Frank Mols

Laying Sound Foundations for Social Identity Theory‐Inspired European Union Attitude Research: Beyond Attachment and Deeply Rooted Identities

There is a growing body of literature examining the influence of social identification on European Union (EU) attitudes. Broadly speaking, this literature can be divided into two strands. One strand examines the way social identity affects support for EU integration quantitatively, using opinion poll data. The other draws (often loosely) on social constructivism, using qualitative research methods. Social Identity Theory (SIT) is increasingly invoked in both these literatures and this development is to be welcomed. However, so far engagement with SIT has been rather tentative, drawing largely on theoretically impoverished versions of SIT. It is argued in this article that this practice has resulted in SITs theoretical potential being underutilized. At other times, this has resulted in theoretical confusion because SIT explanations are being used alongside other theories whose premises clash with core SIT assumptions. We conclude that more in‐depth engagement with SITs basic and core tenets will enable quantitative EU identity researchers to move beyond ‘attachment’ to territorial identities, and allow qualitative EU identity researchers to move beyond ‘shared history’, ‘deeply rooted identities’ and ‘resonance’.

Relative Deprivation and Relative Wealth Enhances Anti-Immigrant Sentiments: The V-Curve Re-Examined

Previous research has shown that negative attitudes towards immigrants and support for anti-immigrant parties are observed both among those experiencing relative deprivation and those experiencing relative gratification (so called v-curve). Whereas the effect of relative deprivation is intuitive, the effect of relative gratification is more difficult to explain. Why would economic prosperity provoke negative attitudes towards immigrants? We first present correlational (Study 1) and experimental (Study 2) support for the v-curve. In Study 1, in a national Swiss referendum, a higher percentage anti-immigrant voting was found in cantons with relatively lower and relatively higher relative disposable income. In Study 2, in a hypothetical society, more opposition to ‘newcomers’ joining society was found among poor or above average wealth group members than among those in a moderate wealth group condition. In Study 3, we replicate this finding and also show that opposition to immigration is higher for all wealth groups when societal inequality is growing rather than declining. In a final study, we examine different forms of relative gratification and mediators of the relationship between relative gratification and opposition to immigration (i.e., identification, collective self-definition as competent and cold, and fear about future wealth). Only fear about future wealth mediates this relationship. We conclude that, paradoxically, relative gratification effects are partly due to the fear of future deprivation.

EU Identification and Endorsement in Context: The Importance of Regional Identity Salience

Public opinion research has increased our understanding of the variables affecting endorsement of EU integration. What is less well understood is how comparative identity processes shape EU identification. Drawing on social identity principles, we argue that EU identification is in part affected by tensions between relevant subgroup identities. To illustrate this point, two studies were conducted in UK regions (Wales and Cornwall). Findings confirm our prediction that a comparative context affects EU identity and indicate (a) that levels of EU identity were higher in contexts where regional identity was salient, and (b) that regional identity affected the bases and meaning of EU identification and EU endorsement. Discussion highlights the importance of taking context and intergroup relations into account when examining EU attitudes.

A social identity analysis of responses to economic inequality

Even though there is growing awareness that economic inequality is harmful for peoples health, the way that such inequality affects social behavior and political attitudes remains poorly understood. Moving beyond a focus on the health and well-being costs of income inequality, we review research that examines how economic inequality shapes dynamics between groups within societies, addressing the questions why, when, and for whom inequality affects social behavior and political attitudes. On the basis of classic social identity theorizing, we develop five hypotheses that focus on the way inequality shapes the fit of wealth categorizations (H1), intergroup relations (H2), and stereotypes about wealth groups (H3). We also theorize how the effects of inequality are moderated by socio-structural conditions (H4) and socio-economic status (H5). Together, these hypotheses provide a theoretically informed account of the way in which inequality undermines the social fabric of society and negatively affects citizens social and political behavior.

Stepping in the Shoes of Leaders of Populist Right-Wing Parties

What narrative is deemed most compelling to justify anti-immigrant sentiments when a country’s economy is not a cause for concern? We predicted that flourishing economies constrain the viability of realistic threat arguments. We found support for this prediction in an experiment in which participants were asked to take on the role of speechwriter for a leader with an anti-immigrant message (N = 75). As predicted, a greater percentage of realistic threat arguments and fewer symbolic threat arguments were generated in a condition in which the economy was expected to decline than when it was expected to grow or a baseline condition. Perhaps more interesting, in the economic growth condition, the percentage realistic entitlements and symbolic threat arguments generated were higher than when the economy was declining. We conclude that threat narratives to provide a legitimizing discourse for anti-immigrant sentiments are tailored to the economic context.

