Individuals’ willingness to fight for their country has garnered significant attention in research; yet, the intricate connection between such willingness with individual identity, conflict type, and personal values remains underexplored. Through deductive exploratory quantitative analysis, this study examines two potentially interrelated factors—social identity and nature of conflict concerns—in the context of two multi-ethnic, immigrant-rich Western democracies in the 21st century. Using cross-sectional national survey data and a social identity framework, a quantitative comparative analysis of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) member nations Canada and the United States reveals a relationship between conflict concerns, immigrant identity, and willingness to fight; generally speaking, immigrants are more willing to fight for their host nations than the native-born individuals.
AldrichJ.NelsonF. (1984). Linear probability, logit, and probit models. Sage.
2.
AndersonC.GetmanskyA.Hirsch-HoeflerS. (2018). Burden sharing: Income, inequality, and willingness to fight. British Journal of Political Science, 50, 363–379.
3.
AndžānsM.SprūdsA. (2020). Three-decade evolution of the willingness to defend one’s own country: The case of the Baltic States. Lithuanian Strategic Review, 18, 1–26.
4.
ApterM.DessellesM. (2019). Understanding the motivation to fight: A reversal theory perspective. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 25(4), 335–345.
5.
ArcherE. (2022). In defence of diversity: Including immigrants in the US military as a strategic imperative. In ScoppioG.GrecoS. (Eds.), The power of diversity in the armed forces: International perspectives on immigrant participation in the military (pp. 125–150). McGill-Queen’s University Press.
6.
ArielyG. (2012). Globalisation and the decline of national identity? An exploration across sixty-three countries. Nations and Nationalism, 18(3), 461–482.
7.
BachmanJ.SegalD.Freedman-DoanP.O’MalleyP. (2000). Who chooses military service? Correlates of propensity and enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces. Military Psychology, 12(1), 1–30.
8.
BasirS.BakarM. (2020). Individualism and threat to patriotism: An outlook on students as social media users. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 7(3), 55–60.
9.
BassoM. (2013). Meet Joe Copper: Masculinity and race on Montana’s WWII Homefront. University of Chicago Press.
10.
BayramA. (2019). Nationalist cosmopolitanism: The psychology of cosmopolitanism, national identity, and going to war for the country. Nations and Nationalism, 25(3), 757–781.
11.
BelkinA.BatemanG. (Eds.). (2003). Don’t ask, don’t tell: Debating the gay ban in the military. Lynne Reiner Publishers.
BērziņaI.ZupaU. (2021). Factors affecting willingness to fight for a country in the Latvian and Russian-speaking communities in Latvia. National Identities, 23(3), 239–252.
BrickmanP.FolgerR.GoodeE.ShulY. (1981). Microjustice and macrojustice. In LernerM.LernerS. (Eds.), The justice motive in social behavior (pp. 173–202). Plenum.
16.
BurdetteA.ElderG.BensonJ.WangV.HillT. (2009). Serving God and country? Religious involvement and military service among young adult men. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 48(4), 794–804.
CarnesN.LickelB. (2018). Moral binding: How emotions, convictions, and identity fusion shape pro-group behavior. Self and Identity, 17(5), 549–573.
22.
CasulaM.RangarajanN.ShieldsP. (2021). The potential of working hypotheses for deductive exploratory research. Quality & Quantity, 55, 1703–1725.
23.
ChristensenW. (2016). The black citizen-subject: Black single mothers in U.S. military recruitment material. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(14), 2508–2526.
CowenD. (2008). Military workfare: The soldier and social citizenship in Canada. University of Toronto Press.
30.
CreeseG.DyckI.McLarenA. (2008). The “flexible” immigrant? Human Capital discourse, the family household and labor market strategies. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 9(3), 269–288.
DeanA. (2018). NAFTA’s army: Free trade and U.S. military enlistment. International Studies Quarterly, 62, 845–856.
33.
DeauxK. (2000). Models, meanings, and motivations. In CapozzaD.BrownR. (Eds.), Social identity processes: Trends in theory and research (pp. 15–26). Sage.
