The national and European identity of Spanish citizens.

Abstract

This article analyzes European and national identities and the way they relate to each other in the discourse of ordinary Spanish citizens. The analysis is based on 24 interviews with ordinary citizens and three focus groups carried out with former Erasmus students, returned emigrants, and managers of firms of European multinational capital located in Spain. We find that people with some personal experience of other European countries reinforce their national as well as their European identity. Both identities are ambiguous and difficult to define, but contexts seem to be more important for the definition of the European identity. Spaniards define themselves as Europeans mainly in opposition to other continents and cultures that are perceived as different, and more specifically to the United States and Muslim countries. The results allow us to be optimistic with respect to the future development of an European identity in Spain, since the experiences which generate this identity will continue to occur in the foreseeable future and will probably even become more common. From a methodological perspective, our findings suggest modifications in the design of questionnaires used for quantitative studies.