Dimensions Of National Identity Research Articles

National Identity During Covid-19: Evidence from the Vaccinated and the Unvaccinated in Israel

This article uses the case of the Covid-19 pandemic in Israel to examine whether there are differences in national identity between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated and how national identity is related to public views of the unvaccinated. A three-wave panel survey measuring national attachment, national chauvinism, and constructive patriotism from before and during the pandemic was used to trace differences in dimensions of national identity between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated and to explore their relationship to attitudes toward the unvaccinated. Findings indicated that national attachment was lower among the unvaccinated prior to the pandemic. However, regarding national chauvinism, there were no differences between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated over time; regarding constructive patriotism, there was a difference only in the third wave—at the end of the Covid-19 vaccination drive. The three dimensions of national identity were linked to negative attitudes toward the unvaccinated only at the end of the Covid-19 vaccination drive but not at the peak of the pandemic after the first lockdown. These findings are discussed in light of the current understanding of national identity during the pandemic.

Gender, American Identity, and Sexism

SOCIAL SCIENTISTS LONG HAVE BEEN INTERESTED in explaining why individuals vary in their beliefs about national identity and what citizens think it means to truly belong to their nation. Research to date has provided many insights into the determinants and consequences of emphasizing different elements of American national identity. Understanding why different individuals emphasize particular dimensions of national identity is important because these beliefs predict a wide range of political and social attitudes, including views of cultural minorities, support for policies designed to increase economic and social equality, political trust for key democratic institutions, opinions about how immigrants should be treated, and even a person's subjective well-being.1 While scholars have documented large gender differences across a wide range of political behavior and attitudes, researchers have yet to closely examine the relationship between gender and what individuals see as being most important to being an American.2 We also do not yet understand how persons' views about national identity may shape their views of gender equality. These oversights are puzzling, given the robust body of research showing that patriarchy has been a defining feature of the conceptualization of American national identity since the beginning of the nation, with men and women continuing to experience what it means to be American in distinct and unequal ways.3 Our study contributes to both this scholarship and the larger body of research looking at gender gaps in political attitudes by examining the extent to which contemporary beliefs about America's national identity differ by gender, as well as—and perhaps more importantly—the consequences of such beliefs on attitudes toward women. Specifically, we test whether men and women differ in their conceptions of what it means to be fully American. Then, we investigate how variations in conceptions of national identity shape individuals' attitudes about the role of women in society generally. Finally, we examine the extent to which gender moderates the consequences of individuals' beliefs about Americanness on their level of sexism.

Practices and challenges of faculty members at Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University to preserve the national identity in the challenges of globalization: the Department of Libraries, Information and General Sunnah as an example

The study aimed to identify the values of citizenship that Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University seeks to instill among the faculty members to preserve the university's national identity; especially the Library and Information Department, and knowing the measurement tools used by Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University in consolidation the values of the national identity among the faculty members. The researchers used the Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University as a model, and to achieve the aim of the study, the researchers used the descriptive survey method based on the questionnaire to collect data. The study population consisted of faculty members from the Department of Library and Information, where the sample consisted of 30 members. One of the most important results of the study was its emphasis on the effective role that the courses play in trying to preserve the national identity of the department's faculty. The study also confirmed that the Department of Library, Information and General Year seeks, through scientific research, to all that serve the local community in the college and beyond. The study resulted in several recommendations, most notably the need to educate faculty members about all dimensions of national identity, through the establishment of training courses, and to enhance the various skills, values, and positive attitudes of students, and that educational curricula include vocabulary that helps students participate and interact with local and international issues, as well as social, political and economic issues.

