Power, identity, and belonging: a mixed-methods study of the processes shaping perceptions of EU integration in a prospective member state

Obradović, Sandra ORCID: 0000-0001-7930-3909 and Sheehy-Skeffington, Jennifer ORCID: 0000-0003-0372-4867 (2020) Power, identity, and belonging: a mixed-methods study of the processes shaping perceptions of EU integration in a prospective member state. European Journal of Social Psychology. ISSN 0046-2772

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Abstract

What is at stake, psychologically, when a nation considers joining a supranational body such as the European Union? This article addresses this question from the perspective of power, identity, and belonging vis-à-vis superordinate groups. Taking a mixed-methods approach, using focus group (N = 67) and survey (N = 1,192) data, we explore the psychosocial dynamics that shape perceptions of European Union (EU) integration in a prospective member state, Serbia. Findings from the qualitative study highlighted the role of power imbalances in triggering concerns of compatibility in the present, and in shaping the expected consequences for national identity continuity in an EU future. The survey functioned to explore these relationships further, enabling the testing of two moderated mediation models. The first showed that perceptions of national powerlessness predicted lower perceptions that Serbia was representative of Europe, and this was associated with weaker identification as European. In the second model, perceptions of the EU as a hierarchy-enhancing union predicted heightened fears of Serbian identity discontinuity in an EU future, which in turn had downstream consequences for support for working toward EU accession. Both indirect pathways were stronger among high national identifiers, yielding insight into when national and supranational identification can work in harmony. This mixed-methods study sheds light on the importance of social psychological processes concerning hierarchy and groups in understanding citizens’ attitudes toward prospective large-scale political change.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10990992
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Authors
Divisions:	Psychological and Behavioural Science Government
Subjects:	J Political Science > JZ International relations J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Date Deposited:	08 Jun 2020 09:18
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 04:04
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/105028

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