Why, and when, does national identity become important to elections?

The proposed research aims to investigate why, and when, national identity becomes important to people's political choices. Why do some people have a much stronger national identity, and why does this shape vote choices in some elections and for some people, but not in and for others? Furthermore, how do different cross-national identities differ in their characteristic? Is 'national identity' common across country context? This research aims to explain the variance in identity and thus make a contribution to the literature on national identity-based politics in a context in which national identity is rising in significance and salience in contemporary elections.