The Persistence of Nationalism

From Imagined Communities to Urban Encounters

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book The Persistence of Nationalism by Angharad Closs Stephens, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Angharad Closs Stephens ISBN: 9781136691997
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: March 12, 2013
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Angharad Closs Stephens
ISBN: 9781136691997
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: March 12, 2013
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

This is a book about the difficulties of thinking and acting politically in ways that refuse the politics of nationalism. The book offers a detailed study of how contemporary attempts by theorists of cosmopolitanism, citizenship, globalism and multiculturalism to go beyond nationalism often reproduce key aspects of a nationalist imaginary. It argues that the challenge of resisting nationalism will require more than a shift in the scale of politics – from the national up to the global or down to the local, and more than a shift in the count of politics – to an emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism. In order to avoid the grip of ‘nationalist thinking’, we need to re-open the question of what it means to imagine community.

Set against the backdrop of the imaginative geographies of the War in Terror and the new beginning promised by the Presidency of Barack Obama, the book shows how critical interventions often work in collaboration with nationalist politics, even when the aim is to resist nationalism. It claims that a nationalist imaginary includes powerful understandings of freedom, subjectivity, sovereignty and political space/time which must also be placed under question if we want to avoid reproducing ideas about ‘us’ and ‘them’. Drawing on insights from feminist, cultural and postcolonial studies as well as critical approaches to International Relations and Geography, this book presents a unique and refreshing approach to the politics of nationalism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This is a book about the difficulties of thinking and acting politically in ways that refuse the politics of nationalism. The book offers a detailed study of how contemporary attempts by theorists of cosmopolitanism, citizenship, globalism and multiculturalism to go beyond nationalism often reproduce key aspects of a nationalist imaginary. It argues that the challenge of resisting nationalism will require more than a shift in the scale of politics – from the national up to the global or down to the local, and more than a shift in the count of politics – to an emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism. In order to avoid the grip of ‘nationalist thinking’, we need to re-open the question of what it means to imagine community.

Set against the backdrop of the imaginative geographies of the War in Terror and the new beginning promised by the Presidency of Barack Obama, the book shows how critical interventions often work in collaboration with nationalist politics, even when the aim is to resist nationalism. It claims that a nationalist imaginary includes powerful understandings of freedom, subjectivity, sovereignty and political space/time which must also be placed under question if we want to avoid reproducing ideas about ‘us’ and ‘them’. Drawing on insights from feminist, cultural and postcolonial studies as well as critical approaches to International Relations and Geography, this book presents a unique and refreshing approach to the politics of nationalism.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book HRD and Learning Organisations in Europe by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Japanese Names & How To Read by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Acres of Skin by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Romantic Image by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Sacred Space in Israel and Palestine by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Understanding Creative Users of ICTs by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book New Music Theatre in Europe by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Chance, Literature, and Culture in Early Modern France by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Matthew Arnold and John Stuart Mill by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Joan of Arc, A Saint for All Reasons by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Children's Reasoning and the Mind by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Maternal Personality, Evolution and the Sex Ratio by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Religion, Narrative and Public Imagination in South Asia by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Discourse in Translation by Angharad Closs Stephens
Cover of the book Using Story by Angharad Closs Stephens
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy