Diversity and Nations

2020 ◽  
pp. 309-343
Author(s):  
Mona Sue Weissmark
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Ethnic Community ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Civic Nationalism

This chapter conceptualizes the nation and nationalism, placing them in context with issues of wealth and income inequality, immigration, xenophobia, and diversity. The term “nation” may be defined in several ways, but generally a nation refers to a distinct, usually geographically or regionally bound people. Likewise, depending on academic discipline, nationalism has varied definitions, though the concept generally refers to the emotions wrapped up in a shared national identity. There are two dichotomous types of nationalism: civic and ethnic. Civic nationalism was found in Western societies, where individuals are seen as belonging to a political community consisting of people with equal rights and duties. People in these societies unite around political precepts, values, and respect for institutions. Conversely, in countries where ethnic nationalism is the norm, citizens belong to an ethnic community based on blood ties. Although this dichotomous view has its share of critics, the notion that civic meanings of nationhood correlate with a positive attitude toward immigrants while ethnic-based ideas of the nation promote xenophobia still holds currency. Meanwhile, although there is little empirical research concerning factors that influence nationalist thinking, one study found poor citizens’ national pride rises as income inequality increases, especially in countries where there are many migrants in the lower class.

scholarly journals Moving Beyond Identity: The Tibet Question Revisited

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jake Ningjian Lin
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
State Building ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Chinese Nationalism ◽  
Alternative Approach

<p>This research paper explores the discursive construction of China and Tibet’s national identity, and how it interrelates with China-Tibet relations. In contrast to studies suggesting a defining and determinant role of national identity on China-Tibet relations, this research paper argues that the collective identity of Tibet and China is a hegemonic and highly contested construction, and Tibet and China, therefore, should look beyond identity and search for an alternative approach to nation/state building without succumbing to either Chinese nationalism or Tibetan nationalism. Drawing on the work of some of the critical theorists, this research paper shows that it is bound to fail to build a political community based on a collective national identity. This research paper proposes that the authorities of Tibet and China should negotiate for future institutional reform of the Tibet Question by the recognition of the contingent identities of the multitude.</p>

scholarly journals Moving Beyond Identity: The Tibet Question Revisited

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jake Ningjian Lin
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
State Building ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Chinese Nationalism ◽  
Alternative Approach

<p>This research paper explores the discursive construction of China and Tibet’s national identity, and how it interrelates with China-Tibet relations. In contrast to studies suggesting a defining and determinant role of national identity on China-Tibet relations, this research paper argues that the collective identity of Tibet and China is a hegemonic and highly contested construction, and Tibet and China, therefore, should look beyond identity and search for an alternative approach to nation/state building without succumbing to either Chinese nationalism or Tibetan nationalism. Drawing on the work of some of the critical theorists, this research paper shows that it is bound to fail to build a political community based on a collective national identity. This research paper proposes that the authorities of Tibet and China should negotiate for future institutional reform of the Tibet Question by the recognition of the contingent identities of the multitude.</p>

Rag Doll Nations and the Politics of Differentiation on Arbitrary Borders: Karelia and Moldova*

2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 457-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Lawrence Schrad
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
The State ◽  
Ethnic Community ◽  
National Identities ◽  
The Other ◽  
Interesting Aspect ◽  
Territorial Boundaries ◽  
Shed Light

“Tell a man today to go and build a state,” Samuel Finer once stated, “and he will try to establish a definite and defensible boundary and compel those who live inside it to obey him.” While at best an oversimplification, Finer's insight illuminates an interesting aspect of state-society relations. Who is it that builds the state? How and where do they establish territorial boundaries, and how are those who live within that territory compelled to obey? Generally speaking, these are the questions that will be addressed here. Of more immediate concern is the fate of peoples located in regions where arbitrary land boundaries fall. Are they made loyal to the state through coercion or by their own compulsions? More importantly, how are their identities shaped by the efforts of the state to differentiate them from their compatriots on the other side of the borders? How is the shift from ethnic to national identities undertaken? A parallel elaboration of the national histories of the populations of Karelia and Moldova will shed light on these questions. The histories of each group are marked by a myriad of attempts to differentiate the identity of each ethnic community from their compatriots beyond the state's borders. The results of such overt, state-initiated efforts to differentiate borderland populations by encouraging a national identity at the expense of the ethnic, has ranged from the mundane to the tragic—from uneventful assimilation to persecution and even genocide. As an illustration of the range of possibilities and processes, I maintain that the tragedies of Karelia and Moldova are not exceptional, but rather are a consequence of their geographical straddling of arbitrary borders, and the need for the state to promote a distinctive national identity for these populations to differentiate them socially from their compatriots beyond the frontier.

scholarly journals Over-the-Counter Drugs and Complementary Medications Use among Children in Southern Italy

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Pileggi ◽  
Valentina Mascaro ◽  
Aida Bianco ◽  
Maria Pavia
Keyword(s):  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Sole Source ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Source Of Information

