Cultural Identity And The Nation State

In this collection, several distinguished political philosophers consider alternative models of the recognition of diverse cultures and the significance of cultural and national identity within democratic societies. The impact of this recognition for conceptions of citizenship and the supposed neutrality of the democratic state is examined, in the framework of economic and political globalization on the one hand, and the widespread assertion of cultural and ethnic differences on the other. The tension between the recognition of diverse cultures and universal frameworks of human rights is discussed, as are the idea of national self-determination and the new forms of democratic and civic institutions that may be required in order to deal with present political conflicts.

The tension between culture, politics and economy has become one the dominant anxieties of modern society. On the one hand people endeavour to maintain and develop their cultural identity; on the other there are many forces for international integration. How to understand and explain this fundamental issue is illuminated in nine essays by eminent scholars.

This book offers fresh insights into the complex and various ways in which international frontiers influence cultural identities. Ten anthropological case studies describe specific international borders in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, and bring out the importance of boundary politics, and the diverse forms that it may take. As a contribution to the wider theoretical debates about nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization, it will interest to students and scholars in anthropology, political science, international studies and modern history.

Cultural Identity In Transition Analyses The Challenges That Globalisation And Modernisation Have Brought To Cultural Identity In Recent Years. This Collection Of Articles Highlights Some Of The Central Theoretical Ideas And Models Currently Used In The Analysis Of Cultural Identity In The Social And Cultural Sciences.While The Book S Main Regional Focus Is On Northern Europe, This Is Complemented By Several Case Studies Addressing Issues Of Cultural Identity In Indigenous And Ethnic Communities, In Literary And Artistic Expression, And In Terms Of National Politics Around The World.The Book Discusses In Detail The Questions Like : What Is At Stake In The Global Culture Industry In Terms Of Cultural Identity? How Do The Internet And Information Technology In General Empower Local Communities? What Kinds Of Political Struggles And Conflicts Can Be Associated With The Processes Of Cultural Identity? Cultural Identities Are In Transition, But In What Direction Are They Moving?Cultural Identity In Transition Will Be Essential Reading For University Students And Researchers In Sociology, Anthropology, And Cultural And Literary Studies.

In This Collection Leading Academics And Intellectuals Reflect Upon The Concept Of A Minority And Examine Minority Rights In A Historical And Comparative Political Perspective, Covering The Experiences Of Minorities In India, China, The Eastwhile Soviet Union And Bangladesh.

Investigates the Singapore Government's approach to the construction of national identity. This book focuses on the global/national nexus: the tensions between the necessity to embrace the global to ensure economic survival, yet needing a committed population to support the perpetuation of the nation-state and its economic success.

Nation and Identity provides a concise and comprehensive account of the place of national identity in modern life. Ross Poole argues that the nation became a fundamental organising principle of social, political and moral life during the period of early modernity and that is has provided the organising principle of much liberal, republican and democratic thought. Ross Poole offers us a new and urgently needed analysis of the concept of identity, arguing that we are now in a position to envisage the end of nationalism. We see that the impact of issues like multiculturalism, republicanism, and indigenous rights have made it very difficult to see how the possibility of a postnational cosmopolitanism could not degenerate into a nihilistic moral universe. Nation and Identity will be a fascinating read for all those interested in issues of national identity, both politically and philosophically.

Borders are where wars start, as Primo Levi once wrote. But they are also bridges - that is, sites for ongoing cultural exchange. Anyone studying how nations and states maintain distinct identities while adapting to new ideas and experiences knows that borders provide particularly revealing windows for the analysis of 'self' and 'other'. In representing invisible demarcations between nations and peoples who may have much or very little in common, borders exert a powerful influence and define how people think as well as what they do. Without borders, whether physical or symbolic, nationalism could not exist, nor could borders exist without nationalism. Surprisingly, there have been very few systematic or concerted efforts to review the experiences of nation and state at the local level of borders. Drawing on examples from the US and Mexico, Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, Spain and Morocco, as well as various parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, this timely book offers a comparative perspective on culture at state boundaries. The authors examine the role of the state, ethnicity, transnationalism, border symbols, rituals and identity in an effort to understand how nationalism informs attitudes and behaviour at local, national and international levels. Soldiers, customs agents, smugglers, tourists, athletes, shoppers, and prostitutes all provide telling insights into the power relations of everyday life and what these relations say about borders. This overview of the importance of borders to the construction of identity and culture will be an essential text for students and scholars in anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, nationalism and immigration studies.