Abstract

It is increasingly documented that individuals’ conceptions of national identity influence their opinions about immigration and ethnocultural diversity. The most well-known ideal types to capture conceptions of national identity are found in the civic-ethnic dichotomy; while the former emphasizes inclusive criteria such as citizenship and is associated with positive opinions about immigration and diversity, the latter emphasizes exclusive criteria such as ancestry and is associated with negative opinions of these same issues. Though the relationship between national identity and immigration and diversity has been extensively studied, the mechanism behind this relationship is still unclear. Moreover, the civic-ethnic dichotomy does not reflect current debates about immigration and diversity, which are increasingly framed in cultural terms. To address this gap, scholars have proposed a cultural conception of national identity. The relationship between the cultural conception of national identity and immigration and diversity, however, remains contested.

My study investigates the relationship between conceptions of national identity and immigration and diversity in the context of Quebec by looking at two cases: Quebecers from the general public and sympathizers of the identity group La Meute. The analysis of interviews conducted with these two populations shows that the civic and ethnic conceptions of national identity are respectively related to positive and negative opinions about immigration and diversity and that this relationship hinges on an evaluation mechanism whereby one evaluates if immigrants and minorities conform to different markers of identity. However, the analysis shows that the civic-ethnic dichotomy neglects a significant part of the story; that is, the salience of cultural markers of identity. It demonstrates that a cultural conception of national identity is related to both positive and negative opinions about immigration and diversity. Indeed, the evaluation mechanism inherent to this conception of national identity involves assessing whether immigrants and minorities adopt the national culture. Positive evaluations of cultural compliance are associated with positive opinions about immigration and diversity, while the opposite is true for negative evaluations. Finally, emphasizing that the evaluation mechanism does not occur in a vacuum, my study explores how evaluations are informed by traditional news media and alternative sources of information.