The use of nonprescription medicines (NPDs) for children illnesses without a doctor’s suggestion can lead to unnecessary medication use and is not free of risks. The aim of our study was to examine attitudes and practice of parents towards NPDs use for their children. We also investigated the conditions that may predict NPDs use. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on parents of children attending Community Based Pediatrician (CBP) consultation and data were collected through structured interviews. Positive attitude on NPDs use was reported by 71.4% of parents, and 61.5% of them had administered NPDs in the previous 6 months. Antipyretic drugs were the most frequently used medication class without the supervision of the CBP. A positive attitude towards NPDs was significantly more frequent in parents who did not use the CBP as the sole source of information about drugs. The study demonstrated a widespread use of NPDs in children in our context, supported by a substantial positive attitude towards their safety. However, considering potential harms related to some NPDs and the finding that most parents rely on CBP advice, role of CBP on appropriate use of NPDs by parents should be emphasized.

scholarly journals Normatywizacja tożsamości zbiorowej w preambułach do konstytucji państw postkomunistycznych

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Młynarska-Sobaczewska
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Integrative Function

Preambles are parts of constitutions, which are visibly neglected in legal theory and constitutional law. They are defined as solemn introductions to constitutions, which indicate the sovereign, historical and political context of increasing the new constitutional order, main aims and principles – the foundation of constitution. Such elements are also commonly apparent in most of post communist constitutions of European states. The article shows the integrative function of these preambles, achieved by using clauses creating and maintaining the identity of political community. The clauses with this function are identified as: statements regarding national and cultural heritage, declaration of sovereign as people or nation, and expression of common aims and fundamental principles of community. The article investigates these elements in texts of preambles to post-communist constitutions and indicates their role as tending to create the national identity.

Argumentative Contexts of National Identity Definition

2019 ◽  
pp. 133-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Pehrson
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Empirical Reality ◽  
National Belonging ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
Civic Nationalism

People define the membership of their national groups in a variety of more or less inclusive ways. This has implications for how immigrants and minority groups are treated. Traditionally, variation national boundaries has been understood as a distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism. However, despite a developed empirical literature, it is difficult to find strong defenders of this distinction or its ability to capture the empirical reality of popular conceptions of nationhood. This chapter explores some of the deficiencies of the ethnic–civic distinction, arguing that these problems arise because when people report the importance of various criteria to national belonging, they are not selecting from philosophically derived ideal types on nationhood but rather are positioning themselves within the particular and local debates about nationality relevant in their time and place. The chapter proposes a situated and bottom-up investigation of how national boundaries are constructed and contested in particular places and how this differs across what this chapter will call ‘argumentative contexts’.

Is Democracy an Ethical Standard?

1990 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
James Turner Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Ethical Standard ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
The Political ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
The Family ◽  
American Heritage ◽  
Political Ethic

This article explores the Western cultural traditions of democracy and freedom which form a political ethic deeply rooted in the underlying philosophical and theological American heritage. Theories of Machiavelli, Montesqieu, and Niebuhr support the notion that the potential for virtue is found in all individuals, who, through their undeniable freedoms, responsibilities, and participation, have the capability to establish a political community based on democracy, justice, and respect for human rights. Virtue, justice, morality, ethics, freedom, and democracy are all necessary elements for establishing and maintaining the political community. Can history serve to uphold democracy as an ethical standard of governance? The author suggests that the basic and cross-temporal cornerstones of morality; the family and religion serve as “intermediate” social structures in attaining the central virtues of a moral democracy.

scholarly journals Longitudinal change in East Timorese tertiary student attitudes to national identity and nation building, 2002-2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 168 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 219-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Leach
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Longitudinal Change ◽  
Tertiary Student ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Timor Leste

The attitudes of the tertiary students who are likely to comprise the next generation of leaders are pivotal to understanding the challenges of nation-building and national identity formation in post-conflict settings such as Timor-Leste. This article examines post-independence debates over national identity in Timor-Leste, presenting the findings of a longitudinal survey (Dili, 2002, 2007 and 2010) of East Timorese tertiary student attitudes to national identity. In particular, in the wake of the 2006 political-military crisis, the paper examines the evidence for differences in attitudes between students from eastern and western districts, concluding that the few significant differences in attitudes peaked in the 2007 survey, and were associated with the overt politicization of regional identity within Dili, and concerns over post-independence leadership, rather than any genuine ‘ethnic’ or ‘regional’ variation in attitudes. The paper also examines significant changes in some youth attitudes since independence, including a significant increase in the acceptance of the co-official status of the Portuguese language in the tertiary student demographic since the early years of independence. The survey also highlights the ongoing importance of tradition and adat in understandings of political community, but reveals significant gender differences in attitudes towards the role of traditional authorities.

Being British

2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhikhu Parekh
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Political Community ◽  
General Analysis ◽  
Important Distinction ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Moral Content ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Way

In This Article I Do Two Things. I Begin With A Brief Discussion of the nature of political community in general, and argue that a political community is defined and constituted by the common public commitments of its citizens. Its identity is political not ethnic or cultural in nature, an important distinction that is obscured by the term ‘national identity’ and often ignored in much of the discussion of it. Its identity has an inescapable moral content. Although the latter is often shared with other communities, what distinguishes a political community is the way in which it interprets and institutionally articulates these moral principles. I then apply this general analysis to Britain and suggest how we might best define its identity.

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