Japanese national identity and the positioning of English as opportunity or obstruction

ABSTRACT As an aspirational activity, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education is a compulsory pursuit within many education systems around the world. Common to many such contexts, EFL is taught in relation to a dominant national language and therefore exists within a marginal, non-official or non-native position. However, this domestic marginalization often misaligns with the economic significance, cultural prominence and symbolic capital attributed to English, and this is evident within Japan. Therefore, the teaching of EFL to Japanese nationals within pre-tertiary education can be expected to evoke certain identity-related emotions. Despite such plain sight observations, the affective role played by dimensions of national identity within EFL education remains understudied. Through a path-analysis procedure undertaken with a university student sample, this article explores how dimensions of Japanese national identity predict the positioning of EFL as opportunity or obstruction. The study also examines how this relationship is mediated by an emotional attachment to the local and the foreign language. The research reflects an interdisciplinary exploration of identity and its affective impact upon EFL positioning within contemporary Japanese society.

National identity, a blessing or a curse? The divergent links from national attachment, pride, and chauvinism to social and political trust

AbstractIs it true that national identity increases trust, as liberal nationalists assume? Recent research has studied this side of the ‘national identity argument’ by focusing on conceptions of the content of national identity (often civic or ethnic) and their links to social, rather than political, trust. This paper argues that if we take social identity theory seriously, however, we need to complement this picture by asking how varying the strength – rather than the content – of a person’s sense of their national identity affects both their social and political trust. We break down the different dimensions of national identity, hypothesizing and empirically verifying that there are divergent links from national attachment, national pride, and national chauvinism to social and political trust. We do so with data from the US (General Social Survey) and the Netherlands (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences ), thus expanding current knowledge of national identity and trust to a highly relevant yet neglected European case.

National Identity (NATID) Framework in Multi-Ethnic Affiliations Consumer Market: The Case of Malaysia

This paper examines the transferability of the national identity (NATID) framework in a multi-ethnic consumer market. Data were collected using heterogeneous purposive sampling from 403 respondents in Malaysia. This study exert also responds to the cross-cultural validation of measures used in international research whereby the authors assessed measurement invariance of the NATID dimensions construct using Malaysian and non-Malaysian samples. The analysis provided strong support for the factor structure, internal consistency, and discriminant validity on the transferability of the NATID framework on the Malaysian data sample. The result also suggested ethnic affiliations are a relevant unit of analysis and indicates that the relationship between the dimensions of NATID and overall national identity, varied across the three major ethnic groups. With reference to originality, this research is pioneering the adaptive etic approach to elicit inputs and to improve the transferability of the NATID framework.

Heritage Narratives, Motivation to Learn English and the Development of National Identity : An Indonesian Perspective

Although locality has been considerably discussed in the area of teaching of English as a foreign language, little is known how it relates to young learners’ motivation and their sense of national identity. Framed by Canagarajah’s (2005) local reclamation, this descriptive qualitative study investigates the potential impact of using Indonesian heritage narratives in English teaching on students’ motivation to learn English and the development of their sense of national identity. Data are generated from English text-book analysis, a questionnaire administered to 100 students of junior and senior high schools and 20 English teachers followed by semi-structured interviews on the use of heritage narratives in the classroom. Students’ motivation in the foreign language was classified into Dornyei’s (1994) types; language, learner, and learning situation. Meanwhile, students’ identity development was analysed by Kelman’s (1998) agency of identity development and Guibernau’s (2007) dimensions of national identity. Analysis reveals that students’ familiarity with the topic of heritage narratives can improve their language skills and motivation to learn English. How these heritage narratives can also lead to heightened sense of national pride, involving cultural, psychological and territorial dimensions is further explored.

Shutting the Gates in South Africa: National Identification and Popular Attitudes towards Closing Borders to Immigration

AbstractMore than a hundred thousand people crisscross South Africa's international borders annually. Public opinion on this cross‐border migration is decidedly hostile. According to a 2013 opinion poll, more than three‐fifths of the adult population would favour closing the border. Can civic and ethnic identifications with the nation explain this opposition to immigration? Using data from the 12th (2013) round of the cross‐sectional South African Social Attitudes Survey (N= 2,739) this paper was able to investigate individual attitudes towards border control. This paper investigates different dimensions of national identity. The results revealed that ethnic national attachment was an important determinant of attitudes towards border control. Such attitudes were also associated with attitudes towards immigrant assimilation and the effect of nationalism on society. For those aiming to ameliorate public sentiment on border control, this study provides a test of multiple determinants of public opinion on the issue, examining the comparative strength of each.

