Patriotism and nationalism in explaining trust

The present study was designed to deepen the understanding of national identity as a predictor of political trust. The concept of national identity was subdivided into nationalism and patriotism. A representative survey of the Latvian population (N=1,000) studied predictors of trust (patriotism, nationalism, internal political efficacy, political cynicism, and life satisfaction) in the political system. The results show that trust in the political system can be predicted by patriotic attitudes (positively), nationalistic attitudes (negatively), internal political efficacy (positively), and low levels of political cynicism.