Regional identity and support for restrictive attitudes on immigration. Evidence from a household population survey in Ghent (Belgium)

It has been argued that supporting a restrictive view on the inclusion of immigrants finds its origin in a localized feeling of group identity. We test this hypothesis with a household survey in the Belgian city of Ghent (n = 3735). The results show that local and national identities are salient, but also that regional, European, and cosmopolitan identities are supported simultaneously. Especially the regional, Flemish identity is strongly associated with a restrictive, ethnic attitude toward new groups in society. A European identity was not significantly associated with this restrictive attitude. Our conclusion is that not just the geographical scale of group identity is important in explaining anti-immigrant sentiments. The specific historical connotations of every geographical level should be considered. A comparison between generations, i.e. parents and their late adolescent children, suggests that this association between specific group identities and ethnic citizenship norms is equally present among younger cohorts.