Identification in European Migration
Author: Grigorescu, Alexandra , grigorescuanda@gmail.com
Department: Sociology
University: University of Bucharest, Romania
Supervisor: Prof. Dumitru Sandu
Year of completion: In progress
Language of dissertation: English
Keywords:
European identity
, migration
, transnationalism
, regionalization
Areas of Research:
Migration
, Stratification
Abstract
This dissertation proposes to study European identity by emphasizing particular attitudes and practices that individuals develop within the contemporary emergence of the European Union. Considering the fact that the European identity refers to the way individuals categorize themselves in relation to an emergent socio-political unit, but also to its dynamic and highly contextual character, the adequate measure for the European identity is its affective dimension: namely, the feeling of belonging and the emotional significance that individuals incorporate in relation to the EU. This affective dimension will be used as a proxy measure for European identity throughout the present study.
European identity will be approached from the migration experience perspective, taking into account the unifying and inclusive policies that the EU promotes within its member states in order to consolidate its institutions. Given existing theoretical and empirical studies, this study intends to address the relationship between the migration experience and Europeans’ self-understanding. Does the migration experience influence European identity? Or is European identity rather the result of a transnational background that diminishes or simply eliminates the migration experience influence?
In a multi-group structural equation model framework, the effects of various aspects upon the endogenous variable, European identity, will be tested. The exogenous variables will be constructed in order to illustrate the mobility individuals experience through migration and a transnational background. Finally, given that the EU is not a uniform space, this study will also test any emerging differences in the way individuals identify themselves with the EU by their residence in a particular European region.
