EU Legitimacy and Social Affiliation: A study of Engineers in Europe

Analyses of European governance usually bring the member states into the fore placing the citizens in the background. By means of economic analysis, this paper brings explanations of EU legitimacy down to the level of individuals. A method will be suggested that combines explanations based on individual interests and a sociological approach to identity. The paper investigates how work organizations become levers for a European outlook that may release legitimizing from its national context. The individual level analysis will be carried out for one particular occupational group (engineers) and the research questions are elucidated by a small number of interviews with Danish engineers concerning their experience of policies and actions with technological knowledge.