Supranational Identity

National identities are cultural glues that bind people to their land. Place is part of our identity. Yet people exist in multiple political scales, with ties not only to their nation but to their own local places and regions. This is partly an administrative reality, as illustrated by the three flags in the photo below. But local and regional affinities can also be very powerful unifiers for culture groups.

 

 

Figure 3: Flags of the region of Provence, France, and the EU  outside the municipal building in Cassis, France. Photo: P. Klein

 

In some places there are movements to create supranational identities (the Latin prefix supra means "beyond"). The growth of multi-state political, economic and military alliances (e.g., the UN, EU, or various regional trade blocs) since World War II is termed supranationalism. For example, the European Union, in promoting the project of deeper political connections, is asking people to stretch their politico-cultural identities to something "beyond" their nation.

So consider all of the different levels of identity at play in your world. New supranational political identities are promoted; at the same time, historic national identities re-emerge. And it is likely that in this increasingly mobile world, celebrations of transnational identity will become significant in many more places. Place identity has both cultural significance and political ramifications and if anything, its importance seems to be growing. That may seem paradoxical, given the much-publicized globalization of culture, economy, and politics.

 

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