Love Thy Neighbour: Social Identity and Public Support for Humanitarian Aid

Linda Alvarez, Constantine Boussalis, Jennifer Merolla, Caryn Peiffer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)
188 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Humanitarian aid can be contentious. Should finite national resources be sacrificed to serve the needy abroad? Social identity theorists argue that identification with a superordinate group, in this case the larger world community, should increase individual support for policies such as international humanitarian assistance. However, individuals can simultaneously associate with multiple identities. How does the combination of world and national identities affect support for humanitarian assistance? Using cross-national survey data, we find evidence that support for international humanitarian aid is highest among those with a strong world identity and weak national identity relative to other identity combinations, though even those with a strong world identity and strong national identity can be supportive of aid.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages25
JournalDevelopment Policy Review
Early online date24 Jul 2018
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 24 Jul 2018

Keywords

  • international aid
  • public opinion
  • social identity theory

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