Identities in transformation : a study on the impact of globalization on youth in the city of Cluj, Romania

The overall theme of the thesis is the examination of the relationship between globalization, culture and identity. The study is conducted in the City of Cluj (Romania) and the students at the University there. The problem of the thesis lies partly in the concurrent relations in the locality, partly in the cultural elements coming in from the outside. Both theoretically and empirically the thesis is structured around the views and roles of the past, the present and the future - distinct but interacting - features around which identities are constructed. The questions at issue throughout the thesis are in what ways the constructions of identities are affected by globalization/ transformation, and what differences in the constructions depend on. The theoretical chapter starts with the dual experience of globalization, introducing the concepts of centrifugal vs. centripetal forces of affection and the relation between horizontal and vertical process of adaptation. Further in the theoretical chapter the role and position of culture is discussed in relation the state of globalization. Finally, the processes through which identity is constructed, is discussed, mainly through the concepts of glocalization and deterritorialization of culture. Methodologically a qualitative triangulating approach is used, combining interviews, observations and a qualitative informative survey. The empirical account focuses partly on the individuals' context in the locality, partly on their interpretations and interactions with it. The conclusions and results of the study is that the construction of identities - based on the interactions between the individual and his/ her surrounding - revolve around the two factors; the conception of the past and the ideas and hopes for the future. The question about what the differences between individuals depend on is answered by mainly two factors. One is the ethnic conflict between Romanians and Hungarians in the area (or the relation to "the other" in general), and the factor of economy - the issue of having or not having money. Two aspects which are above all parallel and interconnected to each other