Warm nationalism: Mapping and imagining the Jordanian nation

In 2002, fourteen years after their withdrawal from the West Bank, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan revealed its new national program known as “Jordan First.” The Palace initiated this campaign as part of its shifting national discourse which now sought to actively unite Palestinian-Jordanians and East Jordanians living to the east of the Jordan River. This campaign, and particularly its common map-logo symbol, has evolved over the last fourteen years into a rather “banal” national discourse and symbol. However, Jordanian nationalism and the everyday symbols of the Jordan First campaign are not forgotten. Instead, for many Jordanians, the campaign is a reminder of “hot” geopolitics and palpable identity politics. Drawing from Michael Billig's theorizations of banal nationalism, I examine the relationship between banal and hot forms of nationalism in Jordan and argue that scholarly work on banality needs to focus attention on the connections between these categories. As such, I suggest that framing nationalism as something quite “warm” can in many instances more aptly capture the complexity of nationalism. Using a multi-method approach that includes analyses of national maps and map-logos of Jordan and in-depth interviews with Jordanians about their national identities, I highlight the connections of hot and banal nationalism. Through my analysis, I also show that a Jordanian national identity is multi-scalar, merging Arab supranationalism with Jordanian and Palestinian identities; and thus I also extend Billig's work to examine the multiple scales of nationalism.     

Religion and nationalism: four approaches*

ABSTRACT. Building on recent literature, this article discusses four ways of studying the relationship between religion and nationalism. The first is to treat religion and nationalism, along with ethnicity and race, as analogous phenomena. The second is to specify ways in which religion helps explain things about nationalism – its origin, its power or its distinctive character in particular cases. The third is to treat religion as part of nationalism, and to specify modes of interpenetration and intertwining. The fourth is to posit a distinctively religious form of nationalism. The article concludes by reconsidering the much‐criticised understanding of nationalism as a distinctively secular phenomenon.     

The apparitions of the Virgin Mary of Medjugorje: the convergence of Croatian nationalism and her apparitions

Abstract. This article concerns the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary in one of the most popular, ‘active’ apparitional sites in the world: Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The connection between nationalist discourse and apparitions has often been observed and noted in the literature on nationalism; however, the examples of this connection are scattered in the literature and the question why the apparitional phenomenon so easily lends itself to co‐option into nationalist discourse has never been addressed. This article explores this question by showing that what binds the two phenomena together is the idea of ‘chosenness’ and ‘specialness’, which in turn can be theoretically linked to discussions about national election in the literature on nationalism. This article illustrates the convergence of nationalist and apparitional discourses by drawing on a selected number of examples of how the apparitions in Medjugorje have been appropriated by Croatian nationalist discourse.     

An interpretation of Finnish religious nationalism: the four topoi of theological depoliticisation

ABSTRACT. The topic of this article is the relation between ‘politicality’ and theology in the discourse of Finnish religious nationalism during the Winter War of 1939–40 and the Continuation War of 1941–44. I shall draw on the ideas of Kari Palonen and Anthony D. Smith in attempting to thematise theological depoliticisation as an intrinsic element of religious nationalism. Also, I will elaborate its political significance in the Finnish context, where the role of traditional religion in the general development of nationalist thought has been particularly important. The specific focus is on how prominent representatives of the Finnish clergy related to war and nationalist claims in general. My interpretation is that their arguments were drawn from what I call the topoi of theological depoliticisation, which, at the same time, rendered the discourse extremely political.     

Holy Nigerian Nationalisms and Apocalyptic Visions of the Nation

Abstract. This article examines the rise of religious political radicalism and its critique and appropriation of secular Nigerian nationalism. It argues that the revitalisation and radicalisation of religion in Nigeria is both an expression of the deep legitimacy crisis confronting secular nationalism and a means of resolving such a crisis. Religion is seen as fundamental to nationalism because it provides the sacred normative essence that ultimately enables individuals and communities to accept as permanent and meaningful the suffering which is integral to a national identity. In ‘holy nationalism’, the collective emotional force of nationalism merges with religion so that the two are one and the same. God chose a particular people and promised them a particular land.     

