TY - JOUR

T1 - Welsh Nationalism, Language and Students’ Trust in the UK Police

AU - Machura, Stefan

AU - Almjnoni, Salim

AU - Vavrik, Boris

AU - Williams, Einir

N1 - 12 months embargo

PY - 2022/3

Y1 - 2022/3

N2 - Where nationality, coupled to minority language, forms a key factor of identities, and there is a history of conflict, it may be difficult for the police to command trust. In north-west Wales, Welsh is the language of the majority. Against the background of historic experiences of exploitation, oppression and perceived neglect by English authorities, many locals have a negative view of the UK police. But what characterises those who are most in opposition? 283 students at Bangor University participated in a questionnaire study. Results show that students who prefer to communicate in Welsh rather than English are more likely to distrust the UK police. While there are deep rooted tensions based on national identity, the police may gain trust from different sources compensating the cultural divide. They include mass media reports and experiences with the police. Overall however, the results support the group position theory applied to relations between people identifying with different nations.

AB - Where nationality, coupled to minority language, forms a key factor of identities, and there is a history of conflict, it may be difficult for the police to command trust. In north-west Wales, Welsh is the language of the majority. Against the background of historic experiences of exploitation, oppression and perceived neglect by English authorities, many locals have a negative view of the UK police. But what characterises those who are most in opposition? 283 students at Bangor University participated in a questionnaire study. Results show that students who prefer to communicate in Welsh rather than English are more likely to distrust the UK police. While there are deep rooted tensions based on national identity, the police may gain trust from different sources compensating the cultural divide. They include mass media reports and experiences with the police. Overall however, the results support the group position theory applied to relations between people identifying with different nations.

KW - Group position theory

KW - Minorities and police

KW - Trust in police

KW - Welsh nationalism

U2 - 10.1007/s10767-020-09379-z

DO - 10.1007/s10767-020-09379-z

M3 - Article

VL - 35

SP - 67

EP - 84

JO - International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society

JF - International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society

SN - 0891-4486

IS - 1

ER -