The Islamic Revolution Approach

The Islamic Revolution Approach

The Relationship between National Identity and National Pride and the Mediation of Hope in Specific Areas of Political Science Students.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Alireza Karimian 1
Mahdi Akbari 2
1 PhD in Political Science, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran
2 PhD in Psychology, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Counseling, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
This article aimed to investigate the relationship between national identity and national pride with the mediation of hope for specific domains of political science students. Five hypotheses were proposed according to the model. In terms of the nature of the method, the present study is a descriptive research and in terms of the method, it is also in the category of correlational studies. The statistical population of the present study was undergraduate political science students at the University of Mazandaran. In this study, 139 undergraduate political science students (47 male students and 92 female students) participated in this study. They were selected through stratified sampling and responded to three standard questionnaires: Eidi et al. (2014), Simpson's (1999) Adult Hope for Specific Domains, and Rabbani and Rastegar's (2013) National Identity Questionnaire. The results showed that the standard beta value of the path from national identity to hope for specific domains of students was not significant at the (p‹0.01) level. The standard beta of the path from national identity to national pride of political science students and the standard beta of the path of hope in specific areas to national pride of political science students were significant at the (p‹0/01) level. Also, according to the results of the indirect effect, it can be seen that hope in specific areas did not play a mediating role in the relationship between national identity and national pride of students. According to the results, it is suggested that in order to improve the national pride of political science students, the level of national identity and hope should be increased.
 
introduction
National pride is considered by social scientists as an important phenomenon in comparative politics and comparative economics. A review of the research literature shows that the hope variable can have a mediating role in the relationship between national identity and national pride. Some researchers examined the relationship between national identity and psychological well-being in European countries and found that, while it is moderated by national pride, higher levels of national identity reduce happiness, but lower levels of national identity enhance happiness. Given the importance of the national pride variable and the examination of important variables related to it, this study seeks to examine the relationship between national identity and national pride by considering the mediating role of hope in specific areas of political science students.
 
Materials and Methods
 The research method is descriptive in nature and correlational in method. The statistical population consists of undergraduate political science students at Mazandaran University, who were studying in the academic year 1400-1399, and there were about 500 students in the undergraduate course. The purpose of selecting political science students is to have political awareness and subject mastery of the component of national identity and solidarity. Political science, sometimes called political science, is a social science that deals with governance systems and the analysis of political activities, political thoughts, and the constitution related to political behavior. In this study, about 180 questionnaires were distributed, and ultimately the information of 139 students was deemed valid. 139 undergraduate students of political science (47 male and 92 female) from Mazandaran University participated and were selected through stratified sampling method. The classes included first-year students, second-year students, third-year students, and fourth-year students. All sample students responded to three standard national pride questionnaires: to measure national pride, the National Pride Questionnaire developed by Eidi et al. (2014), the 40-item Adult Domain-specific Hope Scale (DSHS) by Simpson (1999), and the National Identity Questionnaire by Rabbani and Rastegar. (2013).
 
Discussion
The results show that standard beta of the path from national identity to national pride of political science students is significant at two levels (p‹0.05) and (p‹0.01) (T=3.23; β=0.18). Also, the standard beta of the path from hope for specific areas to national pride of political science students (third hypothesis of the research) is significant at two levels (p‹0.05) and (p‹0.01) (T=4.21; β=0.35). In the indirect effects section, the standard beta of the path from national identity to hope for specific areas of political science students at two levels (p‹0.05) and (p‹0.01) is not significant (T=0.67; β=0.01). According to the results of the indirect effect, it can be seen that hope for specific areas did not play a mediating role in the relationship between national identity and national pride of students. In the total effects section, the standard beta of the path from national identity to hope for specific areas of students at two levels (p‹0.05) and (p‹0.01) is not significant (T=1.95; β=0.07). The standard beta of the path from national identity to national pride of political science students at two levels (p‹0.05) and (p‹0.01) is significant (T=3.23; β=0.18). Also, the standard beta value of the path of hope for specific areas of students to national pride of political science students (the third hypothesis of the research) is significant at two levels (p‹0.05) and (p‹0.01) (T=4.21; β=0.35).
 
Conclusion
The results of the research analysis showed that the causal relationship between national identity and hope in specific domains of political science students is not significant. To theoretically explain the results, it should be said that national identity can have complex effects on the level of hope in a society. The results showed that the relationship between national identity and national pride of political science students was significant. To explain these results theoretically, it should be said that political science students will feel proud of their nation's ability in the form of national identity by knowing and being aware of their nation's past and history, and their national pride is influenced by their understanding of national identity. Other results of the study also showed that the hopefulness of specific domains did not play a mediating role in the relationship between national identity and national pride of students. The results of this part of the study are also somewhat consistent with the results of some studies. Although it seems reasonable that national satisfaction is generally related to hopefulness and that the two types of national identity, specific domain and general, which are inseparable and at the same time distinct from each other, affect hopefulness. The key concepts, namely national identity and hopefulness, are particularly related to the specific context, so the relationship between national identity and hopefulness apparently varies across nations and cultures. However, it is important to note that the relationship between national pride and hopefulness of specific domains is not always simple and direct. Other factors such as economic and social conditions, historical events, political system, etc. can also affect this relationship, the economic and social conditions of a country can affect the level of national pride and hopefulness of specific domains.
 
 
Keywords
National pride, national identity, hope, political science
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References [In Persian]
Andrews, R., McGlynn, C., & Mycock, A. (2010). National pride and students’ attitudes towards history: an exploratory study. Educational Studies, 36(3), 299-309.
Bekhuis, H., Lubbers, M., & Verkuyten, M. (2014). How education moderates the relation between globalization and nationalist attitudes. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 26(4), 487-500.
Cameron, J. E., & Berry, J. W. (2008). True patriot love: Structure and predictors of Canadian pride. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 40(3), 17-41.
Ha, S. E., & Jang, S. J. (2015). National identity, national pride, and happiness: The case of South Korea. Social Indicators Research, 121(2), 471-482.
Smith T., W. , & Kim S. (2006). National pride in cross-national and temporal perspective , International Journal of  Public Opinion Research. 18:128-136.
Van Bavel, J. J., Cichocka, A., Capraro, V., Sjåstad, H., Nezlek, J. B., Pavlović, T., ... & Jørgensen, F. J. (2022). National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic. Nature communications, 13(1), 517.