Özet:

The main goal of this article is to establish whether in the European Union and Croatia there has been a decrease in the number of citizens who identify themselves as citizens of the European Union, and what are the elements that contribute to the dynamics of creation of the European identity. The reason for exploring this particular topic is the growth of populist narratives in the European Union that potentially led to the UK's exit from the European Union. However, unlike the usual political analysis of the concept of European identity, the article tries to provide an interdisciplinary insight. The first part of the article provides an overview of the theories of collective identity in psychology and anthropology. Psychological identity theories are interpreted through social and cultural psychology. Anthropological theories of identity are divided into earlier and postmodern anthropological interpretations. The focus of the article is on interpreting the European identity through arbitrarily selected psychological and anthropological  elements. The methodological part of the paper covers the analysis and interpretation of statistics based on the Eurobarometer Standard series of longitudinal surveys. When analyzing data, a distinction is made between, on one hand, the European Union and, on the other hand, the country of Croatia. The results of the analysis indicate the growth of a hybrid form of identity consisting of national identity in the first place and European identity in the second place. Furthermore, citizens of the European Union consider that their local, national or rural, level is closer to their identity. Finally, the elements that govern the dynamics of European identity development are not the same for all EU citizens and depend on the wider socio-political situation.

Anahtar Kelimeler: