The Empirical Study of World Views

1
The Empirical Study of World Views

• Identify actors and voices to study
• Identify moments when they are likely to speak
  about other countries
• Identify issues seen as salient in the
  relationship
• Identify events that produce a choice over a
  policy related to salient issues
• Apply a content analytic scheme A theoretically
  informed analysis of statements and images

2
A Theory of ImagesAn Overview

• Perceived relationships involve beliefs about the
  self and others.
• Social Identity theory (SIT) provides insight
  into how people imagine the self in inter-group
  relations.
• National identities anchor perceived
  relationships and fuel emotions that drive
  sentiment and cognition.
• Balance theory provides insight into how people
  combine sentiments they feel toward others and
  the things they believe to be true about them.
  This can often produce stereotypes that have a
  functional purpose.
• These stereotypical images can reveal the
  underlying beliefs and identities that are
  motivating policy choices.

3
Social Identity Theory (SIT)

• Personal and social identity The later derived
  from group memberships
• Social identities shape inter-group as distinct
  from inter-personal relations. They can lead to
  a category-based process.
• In-group bias in perception, judgment and
  behavior.
• Caused by need for positive distinctiveness
• Supported by minimal group experiments in
  contrast to Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT).
  Perceived differences and conflicts follow from
  group creation rather than cause it.
• It might interact with RCT. Strong identifiers
  moved more by instrumental RCT considerations.
• People feel better about themselves after the
  discrimination.
• National identification the most consistent
  predictor of xenophobic attitudes

4
National Identity

• Nations are constructed not natural
• Difficult to identify necessary attributes
• Nationalism A belief that a community you pledge
  terminal loyalty to should have its own state.
• Measured by willingness to sacrifice to make sure
  the community has an independent state.

5
What Causes Nationalism?

• The importance of the independence to the elite
• Percent of public attentive to politics
  nationalism comes with mass politics
• Viability of Nation-state
• Geography
• Population
• Economy
• Uniqueness of the terminal community
• Common and unshared language
• Common culture
• Common memories
• Complementarity of other community identities
• Religion
• Race

6
Will Globalization Affect National Identities?
7
What does national identity produce?

• Social capital Willingness to make individual
  sacrifice for the national group
• Mass-based support for leaders seen as advancing
  the national cause of independence.
• Leadership and identity contest in the Middle
  East.
• State nations (Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq)
• Ethnic nations (Turkey, Iran, Arab, Azeri, Kurd,
  Israeli)
• Religious nation (Islamic ummah)

8
National identity and chauvinism

• How are patriotism, nationalism and chauvinism
  different?
• Can there be a liberal nationalism? Is terminal
  loyalty as the highest value consistent with
  individual freedom?
• Can we enjoy the benefits of social capital
  without the negative effects of chauvinism?
• Does emotional attachment to in-groups
  necessarily mean discrimination against
  out-groups?