Support for the Political Community
Our final analyses of political support examine feelings toward the political community. Identification withthe political
community is the most fundamental of political identities—to think of oneself as American or British pre-dates
specific political identities, suchas party or ideological ties. Almond and Verba (1963) described these feelings as
‘system affect’, a strong emotional attachment to the nation presumably provides a reservoir of diffuse support that
can maintain a political system through temporary periods of political stress.
One can imagine that these sentiments have not been immune to the dissatisfactions which have affected other aspects
of political support. Expressions of patriotism seem less common, and more anachronistic, than they did a generation
ago. Growing emphasis on multiculturalism in many societies has raised questions about the breadth and depth of a
common national identity. In Europe, the development of European attachments may be weakening national identities.
A decline in national identities would spell a crisis for the nation-state, and not just a crisis of the political system.
One measure of suchfeelings involves pride in one's nation.30 Figure 3.1 displays the percentage who feel proud of
their nation for a set of advanced industrial democracies.31 National pride is common in most states. The United States
and Ireland display extremely high levels of national pride. Most other publics express their national pride in more
moderate tones. Britons express relatively high degrees of national pride; the bifurcated division of the French political
culture yields more modest rates of national pride. Germans are especially hesitant in their statements of national pride,
which we attribute to the lingering reaction to the nationalist extremism of Third Reich (Dalton 1996; Topf et al. 1989).
Beyond these cross-national variations,32 it is apparent that national pride