@misc{10481/68655,
year = {2021},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/68655},
abstract = {This article aims to elucidate the effects of the Great Recession and the retrenchment of
welfare on national identity in several European countries. While different authors have observed
that good economic performance, redistribution, and the growth of welfare strengthen countries as
political communities of solidarity, there is much less empirical evidence regarding the consequences
of an economic crisis for national identity. To investigate these consequences, we focus on a set of
countries where the 2008 Great Recession resulted in different impacts, namely, Germany and four
countries in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece). We use secondary quantitative data
from Eurobarometer surveys to test aggregated and individual hypotheses relating to both the size
and direction of the Great Recession’s effects on national identity. Our results suggest that the roles
and impacts of economic variables may be different depending on the relative economic performance
of a country within its own context. It seems easier to confirm that good economic performance,
in relative terms, might strengthen national identity than proving that poor economic performance
will weaken national identity. Even if no definitive empirical evidence can be given at this point,
our data suggest a rationalization or compensation mechanism such that citizens look for where to
anchor their strong national identities after they have decided on them. If an economy is performing
well, then it would become a good anchorage for holding a strong national identity; however, if an
economy is not performing well, then economic factors will cease to be a fundamental element for
national identity holders.},
publisher = {MDPI},
keywords = {National identity},
keywords = {Civic and ethnic identities},
keywords = {Ascribed and achieved identities},
keywords = {Great Recession},
keywords = {Welfare state},
keywords = {Welfare nationalism},
keywords = {Germany},
keywords = {Southern European countries},
title = {National Identities in Troubled Times: Germany and Southern European Countries after the Great Recession},
doi = {10.3390/genealogy5020040},
author = {Ruiz Jiménez, Antonia María and Ferri Fuentevilla, Elena},
}