In a prospective of continuity and partial follow-up concerning a previous broad research program conducted by de Rosa from 1993-1996 (cf. bibliography), the EuroSKYcompass project’s goal is to analyze how the multidimensional identity expresses itself via social representations of geopolitical entities (nation, Europe, world) in relation to the geographic and geopolitical parameters of North-South-East-West.
It is assumed that these are complex representational “objects”, that is, a multiplicity of objects that form a system of interrelated representations. In a historical-political climate of profound change and turbulence in the relations between the North, South, East and West of Europe and the world, the goal is to study, in relation to their position on the EuroSKYcompass, the social representations of EU member states, new and future members and even nonmembers in a historic-geographic-cultural sense. We propose comparing the results that will emerge with those obtained in the previous study (cf. de Rosa and de Rosa, Mormino in the bibliography) that showed a strong polarization between the economic-political dimension, (centered on the opposition of the rich North and the poor South-East) and the geographic dimension, articulated with stereotypic representations that emphasized the aspect of climate. In addition, there is an identification, anchored to dimensions relevant to social memory, that is stronger for the representation of one’s own nation in respect to that less significant for the European Union. In consideration of the interest in processes of integration both for the East and the Mediterranean area, we introduced into this new research program a sample of Hungarian and Tunisian subjects. The latter were compared with subjects of North African origin who immigrated to France and who were differentiated on the basis of the length of residence in their host country.