Perceived Discrimination in ’our’ Nation

This paper examines the effect of perceived discrimination on the functional, normative and emotional - national - identification of Turks and Moroccans. The distinction between the three types of national identification is proposed as a more complete understanding of the processes through which national identification develops. It was hypothesised that perceived discrimination would have a negative effect on all three types - functional, normative and emotional – of national identification for both Turks and Moroccans. Additionally, it was hypothesised that functional and normative identification would mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and emotional identification. The research is based on multiple regression analysis and data from the ‘Netherlands Longitudinal Life Course Study’ (NELLS). Results show that the effect of perceived discrimination on the three types of national identification differ between Turks and Moroccans. For Turks, perceived discrimination only negatively affects their emotional identification with the Netherlands. For Moroccans, perceived discrimination negatively affects both their functional and emotional identification with the nation. These findings contribute to existing literature by demonstrating the (distinct) effect of perceived discrimination on the functional, normative and emotional identification of Turks and Moroccans with the Netherlands.