“Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”: American US Ethno-Nationalism’s Civic Angle and its Originalist Articulation

ABSTRACT: In this article we use a comparative perspective to empirically examine a unique strain of US nationalism distinguishable from other established western democracies such as the UK. We propose a new theoretical understanding of US Exceptionalism by analyzing a distinctive form of nationalism utilizing it as a key predictor of anti-immigrant sentiment (AIS). Conceptualizing this distinctive form as “Originalists”, we identify individuals who hold a strong allegiance to the original Constitution, the Founding Fathers and a devout connection to Christianity. Building upon existing historical literature on US nationalism, we establish Originalists’ unique genesis and differing articulations of nationalism relating to AIS, white supremacy, and importance of religiosity. Using data from the International Social Survey Program’s National Identity II (2003) and III (2013), we investigate these relationships using two-stage least square regression (2SLS). Our analysis demonstrates that significant differences exist across countries but also between the different forms of US nationalism utilizing religiosity as our key instrumental variable. The results suggest that the United States contains a unique “Originalist” form of nationalism animated by religiosity, which has important theoretical implications for debates surrounding the Exceptionalism of US nationalism and its power to describe contemporary rise of exclusionary attitudes towards immigration.