National identity and international collaboration with “friendly” versus “hostile” countries: The role of secure national identification and national narcissism

Peace and Conflict. 2026. Vol. 32. No. 1. P. 44–55.

Gulevich O., Maria Meteleva, Anna Shvets

Previous studies have examined the psychological factors that predict attitudes toward military actions. However, scholars have paid less attention to psychological factors predicting attitudes toward international collaboration. The study aims to analyze the relationship between constructive vs non-constructive forms of national identity and attitudes toward collaboration with countries perceived as “friendly” vs “hostile”. We hypothesized that individuals would express more positive attitudes toward collaboration with countries they perceive as ''friendly'' than with countries they perceive as ''hostile''. Both secure national identification and national narcissism would reinforce this connection, but they would influence differently. In particular, secure national identification would be positively associated with attitudes toward collaboration with “friendly” countries, and national narcissism would be negatively connected to attitudes toward collaboration with “hostile” states. Four studies involving participants from Russia confirmed these hypotheses. We discuss why this occurs and outline directions for future research.

Keywords: международные отношения, international relations, национальная идентификация, national narcissism, secure national identification, национальный нарциссизм, attitudes toward international collaboratio, аттитюды к международному сотрудничеству

Publication based on the results of: Political attitudes and behavior: Content, factors, and consequences (2024)