Political Psychology · 2003 · 526 citations · 29 references
EthnicityNationalismUnited GermanyEducationEthnic Group RelationSocial SciencesCultural IdentityGreater IntoleranceCultural DiversityPolitical ScienceWest GermanySocial IdentityIdentity PoliticsMulticulturalismEthnic IdentitySocial Identity TheoryRepresentative DataCulturePolitical PluralismPolitical AttitudesSociologyFormer EastNational IdentityDomestic PoliticsSocial Diversity
Nationalism and patriotism are positive evaluations of one’s own group that arise from national identity but pursue different social goals. The study examines how nationalism and patriotism relate to attitudes toward minorities. Using a representative 1996 sample of East and West German residents, the authors applied a multiple‑group structural‑equation model and latent class analyses to assess national identity indicators. In both East and West Germany, nationalism predicted greater intolerance while patriotism predicted greater tolerance toward minorities.
Nationalism and patriotism can be thought of as consequences of national identity that represent positive evaluations of one's own group but imply different social goals. This paper investigates the ways in which these concepts are related to attitudes toward minorities. The data analyzed were drawn from a representative sample of residents of the former East and West Germany who responded to items on the national identity of Germans in 1996 as part of a panel study. A model with multiple indicators was tested via a multiple‐group analysis of a structural equations model followed by latent class analyses. Both East and West Germans displayed attitudinal patterns that link national identity with tolerance toward others; in both subsamples, nationalism and patriotism were respectively associated with greater intolerance and greater tolerance toward minorities.
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