Download full text
(610.6Kb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-58304-2
Exports for your reference manager
Nationalism as an essentially contested concept
[journal article]
Abstract Despite the fact that the notion of a state that contains a specific nation is relatively new, most societies tend to perceive their national origins as an indisputable historical fact. This paper tries to understand the reasons that make rational individuals and groups of people believe in the irra... view more
Despite the fact that the notion of a state that contains a specific nation is relatively new, most societies tend to perceive their national origins as an indisputable historical fact. This paper tries to understand the reasons that make rational individuals and groups of people believe in the irrational claims of national identities and national pride. As political discourse is the main source of these claims, this paper analyses the nature of that discourse and the way it manages to coin essentially contested concepts that are acceptable by the public. Subsequently, the paper delves into the mechanisms in which the human cognitive apparatus interprets discourse, and the reasons that make it vulnerable to deception. Additionally, the paper revisits notions like nations and states to prove the fact that there is no direct relationship between belonging to a state and feeling national pride. Eventually, the paper tackles the main psychological attributes that interfere to make rational individuals and groups abandon their rationality to believe in purely sentimental political notions.... view less
Keywords
nation; nationalism; national identity; politics; discourse; national state; national consciousness; conception; the public
Classification
Macrosociology, Analysis of Whole Societies
Political System, Constitution, Government
Social Psychology
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
Page/Pages
p. 46-57
Journal
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, 4 (2018) 1
ISSN
1857-9760
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed