Reconceptualising Citizenship and Identity: Contextual and Attitudinal Responses Towards State and Civic Obligation in the United Kingdom

Existing literature on the determinants of citizenship and identity highlights perceptual differences in individual relationships to the state, its institutions, and the underlying value premises that shape individual attitudes and responses. However, a survey of several respondent opinions in the United Kingdom concludes that for the average individual, daily involvement and experiences in social or community affairs influences individual orientation toward citizenship. Furthermore, increasing exposure to technology and market forces lends more credence to the decline in participation in the democratic process resulting in an increasingly narrow and almost cynical interpretation of ‘patriotism’. The orthodox ideal of citizenship as virtue is in danger of becoming more or less a matter of perception and interpretation, and its full meaning is revealed in how one projects one’s identity unto others (the community) and to issues of the state.