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Throughout the world, in a great variety of cultures, divisive
monuments, ceremonies, and processions assert and reinforce claims
to territory, legitimacy, and dominance. These contested symbols
and rituals strengthen and lend meaning to communal boundaries;
confer and renew identities; and inflame tensions between groups,
polarizing communities and, at times, triggering violence. In
Contentious Rituals, Jonathan S. Blake focuses on one such
controversial tradition: Protestant parades in the streets of
Northern Ireland. Marchers say they are celebrating their culture
and commemorating their history, as they have done for two
centuries. Catholics see the parades as carnivals of bigotry and
strident assertions of power. The result is heightened
inter-communal friction and occasional violence. Drawing on over 80
interviews, an original survey, and ethnographic observations,
Blake investigates why participants choose to march in parades that
are known to be a primary source of sectarian conflict today. His
analysis reveals their reasons for acting, the meanings supplied to
them, and how they make sense of the contention that surrounds
them. Ultimately, he discovers, many paraders are not interested in
the politics of their actions at all, but rather in allure of the
action itself: the satisfactions of joining with others to express
a collective identity and carry on a cherished tradition. An
insightful exploration of the characteristics and dynamics of
nationalism in action, Contentious Rituals offers an innovative
approach to the contested politics of culture in divided societies
and a new explanation for an old source of conflict in Northern
Ireland.
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