THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NATIONAL PRIDE AND NATIONAL IDENTITY TO THE ATTITUDE TOWARD THE SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCY - A EUROPE-WIDE COMPARISON

The purpose of this paper is to explain the attitude toward the euro o n the basis of different aspects of national identity. It is demonstra ted that national identity and national pride both entail multi-dimens ional constructs. Where national identity is concerned, in most countr ies a dimension of pure categorization (patriotism) can be distinguish ed from a dimension of discrimination (nationalism). The third dimensi on encountered is that of ''European patriotism''. National pride can express itself, first, in terms of cultural-historical pride and, seco nd, in terms of economic-political pride. Where the attitude toward th e euro is concerned, the stance of European patriotism and the nationa listic stance have particular explanatory force. The former fosters a positive attitude toward the euro, while the latter has a negative imp act on the attitude toward the euro. National patriotism, on the other hand, bears no relation to the attitude toward the European Monetary Union. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PsycINFO cl assification code: 2960; 3020. JEL classification: D12; E52.