"United in Diversity" ...or by Education? - Reviewing the Role of Education in Identification with Europe

Abstract

The forging of a European identity is an essential part of overcoming challenges to European integration. However, existing literature indicates that those who identify the most as European, often represent a homogenous elite that is not reflective of the diversity present in Europe. Based on Inglehart's (1970) Cognitive Mobilization Hypothesis, education is often argued to be a pathway through which European identity can become more accessible. Given growing investments and integration in European higher education, this paper seeks to reevaluate the role of education categorically, and how its effect on identification with Europe may be moderated by one's financial background and rural or urban residence. Moreover, the paper investigates whether country-level participation in educational mobility programs can impact individual-level identification with Europe. Making use of the latest wave of the survey on European Solidarity, a multilevel continuous model was employed for empirical analysis. The results show that when education is examined categorically, master's and doctoral degrees significantly increase identification with Europe, and the relationship between education and identification with Europe was not moderated by financial status or residence area type. Furthermore, coming from a country with...