The Social Experience of the Euro

The recent wave of nationalism in Europe - most clearly marked by Brexit - menaces the European Union and its institutions, including the Euro. As Europe heals from the loss of Great Britain, the Euro may serve as a continuing occasion for the construction of a European identity that will moderate receptivity to nationalist appeals. This essay examines the experience of the Euro as contributing to the formation of a European identity. Social experience, including negative social experience, with the Euro forges commonalities that unite as well as divide. The Euro remains territorially incomplete, its restricted zone of use signals incompleteness and doubt concerning the execution of the broader EU project. The Euro Crisis developed distinctly across differing Member States; the social experience of the Euro through the crisis breaks according to national lines. Going forward, revitalization and reformation of the Euro may assist European Union citizens in breaking clear of the more divisive consequences arising from their lingering attachments to nationalism