- Brief created: 2021
- For policymakers
- Netherlands
- United Kingdom (UK)
‘This country is OURS’: The exclusionary potential of collective psychological ownership
Based on:
Journal Article (2020) ↗
Dutch and British natives who believe that the country is ‘ours’ are more negative towards immigrant minorities and European integration, and British natives were likely to translate these attitudes into voting ‘leave’ in the Brexit referendum.
Brief by:
The aim of our research was to test whether this sense of collective ownership can help explain exclusionary attitudes and behaviour in Western Europe. This research is relevant for those who strive to understand and/or reduce interethnic tensions and societal discontent. Political campaign slogans, such as ‘Take back control of our country’ (UKIP) and ‘The Netherlands ours again’ (PVV), indicate that right-wing populism appeals to the belief that the country is ‘ours’, and therefore, ‘we’ can exclusively decide what happens.
Key findings
Among Dutch and British natives, we found that a sense of country ownership explained anti-immigrant and anti-EU attitudes, and that these attitudes in turn accounted for voting ‘leave’ in the 2016 Brexit referendum among British natives.
Additionally, in line with our expectations, in the Netherlands we found that ownership feelings were particularly strongly related to more negative attitudes toward immigrants among right-wing Dutch.
Unexpectedly, in Great Britain we found that, even though right-wing Brits voted more in favour of Brexit, ownership feelings were particularly strongly associated with negative EU attitudes, and in turn with the ‘leave’ vote, among left-wing Brits.
Proposed action
Be aware that exclusionary attitudes and behaviours are not merely driven by prejudicial or racist beliefs, but also by a rather intuitive understanding of ownership
Feelings of country ownership are not exclusively reserved for radical right voters
This research can be applied to European countries in which discontent about migration and European integration is widespread
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‘This country is OURS’: The exclusionary potential of collective psychological ownership
Cite this brief: Nijs, Tom. '‘This country is OURS’: The exclusionary potential of collective psychological ownership'. Acume. https://www.acume.org/r/this-country-is-ours/
Brief created by: Tom Nijs | Year brief made: 2021
Original research:
- B. M., Nijs, T., & et al., ‘‘This country is OURS’: The exclusionary potential of collective psychological ownership’ 60(1) https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12386. – https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12386
Research brief:
Dutch and British natives who believe that the country is ‘ours’ are more negative towards immigrant minorities and European integration, and British natives were likely to translate these attitudes into voting ‘leave’ in the Brexit referendum.
The aim of our research was to test whether this sense of collective ownership can help explain exclusionary attitudes and behaviour in Western Europe. This research is relevant for those who strive to understand and/or reduce interethnic tensions and societal discontent. Political campaign slogans, such as ‘Take back control of our country’ (UKIP) and ‘The Netherlands ours again’ (PVV), indicate that right-wing populism appeals to the belief that the country is ‘ours’, and therefore, ‘we’ can exclusively decide what happens.
Findings:
Among Dutch and British natives, we found that a sense of country ownership explained anti-immigrant and anti-EU attitudes, and that these attitudes in turn accounted for voting ‘leave’ in the 2016 Brexit referendum among British natives.
Additionally, in line with our expectations, in the Netherlands we found that ownership feelings were particularly strongly related to more negative attitudes toward immigrants among right-wing Dutch.
Unexpectedly, in Great Britain we found that, even though right-wing Brits voted more in favour of Brexit, ownership feelings were particularly strongly associated with negative EU attitudes, and in turn with the ‘leave’ vote, among left-wing Brits.
Advice:
Be aware that exclusionary attitudes and behaviours are not merely driven by prejudicial or racist beliefs, but also by a rather intuitive understanding of ownership
Feelings of country ownership are not exclusively reserved for radical right voters
- Left-wing people are also susceptible to such arguments and should not be neglected when trying to tackle exclusionary attitudes and behaviours.
This research can be applied to European countries in which discontent about migration and European integration is widespread
- It is also relevant for smaller-scale territories and places, such as regions, towns, neighbourhoods, parks, playgrounds, etc. The exclusionary consequences of feelings of territorial ownership are not limited to the country.