Symbols of Defeat in the Construction of National Identity

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19929974
AutoresSteven Mock, Steven J Mock, Steven E Mock (0000-0002-3370-9919, University of Waterloo, autor de correspondencia)
Año2011
Fecha de publicación2011-12-29
Open AccessSí
TipoBOOK
RevistaSymbols of Defeat in the Construction of National Identity (SOURCE_BOOK)
EditorialCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/cbo9781139004022
OpenAlexW2032917771
Open LibraryOL24839841M
ISBN9781139004022
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas23
Referencias citadas47

If nationalism is the assertion of legitimacy for a nation and its effectiveness as a political entity, why do many nations emphasize images of their own defeat in understanding their history? Using Israel, Serbia, France, Greece and Ghana as examples, the author argues that this phenomenon exposes the ambivalence that lurks behind the passions nationalism evokes. Symbols of defeat glorify a nation's ancient past, while reenacting the destruction of that past as a necessary step in constructing a functioning modern society. As a result, these symbols often assume a foundational role in national mythology. Threats to such symbols are perceived as threats to the nation itself and consequently are met with desperation difficult for outsiders to understand

Aesthetics · Ambivalence · Assertion · Epistemology · Legitimacy · Mythology · National identity · Nationalism · Passions · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Balkans: History, Politics, Society · History · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Philippine History and Culture · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Collective memory · Crises · Depressions · Memory · National characteristics · Political messianism