The Evolvement of National Identity: A Never-Ending Process

Abstract

Political socialization of youth can have a significant effect on the formation of national identity. In some homogenous countries, national identity has not been a widely studied phenomenon, while in other cosmopolitan, multi-cultural, and conflicted places, such as Israel, it is a “more common political socialization theme” (Sapiro, 2004, p. 6). It should be noted that national identity is not static and has multiple dimensions and presentations over time. It is the notion of immutable national identity that posits a constant analysis and examination of its construct and processes. In communities where national identity is complicated by socio-political realities, political socialization, top-down model, or trickle-up model, it has a powerful effect on the processes (Muldoon, McLaughlin, & Trew, 2007). McGlynn, Niens, Cairns, and Hewstone (2004) discussed the political socialization approach of integrated schools other than the Catholic- and Protestant-segregated educational structure. This attempt is to forge an alternative national identity, and to reconcile and build a united collective narrative in Northern Ireland. Also, in conflicted regions, national identity has significant implications to individuals and groups, as it is a shield of resistance to the occupier/oppressor whereby individuals have an agency within such constructs (Habashi, 2008). In Palestine, for example, national identity is at the forefront of a collective narrative that challenges Israeli military occupation and is a reflection of Palestinian youth’s ecological interaction, as they form political agency within the local/global political reality. While Palestinian youth may hold allegiance to different political ideologies for liberating Palestine, their political socialization lays the foundation for the formation of national identity as Palestinian. Indeed, there is a dialectic interface between youth political socialization and national identity. It is this interlacing that provides insight, as a 12-year-old female journal participant from a city described national identity as a form of unity of the Palestinian people, “safety and love can be achieved in unity among our people.” This chapter analyzes the formation and nuances of national identity as it is related to political socialization.