An introduction to Australian public policy: Theory and practice

Tom Conley’s The Vulnerable Country: Australia and the Global Economy provides a clear account of the relationship between global and domestic political economic processes in Australia. While the specific focus is upon the past three decades, the political economic transformations that took place during this period are situated within a much longer historical context. A political economy approach is explicitly acknowledged as the theoretical framework informing the book. For Conley, this means ‘that it is impossible to understand economic forces and developments, without considering political forces and developments’ (p. 14). This perspective allows Conley to tease out the political and social structures and interests that underpin the economic processes about which he writes. He does so with respect to: Australia’s economic and political relationships with other Asian nation-states; the place of finance within the Australian economy; Australia’s trading relationships; and industry policy in Australia. Conley also interrogates processes of microeconomic reform and the recent Australia boom with an eye to identifying ways in which ‘the success story of growth tends to override more disaggregated and less sanguine analyses of the social effects of globalization in Australia’ (p. 236). This is a useful corrective to many triumphalist accounts of the boom, which tend to ignore its uneven effects. The notion suggested in the book’s title, that the Australian economy is ‘vulnerable’ – whether because of its reliance upon commodity exports or capital imports – is not novel. Furthermore, the reference to ‘The Vulnerable Country’ in the title of this book doesn’t really do justice to its contents. Rather, the second half of its title, ‘Australia and the Global Economy’, is a more accurate indicator of what to expect from this book. In fact, the book is more descriptive than argumentative, and the theme of economic vulnerability is only thinly articulated throughout. The policy advocacy within the book, to the extent that it exists, is also rather weak, lacking detail and substantial justification. Nevertheless, although the book does suffer from the lack of a novel and strongly articulated argument, its strength lies in its drawing together of existing literature into a coherent, up-to-date overview of some of the major political economic changes in Australia, and to situate these within a global context. The breadth and clarity of this book mean that The Vulnerable Country should serve as a useful supplementary text for undergraduate or postgraduate courses on the global economy, international political economy or the Australian economy in an international context.

Book Reviews - Tom Conley, The Vulnerable Country: Australia and the Global Economy

Tom Conley’s The Vulnerable Country: Australia and the Global Economy provides a clear account of the relationship between global and domestic political economic processes in Australia. While the specific focus is upon the past three decades, the political economic transformations that took place during this period are situated within a much longer historical context. A political economy approach is explicitly acknowledged as the theoretical framework informing the book. For Conley, this means ‘that it is impossible to understand economic forces and developments, without considering political forces and developments’ (p. 14). This perspective allows Conley to tease out the political and social structures and interests that underpin the economic processes about which he writes. He does so with respect to: Australia’s economic and political relationships with other Asian nation-states; the place of finance within the Australian economy; Australia’s trading relationships; and industry policy in Australia. Conley also interrogates processes of microeconomic reform and the recent Australia boom with an eye to identifying ways in which ‘the success story of growth tends to override more disaggregated and less sanguine analyses of the social effects of globalization in Australia’ (p. 236). This is a useful corrective to many triumphalist accounts of the boom, which tend to ignore its uneven effects. The notion suggested in the book’s title, that the Australian economy is ‘vulnerable’ – whether because of its reliance upon commodity exports or capital imports – is not novel. Furthermore, the reference to ‘The Vulnerable Country’ in the title of this book doesn’t really do justice to its contents. Rather, the second half of its title, ‘Australia and the Global Economy’, is a more accurate indicator of what to expect from this book. In fact, the book is more descriptive than argumentative, and the theme of economic vulnerability is only thinly articulated throughout. The policy advocacy within the book, to the extent that it exists, is also rather weak, lacking detail and substantial justification. Nevertheless, although the book does suffer from the lack of a novel and strongly articulated argument, its strength lies in its drawing together of existing literature into a coherent, up-to-date overview of some of the major political economic changes in Australia, and to situate these within a global context. The breadth and clarity of this book mean that The Vulnerable Country should serve as a useful supplementary text for undergraduate or postgraduate courses on the global economy, international political economy or the Australian economy in an international context.