Between East and West: Geographic Metaphors of Identity in Poland MARYSIA H. GALBPAITH ABSTRACT As Poland enters the European Union, questions of national identity relative to wider group loyalties become par- ticularly salient. This study considers how individual life stories contribute to the discourse on what constitutes the Polish nation, and contemplates the implications of respondents'views for the achievement of European integration. Ifocus on Polish youths' use of metaphors of "betweenness," in which Polandfills the con- ceptual space between East and West, and "nested identities," based on simultaneous attachments to region, nation, and Europe, and consider how they might provide alternatives to models of identity which assume conflict with outside groups. In postcommunist Poland, more protectionist or conflict-based stances are sometimes taken, not so much because of political threats as in the past, but more in response to economic in- equalities within Poland, and between Poland and the West. A central question for contemporary Europe is whether the re- cent trend toward unification will continue, or whether ethnic rivalries will defeat these efforts. At issue is a more basic ques- tion about the ways in which group identities are formed, and the functions that they serve. To the extent that conceptions of "who we are" derive from assertions of "who we are not," they have the potential to challenge stable, peaceful alliances across national boundaries. However, in Poland, one of the new members of the European Union, the discourse of some youths points toward alternative models of identity that recognize contrasts between groups without assuming conflict. Specifi- cally, conversations and interviews with young Poles reveal "nested identi- ties" and identities based on "betweenness," as well as models where rivalry Ethos 32(1 ):51-81. Copyright © 2004, American Anthropological Association.