Who Counts as an American?

Elizabeth Theiss-Morse is Professor and Chair of Political Science at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where she has taught since 1988. She is the co-author of two award-winning Cambridge University Press books: Congress as Public Enemy: Public Attitudes toward American Political Institutions (co-authored with John R. Hibbing), winner of the APSA's Fenno Prize in 1996 for the best book on Congress; and With Malice Toward Some: How People Make Civil Liberties Judgments (co-authored with George E. Marcus, John L. Sullivan and Sandra L. Wood), winner of the APSA's Best Book in Political Psychology Prize in 1996. A second book written with John Hibbing, Stealth Democracy: Americans' Beliefs about How Government Should Work (Cambridge, 2002), was named an 'Outstanding Academic Title' by Choice magazine in 2003. She also co-edited with John Hibbing What Is It About Government that Americans Dislike? (Cambridge, 2001). She has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, Political Psychology, and Political Behavior, among others, and has received five National Science Foundation Grants.

• 1. The need for a social theory of national identity; 2. Commitment to the national group; 3. The setting of national group boundaries; 4. The desire to help the national group; 5. Loyalty in the face of criticism; 6. Is national identity good or bad?; Appendix.

“Theiss-Morse tackles the fascinating topic of national identity, drawing on social identity theory to lend sharp insight into the dynamics of national loyalty and commitment. In doing so she brings fresh eyes to the study of patriotism and nationalism, arguing that they are predominantly social not intellectual in nature. The social nature of American identity is laid bare in extensive empirical analyses which document who is most strongly identified as American and the limits such individuals place on national boundaries. Theiss-Morse develops her thesis clearly and succinctly to argue that, on balance, national identity is negative, leading to a sense of tight and exclusive ingroup boundaries that place limits on government assistance to those who fall outside subjectively drawn internal borders. She brings a fresh approach to the long-standing debate on the merits and faults of patriotism. Who Counts as an American? is sure to become essential reading for researchers interested in the dynamics of patriotism and national attachments.” -Leonie Huddy, State University of New York at Stony Brook