Identity and Its Construal: Learning from Luxembourg

This article examines national identity construal processes within the case study context of Luxembourg. Building on research highlighting the modalities of generalization from case studies, I present the country case that is Luxembourg. This social universe has a foreign population percentage of 47% and what is considered majority and minority becomes increasingly fluid. The migration process itself is fluid, ranging from daily migration, to medium-term stays, return visits and permanent immigration including uptake of citizenship. Within such a fluid environment, where national borders are permeable at the physical level of crossing borders and (national) societies are nested within societies, culture contact is a permanent feature in daily life. Nationality becomes a salient feature as culture contact tends to prompt reflection, resulting in questioning and (re-)negotiation of national identity. This affects the native population as well as the diverse immigrant population - with diversity going beyond the level of country of origin. Many individuals are also of mixed nationality and some examples for the construal process of national identity will be provided, illustrating how national identity is negotiated at individual level. Like a periscope, this country let s us adjust mirrors, permitting us to observe modes of identity construal which would otherwise be obstructed from the field of view. The case study that is Luxembourg allows us to look at the micro-setting of the construction, potentially of something new.