Attitudes to Immigration and the Construction of National Identity

Contemporary European politicians often link declining social cohesion to a supposed erosion of national identity. This is sometimes argued to be an effect of increasingly multicultural societies and to be detrimental for the foundations of European welfare states. Reinforcing national identities has also been a strategy employed by politicians to calm worries about immigration. Taken together, we are witnessing a renaissance of nationalism in Europe, albeit it isn’t construed in ways immediately familiar to us. The predominantly quantitative literature on attitudes to immigration suggests that increasing the salience of national identity might spur worries of immigration.  However, the mechanisms constructing national identities that elicit certain attitudes to immigration are poorly understood. In order to assess current responses to anti-immigration sentiments and attempts to reinvigorate national identities, a proper grasp of how nationalism functions vis-à-vis attitudes to immigration is necessary. This paper explores new qualitative data, consisting of in-depth interviews with 50 respondents from Sweden and England. The sample is very varied in terms of geography, income levels and educational backgrounds. The interviews link all the ways in which nationalism is assumed to function, making the respondents elaborate on their identity and national identity, as well as their views on democracy, welfare and immigration. As a result of this detailed investigation of the link between the construction of national identities and attitudes to immigration, this paper is able to discuss how national identities can be altered to curb anti-immigration sentiments.