrella term that mark a group affiliation to a common origin, culture, religion, or geography; it consists of shared traditions, behaviors, values and beliefs. (Waters, 1990) Outlining the elements and components of ethnic identity, Phinney and Ong (2007) stress its multidimensionality and dynamism, it encompasses several cultural, linguistic, behavioral features as well as being developmental and involving a shifting process. They consider self-categorization, commitment, and sense of attachment to the group as vital constituents of ethnic identity. They show that “the process of ethnic identity formation involves the construction over time of one’s sense of self as a group member and of one’s attitudes and understandings associated with group membership” (2007, p. 275) Exploration and commitment are the two head titles in the revised model to measure the formation of identity across different groups (MEIM-R, Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure). The model proposes a set of questions that capture the individual’s overall knowledge, understanding, engagement, sense of belonging and attachment to the social group.

This paper will analyze process of identify formation through social institutions, and popular culture, and how it differs between French Basques and Spanish Basques. This paper will also analyze a third group of Basques, Basque Americans, and how their process of identity formation has been uniquely shaped by the Basque diaspora and American culture.

National identity is the transmission of each generation’s legacy to the next and the enabling of the nation citizen to take pride and identification of the country (Stephan, 2009). A nation positive unique identity breeds patriotism which consequently

Identities are created to protect boarders, as discussed in class the notion that “in creating a nation state now lets make an identity.” One problem with this notion is that some nations do not have recognized borderers. Another problem is that it is not reasonable to create an identity that will encompass everyone. To give an illustration, take Nazi Germany and the myth of Aryan race. Anything that was not ‘Aryan’ was considered a second-class citizen where one was either expelled or eliminated in their attempts to achieve self-determination (Rachel Guglielmo, 197). The effort in the end was an expensive and ineffective process. On Monday, we discussed the notion that nationhood could be at a national level and also a subnational level. Consequently,

     In the event of an integrated Europe, constructivists recognize that to completely avoid conflict, each state will have to succumb to a “European identity” and all individual identities will have to become merely “cultural gems” within the European system. This, they argue, can be achieved with the success of several steps including economic, judicial, and security integration . The first step has already been attempted with the establishment of the Euro, the common European currency, which has been outperformed by its monetary competitors. A great amount of trust will have to be secured between states before a common court or army can be established, and most likely with as little success as the common currency. So, even by these simplified guidelines the outlook for the creation of a new “European

Cultural identity is the basis in which identification is used to express different aspects pertaining to identity and heritage. A person's cultural identity may be created by social organization, as well as traditions and customs within their lives. The two aspects that construct my cultural identity are the frequent chores I must complete every day in order to fulfill my behavioral expectations, and the youth group I attend weekly. These aspects are important to my family and me. Therefore, my identity has an immeasurable effect on my upbringing into this multi-cultural world I live in.

As a Eurasian country, Turkey sits on the crossroads of Europe and Asia and could potentially change the current culture clash between the two continents, acting as a middle ground if it was granted membership, however with The Bosphorus being classed as the main border delineation of Europe and Asia it means that just 4% of Turkey actually lies within Europe with the majority being in Asia (McCormick, 2011). This causes a debate on whether or not Turkey can actually be defined as European or whether its accession would cause an identity shift within the EU that could potentially result in drastic geopolitical repercussions. However the geographical location of Turkey would also provide the European Union with a number of substantial benefits. The strategic location of Turkey in the heart of Europe, Asia and the Middle East would allow the EU to benefit in several key areas such as international crime, reusable energy and economy. With Turkey’s aid in creating a mutual ground and breaking the barriers between the differing cultures, the links between