34.
DeFronzoJ.GillJ. (2008). Religious adherence and military enlistment before and after the 9/11 attacks. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 4, 1–13.
35.
DennisP. (2018). 1918: Year of the conscript. Canada’s History, 98(2), 40–47.
36.
De VroomeT.VerkuytenM.MartinovicB. (2014). Host national identification of immigrants in the Netherlands. International Migration Review, 48(1), 76–102.
37.
DowleyK.SilverB. (2000). Subnational and national loyalty: Cross-national comparisons. International Journal of Public Opinion, 12(4), 357–371.
EstebanJ.DebrajR. (2011). A model of ethnic conflict. Journal of the European Economic Association, 9(3), 496–521.
46.
EtzioniA. (2019). Reclaiming patriotism. University of Virginia Press.
47.
FarzaneganM.GholipourH. (2020). Growing up in the Iran-Iraq war and preferences for strong defense. Review of Development Economics, 25, 1945–1968.
48.
FrankeV. (2001). Generation X and the military: A comparison of attitudes and values between West Point cadets and college students. Journal of Political & Military Sociology, 29(1), 92–119.
49.
GibsonS.NoretN. (2010). Historical experiences, collective memory, and willingness to fight for one’s country: Comments on Paez et al. (2008). Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 41(3), 445–450.
GranatsteinJ. (2020). Canada at war: Conscription, diplomacy, and politics. University of Toronto Press.
54.
GriffithJ. (2008). Institutional motives for serving in the U.S. Army National Guard: Implications for recruitment, retention, and readiness. Armed Forces & Society, 34(2), 230–258.
HarrisonD.HarrisonT.ShafferM. (2019). Strangers in strained lands: Learning from workplace experiences of immigrant employees. Journal of Management, 45(2), 600–619.
62.
InglehartR. (2018). Cultural evolution: People’s motivations are changing and reshaping the world. University of Michigan Press.
63.
InglehartR.PuranenB.WelzelC. (2015). Declining willingness to fight for one’s country: The individual-level basis of the long peace. Journal of Peace Research, 52(4), 418–434.
64.
IyerA.HornseyM.VanmanE.EsposoS.AleS. (2015). Fight and flight: Evidence of aggressive capitulation in the face of fear messages from terrorists. Political Psychology, 36(6), 631–648.
65.
Janoff-BulmanR.CarnesN. (2013). Surveying the moral landscape: Moral motives and group-based moralities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17(3), 219–236.
66.
JensenP. (2020). A depth psychology model of immigration and adaptation: The migrant’s journey. Routledge.
67.
JohnstonS. (2008). The truth about patriotism. Duke University Press.
68.
JonesD. (2011). US-Canada security: The long polar watch and Canada’s changing defence policy 1957-1963. International Journal, 66(2), 451–461.
KierE. (1998). Homosexuals in the U.S. military: Open integration and combat effectiveness. International Security, 23, 5–39.
72.
KimN. (2020). Territorial disputes and individual willingness to fight. Journal of Peace Research, 57(3), 406–421.
73.
KleykampM. (2006). College, jobs, or the military? Enlistment during a time of war. Social Science Quarterly, 87(2), 272–290.
74.
KrebsR.RalstonR. (2022). Patriotism or paychecks: Who believes what about why soldiers serve. Armed Forces & Society, 48(1), 25–48.
75.
KyleT.KuehlB.DumasN.KirkS. (2015). Framing obesity as a health issue: Differences in public and professional perceptions between Canada and the U.S. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 39, S25–S26.
ListhaugO. (1986). War and defence attitudes: A first look at survey data from 14 countries. Journal of Peace Research, 23(1), 69–76.
79.
LutzA. (2008). Who joins the military? A look at race, class, and immigration status. Journal of Political & Military Sociology, 36(2), 167–188.
80.
MankowskiM.TowerL.BrandtC.MattocksK. (2015). Why women join the military: Enlistment decisions and post-deployment experiences of service members and veterans. Social Work, 60(4), 315–323.
