National Identity and Political Trust

Abstract

This article set out to test the almost taken for granted assumption that a minimum form of cohesion amongst the members of society is needed in order for political institutions to exist over time. The problem is that it is rare to find any specifications of the content of the national cohesion to be effective. The debate goes from thin to thick forms of cohesion. We aim to test this idea by examining how two forms of collective national identity (ethnic and civic) affect individual political trust in 18 European countries. We conclude that a strong civic national identity has a positive impact on political trust whereas a strong ethnic national identity has a negative impact on political trust. Individual data comes from the European Social Survey 2004 (ESSII).