National identity is an ineffective tool for building public support for wealth redistribution among diverse populations

Providing the resources of the welfare state to increasingly diverse populations has been a controversial issue in several European countries, notably in the UK where the government has advocated restricting EU immigrants’ access to the benefits system. Matthew Wright and Tim Reeskens analyse the effectiveness of national identity as a tool to promote social cohesion in Europe. They argue that welfare chauvinism is never tempered and can actually be exacerbated by national identity. Promoting nationalist sentiment is therefore a poor way of securing broader public support for wealth redistribution, and other methods should be sought.