Self and NationSAGE, 2000 M12 18 - 256 pages A `RARE BOOK′ FROM LOCAL AUTHORS `Here is a rare book, a truly helpful piece of work on the psychology of nationalism. Stephen Reicher and Nick Hopkins, of St Andrews and Dundee Universities, focus much of their study of recent Scottish experience, drawing on inter-views with political activists. The cast light on why our `Unionists′ and nationalists feel so sure their side represents our national identity and the other lot doesn′t. For once it is a compliment to say a book raises more questions than it answers. Stephen Reicher and Nick Hopkins open up large questions closer inspection′ - Glasgow Herald `In this impressive book Stephen Reicher and Nick Hopkins draw from a wealth of research to address issues of nationality, national identity and nationalism that lie at the heart of core topics in social psychology and its cognate disciplines. They have produced a powerful and scholarly text that interweaves an abundance of rich empirical data with a broad-reaching and timely theoretical statement. Moreover, the content is not confined to matters of national identity but also extends to treatments of stereotyping, prejudice, intergroup conflict, leadership, collective action, and the self .... For all these reasons, the book should serve essential and compelling reading for a very broad audience′ - S Alexander Haslam, Australian National University `Stephen Reicher and Nick Hopkins write with elegance and clarity, drawing the reader into their argument, without losing any of its complexity and nuance. This book deserves to make a major impact in studies of nationalism. It ought to become a classic.... I′m quite bowled over - it′s really brilliant′ - David McCrone, Edinburgh University |
From inside the book
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... common question takes the form: What is the character of the nation? What does it mean to be Scottish or to be English, or to be German or Latvian or indeed of any nationality? Alexander may question the particular terms in which Preface.
... common and hence ignoring what is specific to different groups. He describes this 'stratigraphic' approach in the following terms: 'At the level of concrete research and specific analysis, this grand strategy came down, first, to a hunt ...
... common spirit (Volksgeist) which manifests itself in their language, their customs, their myths and their culture. In its romantic guise, the idea that nations represent a transhistorical spirit is primarily intended as a moral ...
... common language in order to define themselves. Stalin's second criterion is territory. Once again, it may well be true that many national movements organize around the issue of land. It may also be true that territory is seen by ...
... common ethnicity. To take the argument in its crude form, the existence and the membership of nations can be identified through a common ethnic or even racial heritage (Balibar, 1991a; Mosse, 1995). Such claims have tended to be ...
Contents
1 | |
28 | |
3 Nation and Mobilization | 53 |
4 National Identity and International Relations | 77 |
5 In Quest of National Character | 100 |
6 Lessons in National History | 131 |
7 Representing the National Community | 152 |
8 Changing Categories and Changing Contexts | 181 |
9 Nationalist Psychology and the Psychology of Nationhood | 204 |
References | 223 |
Author Index | 235 |
Subject Index | 239 |