Political liberalism and French national identity in the wake of the face-veiling law

AbstractPolitical liberalism suggests state power must be exercised and justified on terms all citizens can reasonably be expected to endorse, independently of their comprehensive identities or worldviews. For Rawls, a democratic community cannot be united by any shared ends or identities other than those connected with the political conception of justice itself. Republican political thought often seems to undermine this ‘liberal principle of legitimacy’ through its stronger demands of social cohesion and participative civic virtue. Conversely, however, it generally seeks to define citizenship independently of any non-political commonalities citizens might be assumed to share. This theoretical tension was reflected in recent French republican discourses on Islam, gender and national identity. France's recent prohibition on public face-veiling coincided with an officially orchestrated debate on national identity which seemed to challenge the traditional republican conception of national identity as a purely civic and political construct. While couched in republican terminologies, these recent discourses seemed to understand the principle oflaïcité, or constitutional secularism, as a bulwark for the pre-political dimensions of national identity. Accordingly, this article outlines how these discourses on religion and gender illuminated tensions and contradictions within the prevailing republican account of national identity.

Testing the national identity argument

The national identity argument holds that a shared national identity is necessary to motivate citizens in democratic societies to pursue a number of goals, especially social justice. We review the empirical evidence for and against this claim, looking particularly at how national identities have been measured. We distinguish between studies that aim to compare the relative strength of identities cross-nationally and those that look at individual differences within one nation. We separate four dimensions of national identity: national attachment, national pride, critical vs. uncritical patriotism, and civic vs. cultural conceptions of identity. These are only weakly correlated with each other, and impact differently on support for social justice and the welfare state. Using case studies from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, we suggest that the relationship between national identity and social justice varies between societies, and that a key factor is finding an appropriate balance between the strength of such identities and their inclusiveness.

Narrowing the Gap between China and Japan: Three Dimensions of National Identity and the Korean Factor

AbstractIn 2010–12, Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated without the Yasukuni Shrine or Chinese human rights violations in the forefront. To improve relations, attention should turn to what I label the ideological, sectoral, and horizontal dimensions of a national identity gap between these countries. They have each figured in the decline and offer more promise than the temporal dimension, with its symbols of wartime memories, and the vertical dimension, where sensitive Chinese internal affairs are at stake. The sectoral dimension comprises political, economic, and also cultural national identity, each of which has grown more intense in China, while cultural identity is still a force in Japan. Establishing an East Asian community is now the centerpiece in the hope that the horizontal dimension will be an impetus for mutual understanding, yet the notion of community is repeated with no sign of a shared vision of the outside world, whether the US role or the international arena and regionalism. With South Korea, their partner in trilateralism and North Korea's transformation at the crux of all three of these dimensions, this paper emphasizes the way divergent views of the peninsula keep growing in importance for bilateral relations. It suggests ways to reframe relations through cooperation over Korea. As difficult as Korean relations are for both states, it is a test case for their identity gap.

Globalisation and the decline of national identity? An exploration across sixty‐three countries

AbstractThe relationship between globalisation and national identity is puzzling. While some observers have found that globalisation reduces people's identification with their nation, others have reached the opposite conclusion. This article explores this conundrum by examining the relationship between globalisation and people's feelings towards national identity. Using data from the International Social Survey Program National Identity II () and the World Values Survey (), it analyses these relations across sixty‐three countries. Employing a multilevel approach, it investigates how a country's level of globalisation is related to its public perceptions towards different dimensions of national identity. The results suggest that a country's level of globalisation is not related to national identification or nationalism but it is related negatively to patriotism, the willingness to fight for the country and ethnic conceptions of membership in the nation. An examination of alternative explanations indicates that globalisation has a distinct impact on national identity.

