National identity has been the subject of much controversy and
debate. Some have even suggested dropping the concept entirely. One
group, Essentialists, argue that national identity is fixed,
cultural, based on birth and ancestry. Another viewpoint is posited
by Postmodernists who argue that national identity is malleable,
invented or imagined. As alternatives, some have suggested that
national identity is a hybrid of both Essentialist and
Postmodernist views. And still others bypass this argument and
suggest that national identity should be based on civic factors,
such as shared values and norms about citizenship. While
controversy and debate are healthy exercises in any science, at
some point order must be established if science is to proceed. The
present volume is based on the idea that national identity is an
ideal-type concept; it does not completely capture reality, but is
used for analytic purposes. In addition, rather than focusing on
these theoretical debates, we pursue research with the idea that
results from research will contribute to the field of national
identity. Three areas of national identity are discussed:
theoretical, national, and individual. Two chapters focus on the
major theories about national identity, provide critiques, and make
suggestions about the topic. In section two, six chapters provide
case studies of national identity on Scotland, Ireland, Russia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, and France. In section three, two case
studies focus on immigrants and the challenges they face in forming
their identities, especially identifying with their host
countries-Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Several important
conclusions may be gleaned from the contributions of the present
volume. To begin with, while national identity is a slippery
concept, if the field wishes to move beyond debate about
fundamentals, it would be well advised to view the concept as an
ideal-type as suggested by the great German scholar, Max Weber.
Secondly, the case studies included in the present volume indicate
that national identity is not only based on ethnicity and culture,
but on such external factors as governance regimes and their
changes, economic crises, wars and other forms of aggressive
activity, and social demographic changes in a population. These
factors affect a population at the national level. For immigrants
at the individual level, developing national identity is greatly
affected by four interrelated factors: 1) the degree to which they
are accepted by members of the host society; 2) immigrants'
language skills and physical appearances; 3) how well they are able
to balance their host national identity, their ethnic identity, and
acceptance of their native country; 4) and their generational
status. Generally, at the national and individual levels, context
and circumstances matter in developing national identity.
General
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