Which side? young multicultural generation facing nationalistic research frameworks

Abstract

Social science leans often on prevailing classifications of human relations, which might prevent new, innovative, and actual ways of constructing research settings. This chapter presents an example of how methodological nationalism often guides the research processes of social science, even in multiculturalising societies. The presented empirical analysis examines quantitatively youth attitudes towards issues related to Finland’s national foreign and security policies. The main aim of this chapter is scrutinising whether the younger generation stretches the boundaries of national(istic) framework presented to them in the questionnaire through more cosmopolitan perspectives on citizenship. The results indicate that most young people are still strongly committed to national institutions, even if they have a transnational family background and life-history. Consequently, it might be that that with nationalistic research settings, possible cosmopolitan stances of young generation cannot be recognised.