Research NoteWorking Paper5 min
Can the EU Compete for Emotions?
|Updated February 4, 2026|Introductory
european-unionemotionseuropean-identitynationalismbelonging
Abstract
Europeists appeal to reason: peace, prosperity, mobility. Nationalists appeal to the heart: pride, belonging, defence of the sacred. On the terrain where politics is truly played, Europe competes with paper weapons against adversaries armed with fire.