National Identity and Social Cohesion
About this ebook
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.
About the author
Nils Holtug is Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen. His books include Persons, Interests, and Justice (OUP 2010) and Nationalism and Multiculturalism in a World of Immigration (co-edited with K. Lippert-Rasmussen and S. Lægaard, Palgrave Macmillan 2009).
Eric M Uslaner is Professor Emeritus of Government and Politics, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland - College Park. His books include The Historical Roots of Corruption (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Segregation and Mistrust: Diversity, Isolation, and Social Cohesion (Cambridge University Press 2012), The Moral Foundations of Trust (Cambridge University Press 2002). He is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust (2018).
