Promoting EU Collective Identity Through Educational Programs

European integration has been progressing for more than 50 years. It started with the economic cooperation and now it expands its cooperation in the political area. This high-level regional cooperation sets a good example to the rest of the world; meanwhile it also follows the tendency of globalization. Therefore, the world turns their eyes on EU integration. Yet, recently the European integration has met some obstacles like Economic depression and EU people distrust the new governing entity. In addition, the relationship between China and EU is in its historical best. Thus the issue of how to promote the European integration has penetrated the academic world both in and out of China.This thesis tries to focus on promoting EU collective identity by covering two aspects: the political and the cultural aspects.In a political sense, education is a good instrument for promoting collective identity. EU's educational programs, which aim at enhancing the mobility, increasing the employment, shaping the EU citizenship and reducing the bad influence of EU organizational disadvantages. These programs have indirectly or directly promoted political collective identity that contributes to the promotion of EU authorities' legitimacy and the formation of collective identity.While in cultural aspect, through reviewing the common history and re-estimating the common values, education will reestablish Us/Other which is the core part of collective identity. At last the concept of "us" is being constructed. The collective identity embodied in the concept of "us" is intensified by the educational programs.Chapter 1 gives the definition of collective identity: The definition is given in both political and cultural aspect. And the obstacles exist to shape the collective identity in respective areas. And it also gives a brief review of educational programs initiated by EUChapter 2 analyzes how EU deals with its political collective identity crisis—legitimacy crisis, from four aspects. And try to counter the main reasons of such crisis: fight against nationalism and popularize the EU basic political knowledge. The four aspects include: increasing mobility, solving the unemployment issue, cultivating EU citizenship and establishing a positive political culture though the educational programs.Chapter 3 talks about how EU awakens Europeans collective identity culturally and reemphasizes the cultural boundary between us and others through implementation of educational programs.EU educational programs function in promoting EU legitimacy, fighting against nationalism, and solving domestic disadvantages. Thus it will promote the collective identity in political area. At the same time, these programs help the Europeans to rediscovery the linkage between different cultures in EU. Hence it will reestablish the us/other dichotomy and further increasing the collective identity in cultural aspect. At present stage, EU's collective identity can be promoted by the educational programs.