While nationalism and support for international cooperation are often portrayed as antithetical, this association in citizens’ attitudes has rarely been tested empirically. In addition, scholars have identified a number of types of national identity and patriotism, not all of which treat the international environment as inherently threatening. In this presentation I examine new data from a pilot study of U.S. citizens which attempts to measure several types of national identity with some precision, and assess their connections with foreign policy attitudes about international cooperation. In two experimental manipulations I also assess the interaction of these attitudes with the national “frame” of a policy choice made by the country’s leader, and the national “experience” of perceived historical lessons.

About the presenter:

Ben Goldsmith is a professor of international relations at the Australian National University. His research focuses primarily on domestic factors that affect states’ foreign policies. This has led him to investigate international public opinion and US foreign policy, the causes of interstate war, military spending, and whether decision makers learn from other states’ experiences in international relations. He also leads the Atrocity Forecasting Project, a collaboration with computer scientists. His articles have appeared in leading journals including Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of International Relations, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Politics, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, and World Politics. He has received several major grants and is currently an ARC Future Fellow. Before joining ANU in 2017, he held positions at the University of Sydney and the National University of Singapore.