Ethnic Nominalism and Civic Religiosity: Christianity and National Identity in Britain

The relationship between religion and national identity is a contested topic in public debates about cultural diversity and immigration. In sample surveys only a minority the British population identify themselves as belonging to a Christian religion, and far fewer practise their faith. Nevertheless, nearly a quarter of the population think it is important to be Christian to be truly British. This study explores the complex relationships between religious and national identities in Britain, using data from the 2008 British Social Attitudes Survey. Three different forms of national identity were identified through factor analysis: civic-symbolic, cultural-aesthetic and ethnic national identity. Ethnic national identity is the only dimension of national identity that is positively associated with thinking it is important to be Christian to be British. While churchgoing Christians are more likely to feel national in response to secular cultural symbols, they are less likely to associate religion with nationality than those with a nominal Christian affiliation. The results indicate that Christianity has cultural significance for national identity primarily as a proxy for ethnic identity.

National identity and in-group/out-group attitudes with Greek-Cypriot children

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the internalization of national identity and in-group/out-group attitudes among Greek-Cypriot children. We also aimed to investigate whether the internalization of national identity develops as a single/unified construct, or is manifested as the result of independent dimensions (i.e., national pride, degree of internalization, affect towards national group, etc.). Moreover, we examine whether the degree of national identity and “enemy images” (i.e., out-group stereotypes) are dependent on age and gender. In the present study, the participants were 75 Greek-Cypriot children, 40 boys and 35 girls with mean age of 10.03 years. The participants were divided into two age groups; younger group (n = 18) and older group (n = 57) with a mean age of 6.95 years for the younger group and 11.00 years for the older group. The results provide evidence against the thesis that the internalization of national identity in Greek-Cypriot children is a unified and consistent construct. In fact, internal consistency analysis reveals that each dimension of national identity is relatively independent. Further analyses show that none of the aspects of national identity correlate significantly with either positive or negative out-group attitudes. The internalization of national pride, however, shows a significant positive correlation with in-group positive bias. Accordingly, national pride and a positive internalization of national identity are negatively correlated with negative in-group attitudes. Age and gender comparisons reveal that girls show significantly higher scores on the importance of national identity subscale, and there is also a significant age by gender interaction on the same subscale showing that older boys have higher scores than younger boys but younger girls have significantly higher scores than older girls. The results of our study are discussed in relation to the sociocultural context of Greek-Cypriot society and the effects of the collective conflict experiences in the development of enemy images in childhood.

National identity and in-group/out-group attitudes with Basque and Basque-Spanish children growing up in the Basque Country

National identity and in-group/out-group attitudes (evaluation and affect) as well as the relation of these variables to age, gender, and national group were investigated in 101 Basque children aged 7 and 11 years who belonged to the Basque and Basque-Spanish national groups. Findings show that the scores of the older Basque children on the six dimensions of National Identification were higher than those of Basque-Spanish children of the same age. For the 11-year-old Basque children, National Identification is more important than for their Basque-Spanish peers. With respect to in-group/out-group attitudes, both Basque and Basque-Spanish children show more positive attitudes (i.e., attributed more positive and less negative traits, and show higher positivity and likeability) towards their own in-group than towards the out-groups. The positive attitudes toward the in-group shown by the Basque children, however, are higher than those of the Basque-Spanish children. Moreover, Basque children's attitudes towards out-groups in general and towards the traditional enemy, in particular, are more negative than those of the Basque-Spanish children. Finally, while with Basque children certain dimensions of national identity correlated positively with positive attitudes toward the in-group and negatively with positive attitudes towards the traditional enemy, with Basque-Spanish children the same dimensions correlated positively with positive attitudes toward both the in-group and the national out-groups. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Cross-national Comparability of Survey Attitude Measures

Many international surveys include batteries of questions which are combined to form scales by secondary analysts who often treat these scales as unproblematic. However, to be able to make valid cross-national comparisons of values on scales such as these, we need to be sure that the variations genuinely reflect differences in populations rather than being due to various forms of error. In order to illustrate the kinds of problems that can occur, and to explore ways of dealing with them, we examine items from the 2003 ISSP module on national identity. We show that differences between countries in response rates and other features of survey design are associated with the substantive outcomes and that ignoring these methodological problems will affect the validity of cross-national comparisons. We also examine whether the items can be assumed to have equivalence of meaning across the different countries in terms of their contributions to measuring two dimensions of national identity: civic and ethnic. We conclude that certain items do not seem to have the same meaning in all countries, thus jeopardizing the validity of cross-national comparisons using these scales. We suggest that the methods used and the lessons to be learnt can be applied to other items and cross-national datasets.

