One nation under a groove? Understanding national identity

Abstract

There is a lot of evidence that identity matters for behaviour. There is a widespread belief that societies will function better if they manage to establish a common sense of identity among the population and contemporary fears in many countries that this common identity is threatened. This paper presents a simple framework for the determinants of identity and uses it to inform an empirical investigation of the correlates of national identity in Britain. Our main conclusions are that people who feel they are treated with respect and who feel tolerated are the most likely to identify with feeling part of Britain.