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Keywords

nationalism, Ukraine, Russia, war, peacemaking, threat, internationalism, Euroskepticism, Poland

Abstract

Existing literature argues that the presence of threats increase levels of (patriotic) nationalism. However, there are different kinds of threats, whose presence may instead reduce nationalist and isolationist attitudes. We argue that economic threats will raise levels of nationalism, while security threats will decrease nationalism and increase internationalism. We find that, across Europe, those who were more concerned about economics as a result of the Ukraine War were more Eurosceptic and nationalist, whereas those who were more concerned about security had an increased desire for European cooperation. In an original survey experiment in Poland, we find that a treatment priming the military threat of the Ukraine War significantly decreased isolationist and nationalist attitudes. This has significant implications for the study of conflict and nationalism, and highlights the need for greater nuance in our understanding of threat.

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

2026-04-09

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

University Standing at Time of Publication

Senior

Course

POLI 492R

Budgets vs. Bullets: Divergent Effects of Economic and Security Threats on Nationalism

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