Introduction: Nationalism’s Futures

Abstract

At a time when nationalist sentiment is on the rise, this special issue takes stock of how sociology can contribute to understanding the past, present and future of nationalism. In contrast to declarations of ‘the end of history’, which was also meant to herald increasing integration due to a lowering of cultural and national barriers, nationalism never went away. The articles in this collection engage with the question of nationalism at a theoretical and empirical level and in different regional contexts, assessing how national boundaries are drawn and policed, how national identities are formed and the myriad political and everyday consequences of nationalism.

The art of nationalism: Artists' perspectives on the Latvian Centenary film programme

“…In the Hungarian case in particular, the return to nationalist rhetoric and imagery is connected by Virag Molnar to xenophobic tendencies of many civil society groups and society at large (Molnar, 2016). Such a take aligns with numerous critical analyses of nationalist politics across Europe, seen as an effect of undemocratic desires and/or racist penchants (see, e.g., May et al, 2020;Valluvan, 2019). Our empirical material, as we will show below, merits returning to the argument on the role of neoliberal restructuring and other contemporary global challenges in prompting efforts to regenerate collective ties and sentiments of social solidarity and thus embracing a more ambiguous perspective on the role and uses of nationalism in contemporary societies.…”

“…In contemporary sociology, analyses of the recent rise of nationalist movements in Europe and beyond are proliferating (e.g., Halikiopoulou & Vlandas, 2019;May et al, 2020;Tamir, 2020;Teitelbaum, 2017;Valluvan, 2019). In Eastern Europe, too, nationalist politics have been on the rise in the last two decades, as evidenced most markedly by radical right-wing nationalist and populist movements in Hungary and Poland (Asavei et al, 2020;Molnar, 2016Molnar, , 2021Pasieka, 2021;Petsinis & Wierenga, 2021).…”

Archwilio Lluniad Disgyrsiol Hunaniaeth Genedlaethol trwy Greu’r Cwricwlwm i Gymru Newydd

“…Mae dadleuon ynghylch hunaniaeth a pherthyn, ac amddiffyniad ohon ynt, wedi creu ac yn parhau i greu dadleuon allweddol sy'n rhan o sgyrsiau cyfredol a sgyrsiau diweddar yn ymwneud â Brexit, tai, COVID 19, datganoli ac annibyniaeth yng Nghymru (McGrattan a Williams, 2017, t. 465). Wrth gwrs, nid yng Nghymru yn unig y gwelwyd y cyfryw gyn nydd mewn teimladau cenedlaetholgar (May et al, 2020), ond wedi dweud hynny, rydym yn gweld y genedl a hunaniaeth genedlaethol yn chwarae rhan gynyddol bwysig mewn gwleidyddiaeth fodern ac yn nhirwedd gym deithasol Cymru (McGrattan a Williams, 2017, t. 466). Mae gan Gymru gyddestun diddorol hefyd o ran hunaniaeth genedlaethol, fel cenedl wladwriaeth o fewn y Deyrnas Unedig, gyda dylanwad a rheolaeth yn dod o du llywodraethau Cymru a San Steffan.…”

Measuring Public Attitudes Towards Immigration: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Social Survey Questions

“…It reflects a drive to control the movement of racialised and dispossessed diaspora by presenting a myth of a racially inclusive Britain, while preserving a claimed 'white' Britishness and by implication a racially ordered narrative of citizenship (Byrne, 2014;El-Enany, 2020). 2 In recent years there has been a rise in nationalist rhetoric that constructs 'them' (the Other) as a threat to the nation and 'those people who can claim an "authentic" national identity' (May et al, 2020(May et al, : 1056. In the UK this was evident in the vote to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016, which, it has been argued, was linked to concerns about immigration, multiculturalism and ethnic diversity (Clery et al, 2017;Valluvan and Kalra, 2019).…”

“…In recent years there has been a rise in nationalist rhetoric that constructs ‘them’ (the Other) as a threat to the nation and ‘those people who can claim an “authentic” national identity’ (May et al, 2020: 1056). In the UK this was evident in the vote to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016, which, it has been argued, was linked to concerns about immigration, multiculturalism and ethnic diversity (Clery et al, 2017; Valluvan and Kalra, 2019).…”