Unpacking the Trust Mechanism Within Liberal Nationalism: National Pride, Trust, and Support for Income Equality

How does national identity affect public support for redistribution? In this study, I argue that this relationship is primarily mediated by political trust, while the mediating role of social trust — another distinct form of trust — is limited and context-specific. Employing a parallel mediation model and drawing on data from 11 established Western democracies during the pre-COVID era, I find that, across democracies, national pride reduces support for income equality primarily through citizens’ trust in government rather than through interpersonal trust. These findings challenge the “national identity argument (NIA)” advanced by liberal nationalists, which holds that a shared national identity strengthens the basis of redistributive solidarity through trust. Whether the trust mechanism operates as theorized depends on political ideology, the type of trust considered, and the specific national context.