National Identity Dynamics and Immigration Attitudes

National identity dynamics and attitudes towards immigration are closely intertwined in shaping social cohesion, political behaviour and policy preferences. Scholars differentiate conceptions of national identity into civic, ethnic and cultural dimensions, each offering distinct criteria for membership and belonging. Civic conceptions prioritise shared political values, legal status and institutional loyalty, while ethnic conceptions emphasise ancestry, heritage and cultural homogeneity. The cultural dimension focuses on language, traditions and everyday practices as markers of national belonging. These conceptual frameworks influence public opinion: civic orientations generally correlate with more inclusive attitudes towards immigrants, whereas ethnic or fixed views often foster exclusionary and restrictive sentiments. Recognising national identity as fluid or evolving has been shown to reduce ingroup–outgroup boundaries and mitigate hostility. Advances in survey experiments, content analysis and modelling have deepened understanding of how identity definitions translate into support for or opposition to immigration, carrying global significance for policymakers aiming to balance integration objectives with national cohesion.

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National Identity Dynamics and Immigration Attitudes publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in national identity dynamics and immigration attitudes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

National identity: A sense of shared belonging based on common attributes such as citizenship, language, culture or ancestry.

Civic nationalism: A conception of national identity centred on political values, institutions and legal membership rather than heritage or ethnicity.

Ethnic nationalism: A conception of national identity defined by ancestry, heritage and perceived cultural homogeneity.

Implicit theories of national identity: Beliefs about whether the criteria for national belonging are fixed or malleable over time, influencing levels of prejudice and openness.

Cultural conception of national identity: An approach emphasising shared language, traditions and cultural practices as primary markers of national membership.

References

1. Conceptions of National Identity and Ambivalence towards Immigration. British Journal of Political Science (2019).
2. The Meaning of Being German: An Inductive Approach to National Identity. Journal of Social and Political Psychology (2019).
3. Changing “us” and hostility towards “them”—Implicit theories of national identity determine prejudice and participation rates in an anti‐immigrant petition. European Journal of Social Psychology (2020).
4. Not just civic or ethnic, but mostly cultural: Conceptions of national identity and opinions about immigration in Quebec. Nations and Nationalism (2022).