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One measure of nationalism is the weight and exclusivity given to national

identity over other ‘levels of identity’. These may be local or regional, or they
might focus on other collectivities, such as religion or tribe, finally, they might
scale upwards to a supranational identity, such as a continent, a supranational
political project (e.g. as the AU, EU) or global identity.

An examination of global trends in this measure does not suggest a rise of


national, exclusionary identities. Among citizens around the world surveyed
between 2009 and 2014 in two waves of surveys, the level of those who don’t
see themselves as citizens of the world has not shifted significantly. While some
countries (Morocco, Germany, Romania) witnessed a decline of those not
identifying as ‘citizen of the world’, others (China, Jordan) saw an increase. The
trend across all continents suggests that there is no clear pattern, nor that there
is a negative trend (Figure 6).

Figure 6. I see myself as a citizen of the world: Disagree or strongly disagree
(World Value Survey)

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In Europe, there has also been no negative trend in identifying with the Europe.
In the Spring 2018 Eurobarometer, 70% of Europeans identified to some extent
as EU citizens. This result is the highest since first asked in 2010. A majority of
Europeans also see themselves also as having a dual European and national
identity, 61% in Spring 2018, with younger people expressing a stronger
attachment to the EU (Eurobarometer, 2018; Stone, 2017). Thus, there is no
trend suggesting a decline in supranational identities, be they global or
European.

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