Levels and Structure of Civic Identity

Abstract

Civic identity belongs to social identities, particularly to a specific form such as organiza­tional identity. The civic identity identification subjects (similar to the organizational identification subjects) are a community of citizens (similar to personnel of a company; community with common and typical challenges of their lives united by the territory where the laws of a particular state are effective) and the state (organization as a whole; the state as a society organization). Civic identity of the individual is manifested on the individual and social levels. Social level is divided according to the subjects of civic identification into the group (collective) and institutional (organizational) levels. Thus, civic identity levels are as follows: institutional («citizen – state») – inclusion of the individual into the legal, economic, axiological, symbolic space of the state; features of social perception of the state by the individual, the image of the state, trust and loyalty to it, etc.; group («citizen – community of citizens») – inclusion of the individual in a community of citizens backed by subjective feeling of inner unity with their compatriots, a sense of civic community (a sense of «We») – experiencing the relationship, solidarity, common historical destiny and typicality life problems with other citizens, etc; individual («I as a citizen») – a level of personal understanding of citizenship with emotional and value content; realization of the meaning and value of their lives, justification of own existence within this society. Civic identity is the unity of cognitive (awareness of own belonging to the state as its citizen and communities of citizens, knowledge, ideas about the state, citizenship and citizens), valuable (subjective significance, importance of membership, support state values and values of the civic community), affective (emotional attitude of own membership, «mine/not mine», positive/negative evaluation, satisfaction/dissatisfaction with own group belonging, pride, shame, patriotism), conative (shapes civic behaviorand determines the forms of activity (or inactivity) in relation to the state and the citizens – activity, inclusion, affection/passivity, indifference, hostility, protest, confrontation, etc.; the readiness of the individual to act in accordance with the interests of the state and the civil community; civic participation/activity or passivity in advocacy of civil rights and values) components. Whencreating a diagnostic tool for the study of civicidentity, wesugge stusingas sociativetest, psychological picture, and semantic differential method.