Liberal-Nationalist Theory, Political Confidence, and Support for the Welfare State. Evidence from Britain
Year: 2004
Type: report
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Assumptions about a friendly side of nationalism and national identification were renewed during the last decade, as a number of political theorists advanced a sophisticated and attractive blend of nationalism and liberalism. One of their more appealing arguments was the suggestion that national identification helps secure or regain citizens’ political confidence as well as their support for the welfare state. By applying a multivariate research design – using structural equation modelling – this study tests empirically those syllogisms as falsifiable scientific hypotheses. Findings show that support for the British political community does not have any effect on either political confidence nor support for the welfare state. Instead, it is British illiberal nationalism that is related to political confidence in Scotland – but not in England – but has a negative impact on support for the welfare state in England – while being irrelevant in Scotland. By contrast, support for the Scottish political community does have a positive effect on welfarism and a negative effect on confidence in British government and MPs. ∗ I am grateful to Jaime Lluch, John MacInnes, Jeff Miley, Luis Moreno, Jaap Dronkers, and Michael Keating for their valuable insights. The author alone is responsible for any errors of fact or interpretation that could remain. The data were kindly provided by the Data Archive at the University of Essex and the ECASS-TMR programme, which also helped financing a stay in that University.
Author: Enric Martínez‐Herrera
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2101475277