National Identity and Social Cohesion

National identity plays an increasingly important role in Western, liberal democracies. Thus, immigration and diversity are often considered a threat to national identities and restrictions on immigration and nation-building policies are being implemented in response. Specifically, it has been suggested that diversity drives down social cohesion and thus the ties that bind people together in stable, democratic welfare states.

National Identity and Social Cohesion considers the role of national identity in contemporary societies and in particular its significance for social cohesion. National identity impacts perceptions of belongingness, which again impact considerations of deservingness. Perceptions of deservingness, in turn, play an important role for solidarity within the framework of a welfare state. Furthermore, immigration, and the associated questions of belongingness, have been a driver in processes of political polarization. In some cases, political leaders frame minorities as a threat to the nation state warranting a departure from liberal democratic institutions.

This book considers questions such as: What role does national identity, more precisely, play for political polarization? Do national identities mediate/moderate the impact of diversity on social cohesion, including trust and solidarity? Has identity politics contributed to a politics of resentment and can more inclusive national identities serve to diminish polarization?

In the book, these and other questions about the relation between national identity, belonging and social cohesion are considered by a number of prominent scholars in the field.