National identity construal and civic values

By their very nature, civic values cannot be declared property of a single nation. In an increasingly mobile world, adherence to and high regard for democratic principles should also foster the acceptance of culturally heterogeneous identities. The current paper aims to make a contribution to understanding the individual national identity construal processes which facilitate such openness. Luxembourg with a foreign population of over 43% (and in some parts much higher), can be viewed as a “natural laboratory” for a multinational environment. In the present study, different resident groups, differentiated by their length of stay in Luxembourg, are analysed regarding their construal of national identity along the primordialist – situationalist spectrum, their bicultural identity orientation, demographic and dispositional factors. Key questions are whether national identity is a core concept of identity for individuals in a multinational society and for whom and why. What does national identity actually mean for an individual? Identity Structure Analysis provides the theoretical framework and the methodological application IPSEUS is used as a tool for analysis. The assumption is that those individuals who endorse situationalism and consider it possible to have a bicultural orientation will also accept cultural heterogeneous identities – a key component of civic values.