The Emergence of a European Identity:
An Agent-Based Model of International Interaction
Maurits van der Veen
maurits@sas.upenn.edu
In recent years numerous analysts have argued that progress
in the European integration project is endangered by the weak sense of shared
identity evident across the EU polity. Indeed, national publics appear to
feel much less of a sense of international community than many leaders would
like, leaving the latter to puzzle over the optimal mechanisms to foster
a European identity. Agent-based models of the emergence of such an identity
provide us with a tool of unmatched flexibility and power for the study of
the impact of different factors and policy initiatives.
Earlier simulation results illustrated the effect of
the elimination of borders between European states, while simultaneously
underscoring the path dependence and contingency associated with the emergence
of a European identity. In this paper, I investigate the implications of
international interaction for the emergence of a sense of shared identity.
I combine two strands of the modeling literature: studies of the emergence
of international cooperation and conflict, and constructivist work on the
spread of identities through a population.
In the model, agents interact in a multi-state world
whose borders gradually become more porous. They have some choice in their
selection of those they interact with economically, and the geographical
range for potential interaction partners grows over time. Agent strategies
for cooperation (or defection) may depend on markers of shared identity as
well as a limited amount of memory regarding interaction with specific other
agents. An important innovation is the fact that identities diffuse not only
through contacts with local neighbours, but also as a result of economic
interactions with (possibly far-flung) others. The model thus allows us to
study the interaction and joint evolution of different scenarios for the
evolution of a European identity on the one hand, and international cooperation
and conflict on the other hand.