Habitus, Globalization, and Cosmopolitanism: How Dispositions, Class, and Migration Shape Global Self-Identification Differently in 74 Countries

This paper critically examines conceptualizations of “transnational,” “global” or “cosmopolitan” habitus in migration, globalization and inequality research. We conceptualize habitus as a configuration of basic dispositions, using items from the Schwartz values battery, and compare the effect of habitual dispositions, class, and migration on cosmopolitan self-identification via country-specific multiple regression models, based on data from the World Values Survey (2005–2015) of around 100,000 individuals from 74 countries. We show that migration experiences and habitual dispositions of openness to new and stimulating experiences rather than orientations toward tradition and security are associated with stronger global self-identification. We also find a tendency among the upper classes toward cosmopolitan identification; however, these effects vary between an economic and a cultural capital route as well as among societies. Our findings thus caution against the uncritical use of “one-size-fits-all” concepts such as transnational, global and cosmopolitan habitus independent from specific social and cultural contexts.