How Inclusive Are East Asia’s Democratic Nationalisms? A Conjoint Approach

• In Event: Migration and Nationalism in Newer Countries of Immigration

Abstract

South Korea and Taiwan are exemplary cases of third-wave democracies that emerged from authoritarian regimes tied to a brand of pan-ethnic identity. Over time, scholars have observed shifts in these countries' national identities away from ascriptive or exclusive conceptions of national identity and belonging toward new nationalisms. What are these new nationalisms? Both elites and citizens are eschewing pan-ethnic concepts of the nation for purportedly more civic or multicultural identities tied to the community of the polity. Given the increase in diversity and the demand for increased immigration to address rapidly aging societies and shrinking workforces, the question is as pertinent as ever.

Drawing on two recent original online surveys (N = 2,000 for Taiwan and N = 2,000 for South Korea), this study evaluates the extent to which these new nationalisms are truly civic and inclusive. It employs choice-based conjoint surveys to address the limitations of traditional survey methods, which often lack construct validity and fail to capture the complexity of public attitudes toward national membership and belonging.

The study examines competing conceptions of national identity by varying attributes of hypothetical residents. It investigates whether citizens in these democracies perceive those with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds as true nationals. It also considers the importance of civic involvement and various ideological and cultural attitudes of these residents so as to determine whether a civic or voluntarist nationalism truly exists. To support the conjoint analysis, the paper tests whether pan-ethnic or polity-based nationalism is affected by social desirability biases using list experiments.

The findings of this study have significant implications for understanding the evolution of national identity in historically homogenous and post-colonial democracies and contribute to broader discussions on immigration and national identity. Moreover, the research will provide novel insights into the interaction between democracy and nationalism in a cultural and historical context that is different from the one in which most relevant theories have been conceived.

Authors

• Steven Denney, Leiden University

• H. Christoph Steinhardt, University of Vienna