Adolescents’ Identification with the National Group

Adolescents' identification with the national and ethnic categories was investigated within the multiethnic context of Mauritius. A sample of 202 subjects (107 girls, 95 boys) in age group of 12-16 years answered the self-report questionnaire. The study aimed to (a) assess the nature of national identity along cognitive, affective and evaluative lines, (b) investigate whether there were links between national and ethnic identities, and (c) explore ethnic, sex and age differences in national identity. Results revealed only sex differences on the dimensions of national identity, with boys reporting higher levels of national identity than girls. There was a significant positive correlation between identification with the national category and identification with the ethnic category. The results were discussed in terms of nested identities, the peculiarities of the social context, and social representations theory.

Nationalistic Education in a Post-colonial Age: the Impact of Study Trips to China and the Development of Hong Kong Students' National Identity

With the return of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 1997, Hong Kong attained a new political status as a Special Administrative Region. Hong Kong students, under British rule, had long been receiving de-politicised education, and a sense of belonging to China was limited to the cognitive domain of Chinese history. The ideal of promoting national identity, underpinned in the current civic education curriculum, is proving to be a difficult task. While much literature has documented how curriculumbased educational practices fail to instil students with such an identity, little study has been undertaken to suggest effective alternatives and to examine how they work. This paper reports a study investigating the impact of study trips on developing students' national identity. Through observation and interviews, it takes an in-depth look into students' experience, into how they identify with a Chinese identity. Results indicate that though the study trips help to nurture the cognitive and affective dimensions of national identity, there are limits and possibilities involved. This paper concludes with reminders which teachers should have taken into account when thinking of using co-curricular activities to address the legitimate need of fostering nationalistic education.

French: a language for everyone in Québec?*

Abstract. With the realisation that the future of French in Québec depends on its adoption by a growing number of immigrants, efforts have intensified in recent years to promote a less ethnic and more civic conception of Québécois identity. As attested by the title of the final report of the Commission des États généraux sur la situation et l'avenir de la langue française au Québec (French, a Language for Everyone), a key component of this new conception is the idea that French should be a langue publique commune (common public language) for all those residing in Québec, irrespective of ethnic origin. This article examines the notion of langue publique commune in more detail. While the concept assumes that language can somehow be ‘de‐ethnicised’ to become the property of all ethnic groups, observations made in other contexts only confirm the inextricable link between language and the ethnic, as opposed to the civic, dimension of national identity. The article also investigates the issue of language motivation, in particular the related challenge faced by the Québécois authorities of how to encourage so‐called new Quebecers to adopt French as their language of public communications.

An attempt of classification of theoretical approaches to national identity

It is compulsory that complex social concepts should be defined in different ways and approached from the perspective of different science disciplines. Therefore, it is difficult to precisely define them without overlapping of meaning with other similar concepts. This paper has made an attempt towards theoretical classification of the national identity and differentiate that concept in comparison to the other related concepts (race, ethnic group, nation, national background, authoritativeness, patriarchy). Theoretical assessments are classified into two groups: ones that are dealing with nature of national identity and others that are stating one or more dimensions of national identity, crucial for its determination. On the contrary to the primordialistic concept of national identity, describing it as a fundamental, deeply rooted human feature, there are many numerous contemporary theoretical approaches (instrumentalist, constructivist, functionalistic), emphasizing changeable, fluid, instrumentalist function of the national identity. Fundamental determinants of national identity are: language, culture (music, traditional myths), state symbols (territory, citizenship), self-categorization, religion, set of personal characteristics and values.