Identity means the distinguishing character or personality of an individual.
Social and Political Identities:
Social identity refers to the way that individuals principally identify themselves in the socioeconomic system. It reflects the spontaneous affiliation that people choose to emphasize among
various attributes including occupation, income, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, or individual
qualities. Social identity allows individuals to situate themselves in a broader social terrain. This
dimension of identity does not take political solidarities into account, although particular social
identities may be closely associated with political orientations.
As used here, political identity refers to an individual’s relative solidarity or loyalty in the context
of the nation-state. Given an explicit choice between ethnic and national identity, which do
people choose to emphasize? Do they balance loyalties? This measures a political conception of
membership and collective action, rather than a simple marker of identity.