Premature announcements of the eclipse of nation states under
'globalization' and 'empire' stand exposed as the 21st century's
first economic crisis underlines their continuing importance. A
predominantly cultural study of nationalism was unable to resist
the 'globalization' thesis. Focusing on selected Asian cases, this
book argues that nationalisms have always contained political
economies as well as cultural politics. Placing nation-states
centrally in our understanding of modern capitalism, it challenges
the 'globalization' thesis. Rather than eclipse, nations and
nationalisms have undergone changes under the impact of
neoliberalism since the 1970s.
Classical 20th century developmental nationalisms emphasised
citizenship, economy and future orientations. Later cultural
nationalisms - 'Asian values', 'Hindutva', 'Confucianism' or
'Nihonjiron' - stressed identity, culture and past orientations.
Amid neoliberalism's flagrantly unequal political economy, not
primarily concerned with material production or productivity, they
glorified static conceptions of 'original' cultures and identities
- whether religious, ethnic or other - and justified inequality as
cultural difference. In contrast to the popular mobilizations which
powered developmental nationalisms, cultural nationalisms throve on
neoliberalism's disengagement and disenfranchisement, albeit
partially compensated by the political baptism of newly enriched
groups. Extremist wings of cultural nationalism in some countries
were a function of this lack of popular support.
This book was published as a special issue of Third World
Quarterly.
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