Global identity in an uncertain world:a longitudinal study of the development of cosmopolitan social attitudes at an elite international university setting in the Middle East

The global resurgence of populist and authoritarian leaders in democratic countries has been argued to signal a decline in internationalist attitudes and the displacement of economic concerns with concerns that are more cultural in nature: unease around notions such as identity, values, and recognition. This paper considers how such social psychological processes are developing in the next generation of young leaders across the world, and what kinds of environments might foster a liberal, globalist outlook, just as it shows signs of being in retreat. The research presented studies high achievers from a range of countries in a unique setting: New York University Abu Dhabi, a UAE-based campus of a leading US university that offers highly competitive, fully funded places to students recruited with the goal of global representation. The result is a geographically and socioeconomically diverse student body gathered in the Middle East for four years of study following the liberal arts model. This makes it an ideal test case for the ability of exposure to liberal values and multicultural settings to develop a cosmopolitan outlook in a critical period of identity and attitudinal development: the young adult years. We present results from the first two years of this ongoing longitudinal survey, with a focus on predictors and consequences of a sense of global identity.