Collective Identities, European Solidarity: Identification Patterns and Preferences for European Social Insurance

Abstract

A degree of collective identity is often perceived to be a requirement for integration of core state powers, and even more so when redistributive measures are at stake. Existing research has shown that European identity is an important correlate of support for European social policy in general. This article explores the ways in which collective identities relate to the multidimensional nature of social policy at the European level. We explore in particular the features of European social policy that receive the most support from European publics, and how local, national and European identity moderates these preferences. We expect that people who have primarily sub‐national or national attachments are less supportive of generous schemes and schemes that involve greater cross‐country redistribution, and are more in favour of decentralized schemes administered by the member states than those with stronger European identities. We find support for these expectations in a conjoint survey experiment fielded in autumn 2018 in 13 EU member states.

Collective Identities and the Integration of Core State Powers: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…The authors assess how collective identities impact on preferences for different designs of EU policy packages (for example, with varying redistribution potential, governance and conditionality). Building on the concepts presented in this introduction, Nicoli et al (2020) identify three ideal-types of identification patterns: genuine Europeans, genuine nationals and genuine localists. Genuine Europeans are more supportive of very generous redistributive schemes governed at European level; and the more exclusive is their European identity the more they support these schemes.…”

“…Genuine nationals support certain EU-level social policy packages as long as they entail no long-term redistribution, are less generous and are administered nationally; even more so, the more exclusive is their national attachment. All in all, Nicoli et al (2020) found that rather than driving support for European social policy in general, national and European identities structure support for different types of European social policy: Even individuals with exclusive national identities are ready to support EURS as long as it does not involve cross-country redistribution and as long as the funds are managed by the member states rather than by an EU body.…”

“…In the next article of the collection, Francesco Nicoli, Theresa Kuhn and Brian Burgoon () explore the issue of fiscal solidarity and its association with collective identity in detail using a survey experiment on EU‐level social insurance fielded in autumn, 2018 in 13 European countries. The authors assess how collective identities impact on preferences for different designs of EU policy packages (for example, with varying redistribution potential, governance and conditionality).…”

“…Building on the concepts presented in this introduction, Nicoli et al . () identify three ideal‐types of identification patterns: genuine Europeans, genuine nationals and genuine localists. Genuine Europeans are more supportive of very generous redistributive schemes governed at European level; and the more exclusive is their European identity the more they support these schemes.…”

“…All in all, Nicoli et al . () found that rather than driving support for European social policy in general, national and European identities structure support for different types of European social policy: Even individuals with exclusive national identities are ready to support EURS as long as it does not involve cross‐country redistribution and as long as the funds are managed by the member states rather than by an EU body.…”