McDermottV.MayA.HernandezL.ErdemandiM.MaracacN.BeanH.HoweW.BraddockK.MunzS.YamaguchiP.DiCamilloA. (2022). Stand down: A journal of applied communication forum on extremism and White nationalism in the United States military. Journal of Applied Communication, 50(5), 572–591.
83.
McMahonC.BernardC. (2019). Storm clouds on the horizon: Challenges and recommendations for military recruiting and retention. Naval War College Review, 72(3), 84–100.
84.
MillsP.DrewJ.AusinkJ.RomanoD.CostelloR. (2014). Balancing agile combat support manpower to better meet the future security environment. Rand Corporation.
85.
MoonD.LovrichN.PierceJ. (2000). Political culture in Canada and the United States: Comparing social trust, self-esteem, and political liberalism in major Canadian and American Cities. Social Science Quarterly, 81(3), 826–836.
86.
MoskosC. (2005). A new concept of citizen-soldier. Orbis, 49(4), 663–676.
87.
MoskosC. (2010). The all-volunteer military: Calling, profession, or occupation?Parameters, 40(4), 23–31.
88.
OrvisB.GahartM. (1990). Enlistment among applicants for military service: Determinants and incentives [R-3359-FMP]. Rand Corporation.
89.
PáezD.LiuJ.BobowikM.BasabeN.HankeK. (2016). Social representations of history, cultural values, and willingness to fight in a war: A collective-level analysis in 40 nations. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 19, 347–361.
90.
PuranenB. (2015). Allegiance eroding: People’s dwindling willingness to fight in wars. In DaltonR.WelzelC. (Eds.), The civic culture transformed: From allegiant to assertive citizens (pp. 261–281). Cambridge University Press.
91.
RalstonR.MottaM.SpindelJ. (2022). When O.K. is not O.K.: Public concern about white nationalism in the U.S. military. Armed Forces & Society, 48(1), 228–239.
92.
ReeskensT.WrightM. (2012). Nationalism and the cohesive society: A multilevel analysis of the interplay among diversity, national identity and social capital across 27 European societies. Comparative Political Studies, 46(2), 153–181.
93.
ReidA.DeauxK. (1996). Relationship between social and personal identities: Segregation or integration?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1084–1091.
RosalesS. (2017). Soldados razos at war: Chicano politics, identity, and masculinity in the U.S. Military from World War II to Vietnam. University of Arizona Press.
97.
RosenbergS.GaraM. (1985). The multiplicity of personal identity. Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 6, 87–113.
98.
RostkerB. (2006). I want you! The evolution of the all-volunteer force. Rand Corporation.
ScheveK.StasavageD. (2010). The conscription of wealth: Mass warfare and the demand for progressive taxation. International Organization, 64(4), 529–561.
101.
ShieldsP.RangarajanN. (2013). A playbook for research methods: Integrating conceptual frameworks and project management. New Forums.
StebbinsR. (2001). Exploratory research in the social sciences. Sage.
104.
StegerM.PierceJ.LovrichN.SteelB. (1988). Information source reliance and knowledge acquisition: Canadian/U.S. comparisons regarding acid rain. Western Political Science Quarterly, 41(4), 747–764.
105.
StraderE.LundquistJ.Dominguez-VillegasR. (2021). Warriors wanted: The performance of immigrants in the U.S. Army. International Migration Review, 55(2), 382–401.
106.
StrykerS. (1987). Identity theory: Developments and extensions. In YardleyK.HonessT. (Eds.), Self and identity: Psychosocial perspectives (pp. 89–103). Wiley.
107.
SwannW.BuhrmesterM. (2015). Identity fusion. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(1), 52–57.
108.
TorglerB. (2003). Why do people go to war?Defence and Peace Economics, 14(4), 261–280.
ZavalaE.CurryT.MoralesM. (2020). Explaining the cultural retention–delinquency relationship using differential support and coercion theory: A study of native-born and immigrant Latino youth. Social Science Quarterly, 101(2), 623–640.
119.
ZuberiD. (2018). Differences that matter: Social policy and the working poor in the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
