What happens when political parties highlight ethnic differences during elections?
Using original longitudinal survey data from Romania's 2016-2018 election period, this article simultaneously tracks changes in voters' attitudes. We find that while ingroup identification does increase among both majority and minority Romanians, ethnic relations don't deteriorate.
Contrary to expectations, we observe a decrease in outgroup aversion and an increase in national identification across the population.
These findings suggest elections may activate multiple social identities — not just ethnic ones but also stronger national ties. This challenges assumptions about the automatic negative impact of ethnic salience during political competition.
