National Identity in Europe : A Critical Discourse Analysis of Identity Representation of Dutch Political Parties

As European Integration has processed after Maastricht people and political parties started fearing assimilation from above that takes away their national identity. This political myth was perpetuated and ultimately led to the rejection of the European Constitution by the Dutch and the French. This thesis deals with the general focus that is put on national identity by Dutch political parties in the context of the 2009 European elections. It uses a critical discourse analysis to find out the different levels of representation by the political parties and relate them to the process of European integration. The outcome is that most political parties represent moderate national identity that sees the limits of Europe. Some parties (namely PVV and SP) however represent a very strong national identity and demand a nationalization of Europe whereas others (GroenLinks and D66) represent a lower national identity and favour integration. With a stronger representation of the national identity further European integration processes may also be endangered.