National Attachment—Cohesive, Divisive, or Both?

Abstract

AbstractA large number of empirical studies of in-group sympathy and helpfulness suggest that the sheer strength of a person’s national attachment should increase her solidarity with her co-nationals. This relationship is likely to be independent of how she conceives the content of that identity and the extent to which she believes her co-nationals share this commitment. The direction of this link, moreover, might look different depending on whether the dimension of national attachment at hand is national identity, national pride, or national chauvinism. The chapter utilizes survey data from the Netherlands (LISS), arguably a more relevant context for liberal nationalists than the more typically studied cases of the USA and Canada. The Dutch demonstrate significant relationships between national attachment and support for egalitarianism, even when controlling for ideology. National identity turns out to be consistently related to more willingness to share resources with our co-nationals, whilst national pride shows a negative link to redistributive solidarity.