A francophone political culture? Similarities and differences among French speakers in Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, and France

This paper explores whether language shapes political culture by examining the case of French and a possible transnational francophone political culture. Using original survey data from Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, and France collected in autumn 2020, we find only small within-country differences between francophones and non-francophones and limited transnational alignment. National patterns dominate even in multilingual federations with divided media landscapes and centrifugal politics. Only regarding feminism and drug policy do we find evidence of a common francophone orientation. In both domains, French mother tongue is correlated with the same distinct attitude regarding the role of the state compared to non-French speakers. These findings suggest that language is indeed related to political culture, albeit in a circumscribed manner. We thus contribute to scholarship on political behaviour and multicultural federalism by exploring how language shapes attitudes for individuals and groups alike.