The extent to which people in European countries are becoming more European in their identity is the subject of this very timely book, which presents important new empirical data on the Europeanization of identities. A variety of approaches, ranging from social psychology and political science to ethnographic and discourse analysis, explores the many ways European identities are being transformed. The contributors want to establish the degree to which both citizens and elites identify with Europe and how such forms of identification relate to other identities, in particular, national identities. The aim of the volume is less theoretical and philosophical abstraction than to devise middle-range approaches to measuring transnational identity and to assess its impact and significance.

There are at least two different levels of analysis in this endeavor. One concerns the increasing extent to which people identify with the European Union and the question of whether one can speak of a European identity emerging out of these identities. The second concerns the extent to which the EU is itself able to articulate an identity. These two levels are not quite the same. The first level is one that can only be established by an analysis of the concrete social identities of individual citizens, whereas the second must be established by a different means, such as the analysis of policy statements, discourses of different kinds, and the identities of elites. An introductory chapter by Richard Herrmann and Marilynn Brewer offers a useful conceptualization of social identity, which can be seen in terms of three aspects, which together define the relation between individuals and a group: It defines the composition of the group, the symbolic attributes of the group, and the ways the group is differentiated from other groups.

The three chapters in Part I are written by social psychologists, who share a concern with looking at identity in terms of individual group relations and dynamics. Glynis Breakwell introduces identity process theory, arguing that identities are a product of interaction and are in a constant process of change, rather than being simply fixed. She claims that Europe is an empty and changing category and does not itself have an identity but nevertheless influences individual identities. This is a position that is skeptical of an overarching supranational European identity. One way Europe has become a basis of identity is the degree to which it is perceived as a real entity. Emanuele Castano thus argues that the EU must acquire a psychological existence in the minds of citizens. This suggests the importance of a cognitive dimension more than a symbolic identification. Amélia Mummendey and Sven Waldzus document the tendency for national models of collective identity to be projected onto a common sense of Europeanness, with the result that European identity might simply increase cross-national animosities. However, they also note the representations of Europe that emphasize diversity.

The next three chapters deal with European identity as expressed in the identities and discourses of elites. Brigid Laffan, a political scientist, argues that the EU has become a powerful social construction but is not an alternative to the nation-state. As a normative, symbolic, and cognitive entity, it has become embedded in the process of Europeanization. This analysis insists on the multiple orders of Europe, but does not claim that there is a supranational European identity. The next two chapters employ discourse analysis. In a study of EU delegates and civil servants, Ruth Wodak finds common definitions of being European. Similarly, Euginia Siapera reports on interviews with journalists who cover the EU, showing how three different repertoires influence the construction of Europe. This points to a constructivist view of Europe as created in discursive contexts, rather than being an underlying identity. Moreover, it suggests less a supra-European identity than a multiplicity of European identities.

In Part II, the chapters concern the extent to which identification with Europe is not exclusively an elite phenomenon. In one of the most important chapters in the volume, Jack Citrin and John Sides show by means of survey data that while identifications with Europe are not as intense as national identification, complementary attachments to nation and to Europe are increasing. While relatively less than 10% put Europe first, a significant and increasing number express equal attachment to Europe and the nation. As a result, there is a decreasing number of people who say that they are more attached to the nation than to Europe. This is a significant empirical finding. The next chapter by Michael Bruter makes the important point that European identity is conceptually different from support for European integration and can be researched in terms of its civic and cultural expressions. Ulrike Meinhoff's chapter does not explicitly address European identity, which, she wonders, could be a product of closed questionnaire survey formats. Her chapter instead is based on in-depth interviews on issues that are not central to the volume as a whole.

To the extent to which a common theme underlies these diverse studies, it is a social constructionist approach to Europeanization, as Thomas Risse suggests in an excellent closing chapter. European identity is expressed not just in the awareness of the cultural diversity that constitutes Europe, but in the formation of new and more reflexive kinds of identity, which draw from many different kinds of collective identity, ranging from ethnic to national to EU.

One of the main conclusions of Transnational Identities is that the increase in individual identities that have a relation to Europe does not amount to a common European identity. This is partly because of the diversity of views as to what constitutes Europe and the fact that many attachments to Europe are compatible with national expressions of belonging. It follows from this that the EU does not have to compete with national identities for it to create an identity, although this is unlikely to be a singular identity. Not surprisingly, then, many of the contributors disagree with neofunctionalists, who would see institutional changes leading to changes in identity, and disagree with supranationalists, who see a zero sum relation between national and European identities.

This is the most up-to-date collection of studies on measuring European identity and brings research significantly beyond the limitations Eurobarometer studies. The only defect in an excellently edited volume is that some of the chapters are more concerned with methods than with substantive conclusions, and where they are attempted, the results are limited by relatively restricted empirical studies, with the result that these chapters inevitably offer meager generalizations. An exception in this regard is the excellent chapter by Citrin and Sides, and Thomas Risse's conclusion partly compensates for this tendency.