How to be a European

Geert Hofstede

Groningen

10 juni 2004

Desiderius Erasmus 1469-1536

You want to be a European?

1. Know history, literature and geography

Being European in 2004

Being European in 1870

European history since 19001914-18 First World War1917 Russian revolution1936-39 Spanish Civil War1939-45 Second World War1948-90 Cold War, Iron Curtain1958 BeNeLux, France, Germany, Italy form

the European Communities1973 Access of Denmark, Ireland, U.K.1981,86 Access of Greece, Portugal, Spain1995 Access of Austria, Finland, Sweden: EU2004 Eight East-European ctrs, Malta &

Cyprus

You still want to be a European?

1. Know history, literature and geography2. Speak two other European languages

Social functions of language:

1. Part of worldwide system

2. Vehicle for discourse

3. Constraint on perception

4. Expresses dominant values

5. Is not the same as culture

Daddy, why do Frenchmen wave their arms about when they talk?

I don’t know - they might find it hard to stop

Daddy, when they teach us French at school, why don’t they teach us to wave our hands?

Gregory Bateson, UK, 1951

Differences between countries

Id en tityla ng ua ge

re lig ionv is ib le

C u ltu reso ftw a re o fth e m in dsin v is ib le

In s titu t io nsru le s , la w s

o rg an iza tio nsv is ib le

H is to ry

You reallyreally want to be a European?

1. Know history, literature and geography

2. Speak two other European languages

3. Work in another European country

Phases of culture shock

You consider yourself a European?

1. Know history, literature and geography

2. Speak two other European languages

3. Work in another European country

4. Make real friends in other countries

I’ve got nothing against foreigners, some of my best friends are foreigners, but these foreigners are not from here !

Culture is in our guts –

not in our minds

What is like our culture is normal, good, smart

What is unlike our culture is evil, bad, stupid

BELGENMOPPEN

MET DE FRANSE SLAG SPAANS BENAUWD

LE PROBLÈME DE LA GRÈCE C’EST LES GRECS

You want to be known as a European?

1. Know history, literature and geography

2. Speak two other European languages

3. Work in another European country

4. Make real friends in other countries

5. Treat cultural differences as challenges

Cultural challenge 1: corruption

Annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for all countries made by Transparency International of Berlin. Data are from business, media and diplomats

Globally, the CPI is primarily a matter of national poverty, not of culture (poor countries are perceived as more corrupt)

When the analysis is limited to European and other wealthy countries, differences in CPI depend only on culture (Power Distance).

1984 Power Distance Index scores by own elites accounted for 76% of CPI

(corruption perceived by others in 2003)

CPI percountry

14 EU ctrs inorder of PDI

source: M.Hoppe, Salzburg Seminar

Cultural challenge 2: Uncertainty Avoidance vs. tolerance for ambiguity

• Dimension of national culture differences

• Feeling of “what is different, is dangerous”

• Passed on from parents to children

• Relates to belief in purity and in experts

• Also to expressiveness and nervous activity

• Relates negatively to happiness

• Can lead to extremism, xenophobia, racism

Uncertainty Avoidance in EU countriesweaker Denmark Sweden Ireland Great Britain (U.S.A.) Slovakia Netherlands Finland Estonia Germany Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg

Austria Czech Republic Italy Hungary Spain France Slovenia Poland Malta Belgium Portugal Greece Cyprus stronger

You want to enjoy being European?

1. Know history, literature and geography

2. Speak two other European languages

3. Work in another European country

4. Make real friends in other countries

5. Treat cultural differences as challenges

6. Be proud of your European identity

Why be proud of the EU ?

• Only viable political venture in the world based on looking ahead, not back

• Politically successful (since 1958 grown from 6 to 15, now to 25)

• Economically successful (second fastest growing region in the world after East Asia; poor countries did best)

• Based on diversity (room for identities)

Why want to be a European?

For yourself, your grandchildren and their grandchildren