Economic Globalization and Domestic Support for an International State

• In Event: IOs and Support for International Governance

Abstract

This paper first develops and then tests a modified version of Wendt’s (1994) hypothesis that states acquire a collective identity through their international interactions, namely those related to economic interdependence and globalization. Wendt’s theory about collective identity formation, potentially leading to an international state, worked with a corporate identity for state actors, but he acknowledged that it is hard to measure identity change at this level. Consequently, we first modify his second image reversed theory, transforming it into a first image reversed argument by looking at collective identity attitudes at the individual level. This modification can be justified based on the proposition that governments (as state actors) could only transfer their sovereignty upwards (towards an international state) if this decision accords with the preferences of their citizens (especially in more democratic regimes).

Second, we extend the logic in Wendt’s theory, proposing that if positive international interactions can push actors (either corporate states or individuals within states) towards a more collective identity, then negative international interactions could also have the reverse effect, pushing actors towards a less collective identity consistent with increased nationalism. We posit that the latter should be especially true for interactions related to economic globalization given international economic competition, which creates “losers” especially at the individual level.

We test this hypothesis using data from Wave 6 of the World Values Survey, which was conducted across 59 countries from 2010 to 2014, considering how different national-level variables related to economic globalization (e.g., trade openness, the trade balance, capital mobility, the exchange rate regime, etc.) influence individual-level attitudes related to a collective international identity. Given that education may help determine who are the winners and losers in terms of economic globalization, our analysis also considers cross-level interactions (e.g., individual-level education interacted with these national-level economic variables). Consistent with the current wave of populist nationalism, which many have associated with globalization pressures, our results show no support for Wendt’s original argument that national-level factors associated with economic interdependence can be associated with a more collective identity within states. To the contrary, we find that certain of these globalization variables are associated with individual-level attitudes that are less consistent with a collective international identity, especially for those with less education.

Authors

• David H. Bearce, University of Colorado, Boulder

• Andrew T McLeer, University of Colorado Boulder

• Ken Stallman, University of Colorado at Boulder