Territory as the Kernel of the Nation

Space, Time and Nationalism in Israel/Palestine

Bibliographic Data

ID3948385
AuthorsOren Yiftachel (0000-0002-0138-6596, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume7
Issue2
Pages215-248
Publication date2002-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeopolitics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-0045 • E-ISSN: 1557-3028
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/714000930
OpenAlexW1991628015
LanguageEN
Citations received52

The article deals with the relations between time and space in the making of modern nations, focusing on conditions of territorial conflicts in general, and on expansionist 'ethnocratic' societies in particular. Under such conditions, it is argued, territory (the 'where' of the nation) becomes a most vital 'kernel' of national mobilisation, while the history of national origins (the 'when') tends to become mythical and homogenous, used chiefly to boost the territorial struggle. A geographical critique of dominant theories of nationalism is presented, focusing on their 'spatial blindness' and analytical fusion of nation and state. These deficiencies are conspicuous in ethnocratic societies, where the 'national project' does not aspire to merge nation and state, but on the contrary, to essentialise and segregate group identities. While the 'when' and the 'where' of the nation are still intimately intertwined, it is the latter that provides the core of nation-building. The claim is substantiated through a detailed account of Zionist and Palestinian nationalisms. In recent decades, the struggle over land has shaped the two national cultures as intensely territorial, with a wide range of symbols, values and practices intimately attached to settlement and land control, pitting Jewish hitnahalut (settlement) verses Palestinian sumud (steadfastness). Territorial issues, however, remain the 'kernel' of Zionist and Palestinian national mobilisation

Expansionism · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Territorial integrity · Territoriality · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Middle East Politics and Society

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub