Nationalist cosmopolitanism: the psychology of cosmopolitanism, national identity, and going to war for the country

Abstract A frequently expressed criticism of cosmopolitanism by liberal nationalist theorists is that its moral universalism is incompatible with national identity and patriotic obligations, defined as obligations to the nation and to fellow nationals. While some scholars of cosmopolitanism agree with this incompatibility argument, others contend that nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and patriotic duties are not rivals. However, few efforts have been made to examine the relationship between cosmopolitanism, nationalism, and patriotic obligations at the level of individual people. Drawing fresh insights from psychological approaches to social identity, I argue that cosmopolitan individuals have an integrated dual identity that embodies both nationalism and world citizenship, and this dual identity is compatible with patriotic obligations. Using data from the 2010–2014, round of the Word Values Survey, I show that cosmopolitans who identify as world citizens also identify with the nation and are willing to perform the ultimate patriotic sacrifice of going to war to defend their country. Upending certain convention wisdoms, this result indicates that cosmopolitan and national identities are compatible and cosmopolitan identity does not hinder patriotic obligations.