Nationalist and cosmopolitan approaches to the nation: a citizen’s perspective and its electoral impact

Abstract

Whether it is about Québec independence, French language or immigration, nationalism is a crucial feature of Québec politics. The Québec 2018 election is not an exception. Scholars have developed theories about individual identity, the nation and nationhood, but we lack a citizens' perspective. We provide the first thorough description of Quebeckers' nationalism, which reveals a roughly normal (i.e. nonpolarized) distribution of ethnic nationalism attitudes. Most importantly, we measure ethnic nationalism with a never tested measure in Québec and we show that it substantially explains vote choice in the Québec 2018 election-especially the support for the Coalition Avenir Québec. Our research builds bridges between debates in political philosophy and political science and deepens our understanding of the Québec 2018 election.

The use of identity-related frames in electoral pledges and its effects on Euroscepticism in France and Germany

“…Instead, results were in line with a two-dimensional – civic and ethnocultural – NIR structure (see the Online appendix). A similar factor structure emerged when we analysed this scale for each sample separately (other studies reported similar findings, i.e., Cossette-Lefebvre and Daoust, 2020; Reeskens and Hooghe, 2010; Violante et al, 2020). Consequently, we used an ethnocultural NIR scale (in place of the pre-registered cultural scale) composed of five items averaged into a single score (Wave 1 Cronbach's α = .79; Wave 2 Cronbach's α = .82).…”

“…For instance, Aichholzer et al (2021) found that national identity was not automatically associated with anti-EU attitudes, but this relationship depended on how national identity was conceptualised . Similarly, studies revealed that strongly identifying with exclusionary (versus inclusive) national identities influenced outgroup prejudice, preference for restrictive immigration and asylum policies, and voting for more conservative parties (e.g., Citrin and Wright, 2009; Cossette-Lefebvre and Daoust, 2020; Reijerse et al, 2015). Taken together, these studies suggest that national identity strength alone does not explain attitude outcomes, but national identity content or representations play a cardinal role.…”

“…Accordingly, this tripartite classification found some empirical support (Reijerse et al, 2013, 2015). Conversely, other authors propose an ethnocultural dimension composed of both ethnic and cultural elements, with most empirical research supporting this bidimensional – ethnocultural and civic – classification (Cossette-Lefebvre and Daoust, 2020; Reeskens and Hooghe, 2010; Violante et al, 2020). In this study, we adopt the broader ethnic, cultural and civic classification in our theoretical models but we use the available data to test whether there are two or three NIR dimensions.…”

Transformations in contemporary Quebec nationalism, 1960–2020: A shift in the sources of collective animosities

“…However, this remains difficult to accept for those who subscribe to the distinction that is often made between political/civic and cultural/ethnic forms of nationalism (Cossette‐Lefebvre & Daoust, 2020; Keating, 2001; Tamir, 2019). The rights and obligations associated with citizenship are necessarily exclusive insofar as they are framed by the state which is itself being historically rooted in the preferences of ‘nationals’ that have developed over time.…”