Identification with NATO Fosters Collective Defence Efficacy Beliefs and Willingness to Participate in National and Collective Defence

While previous research has shown that groups can instil confidence in their members regarding their collective ability to accomplish various actions thereby increasing willingness to act on the group’s behalf, these social identity processes have not been examined in the context of international security organizations such as NATO. We therefore investigated how identification with NATO relates to a willingness to defend both one’s own country and other NATO member states, introducing the concept of collective defence efficacy – confidence in a collective ability to successfully defend the community in the event of an external attack – to capture this dynamic. Our data (N = 4,273) were collected from two groups with differing views on national defence in Finland: active reserve officers and civilian service transferees, the latter being individuals who have applied to transfer from the Finnish reserve to non-military service. A multigroup analysis showed that identification with NATO was positively associated with willingness to defend other NATO member states, both directly and indirectly via perceptions of NATO’s collective defence efficacy. Identification with NATO also had a positive indirect association with willingness to defend Finland. All associations were positive and significant for both groups. Our findings highlight the role of NATO-related social identity processes in shaping willingness to participate in both national and collective defence within a military alliance.