Anti‐nationalist nationalism: the paradox of Dutch national identity |
| |
| Authors: | Josip Kešić Jan Willem Duyvendak |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Amsterdam School for Regional, Transnational and European StudiesUniversity of Amsterdam;2. Department of SociologyUniversity of Amsterdam |
| |
| Abstract: | Academic research on contemporary Dutch nationalism has mainly focused on its overt, xenophobic and chauvinist manifestations, which have become normalised since the early 2000s. As a result, less radical, more nuanced versions of Dutch nationalism have been overlooked. This article attempts to fill this gap by drawing attention to a peculiar self‐image among Dutch progressive intellectuals we call anti‐nationalist nationalism. Whereas this self‐image has had a long history as banal nationalism, it has come to be employed more explicitly for political positioning in an intensified nationalist climate. By dissecting it into its three constitutive dimensions – constructivism, lightness and essentialism – we show how this image of Dutchness is evoked precisely through the simultaneous rejection of ‘bad’ and enactment of ‘good’ nationalism. More generally, this article provides a nuanced understanding of contemporary Dutch nationalism. It also challenges prevalent assumptions in nationalism studies by showing that post‐modern anti‐nationalism does not exclude but rather constitutes essentialist nationalism. |
| |
| Keywords: | Dutchness self‐images anti-nationalism weak nationalism progressive intellectuals |
|
|
