Communitarian loyalties in a borderless world, globalization and political allegiances in Belgium, Canada and Italy

grantor: University of TorontoThe persistence of ethnic and/or regional movements in advanced capitalist societies has defied the predictions of many integrationist theorists who have argued that modernization would eradicate sub-state loyalties. In much of the scholarly literature, ethno-regional movements were held to be parochial reactions against modernity. The post-war resurgence of communitarian parties in the face of globalization processes suggests that sub-state identities may be compatible with post-modernity. There is a growing body of literature which suggests that in a borderless world, citizens will use their increased individuation capacities to reassert ethnic, territorial and other sub-state identities in the face of centralization and cultural homogenization pressures. This shift in political allegiances to more immediate geographic areas and lower-order governments--the so-called "new" localism--is held to be the product of rational evaluations that the central state can no longer fulfil the instrumental and psychological needs of citizens. In order to determine whether contemporary ethno-regionalism is parochial or post-modern, a survey and personal interviews exploring the ideological and issue orientations, lifestyles and socio-demographic backgrounds of party members in the Bloc Québécois, Volksunie and Northern League were conducted. In all three cases, the parties demonstrated an ability to appeal to both "traditional" and "post-modern" elements within their respective communities. This finding, in addition to evidence which points to a high level of internal cohesion between party members, suggests that communitarian parties have the potential to persist in the face of transnational pressures. The study also shows that transnational trends, considered along with domestic-oriented, exogenous, endogenous and intervening variables, can help explain contemporary communitarianism.Ph.D