European Union citizenship: Top-down push for bottom-up movement
LE3 .A278 2009
2009
Brickner, Rachel
Acadia University
Bachelor of Arts
Honours
Political Science
Politics
The desire of the political elite for European citizenship dates back to before the introduction of the most basic forms of European integration projects. With the agreement of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, the European Union was established and concurrently bestowed member state citizens with the status of European Union citizenship. This supplementary EU citizenship is bequeathed to member state citizens by national and supranational executives, without the political consolidation or social struggle and development from the individual-level normally associated with the development of citizenship. The role individuals play in the development of citizenship is exceptionally significant, as bottom-up movement in the process is fundamental if the citizenship is going to reflect the interests and desires of the society. The development of a transnational citizen is faced with similar challenges as those presented to a traditional citizenship: it requires the development of a legal status, rights, political participation, and common identity. Moving beyond this transnational citizenship that is contingent on member state citizenship, as is the case of the EU, presents the additional challenge of overcoming entrenched appreciation and loyalty to national citizenship and requires the cultivation of new interests and values on a supranational level. Individuals‟ continued prioritization of national identification over being European will continue to make cultivating an overarching EU identity and fostering EU political participation a difficult task. This can only be overcome by an internalization of the stake individuals have in the project and the belief it is beneficial to them. For its success and acceptance to take root within its citizens, the European Union must foster a common European Union identity and promote interest of its project within its citizens, and movement of citizens from the bottom-up must be established and mobilized to meet the top-down efforts of the EU.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:572