Religion,secularisation and nationalism in Quebec and the Basque Country: a comparative approach

This article analyses the relationship between religion, secularisation and nationalism in Quebec and the Basque Country using a comparative approach. I will first outline the ethnic‐religious origin of these nationalist movements. Second, I will examine the extent to which the ‘new’ secular and violent nationalism (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna and Front de Libération du Québec) that emerged in the 1960s was fuelled in its origin by a transfer of sacrality. Third, I will address an aspect that has led some theorists to view religion and nationalism as analogous phenomena, in which nationalism is construed as a religion of blood sacrifice. Fourth, I will examine another aspect that leads to this view of religion and nationalism as analogous phenomena, as the latter also provides a framework of transcendent meaning through an imaginary of continuity between the different generations. The article concludes with a series of general considerations on the relations between nationalism, secularisation and religion.     

从阿拉伯民族主义到巴勒斯坦民族主义——巴勒斯坦民族的成长历程

巴勒斯坦民族经历了从“潜在民族”→“自在民族”→“自觉民族”的过程。在思想领域,巴勒斯坦人经历了从阿拉伯民族主义到巴勒斯坦民族主义的转变。在完成了这一转变后,美国、以色列和国际社会才把解决巴勒斯坦问题的重心从阿拉伯国家转移到巴勒斯坦人身上,才使中东和平进程步入了正确轨道。     

The Stones of Contention: The Role of Archaeological Heritage in Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

Archaeology plays a fundamental role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The practice of archaeology in Israel is embedded in the national identity construction discourse and has severe repercussions on domestic politics. From archaeological remains it is demanded to give proof of precedence and legitimate claims over land. The relation between nationalism and archaeology is a topic that became increasingly popular in scholarly works of the past 20 years. The full UNESCO membership of Palestine is projecting the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in a globalized dimension, but at the same time the heritage of humanity’s politics reinforces the nation-states concept and could pave the way to new political scenarios.     

The bi‐national idea in Israel/Palestine: past and present

Abstract. This article reviews four different advocacies of bi‐nationalism in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Despite the differences in their context, content and style, let alone in motivations and implications, the four advocacies – the ‘old school’ and the ‘new school’ of Jewish bi‐nationalism, contemporary Palestinian bi‐nationalism, and bi‐nationalist advocacy that comes from outside observers – present certain similarities which reduce their chances of becoming a mainstream option: (a) in all cases bi‐nationalism is not the most desirable option; (b) they all gained momentum on both sides in periods of instability – due to transformations in the power relations between them or when the conflict reaches a point where the violence seems to become unbearable; (c) all these bi‐nationalisms present a rather uneasy mixture of moralistic arguments and pragmatic ones; (d) in all cases the people who embrace the bi‐national model are intellectuals. This gives their recommendations a touch of ‘ivory tower’ overrationalisation, further reducing thier public appeal.     

Between nation and state: `fractured' regionalism among Palestinian-Arabs in Israel

Theories of nationalism have often overlooked variations in ethnic spatial settings, and have too easily subsumed nation and state. But nationalism surfaces in a variety of dynamic forms, such as among homeland ethnic minorities `trapped' within states controlled by others. In such cases `ethnoregional' identities often emerge, combining ethnonational and civic bases of identity with attachment and confinement to specific places or territories. Ethnoregional movements denote spatial and political entities which mobilise for rights, resources and political restructuring within their states. This is the case in the Israeli Jewish `ethnocracy', where an oppressed Palestinian-Arab minority resides in stable but confined enclaves which make up an Arab `fractured' region. The spatial, socioeconomic and political characteristics of the Arab struggle in Israel provide early signs for the emergence of an ethnoregional movement. This movement is creating a new collective identity, situated between Palestinian nation and Jewish nation-state. The ethnoregional interpretation challenges existing accounts which perceive the minority as either politicising or radicalising, and points to a likely Arab struggle for autonomy, equality and the de-Zionisation of Israel. Arab mobilisation also resembles other ethno-regional movements, whose persistent struggles expose embedded contradictions in the global `nation-state' order.     

Transcending Nationalist Divides: Religious Reconciliation as the Basis for a One‐State Solution in Israel/Palestine

Nationalism's inability to yield peacefully coexisting forms of political identity in Israel/Palestine has persisted for more than a century. This is so whether one refers to strands of secular nationalism that composed predominating, modern historical foundations for Israeli and Palestinian political consciousness, or subsequent forms of nationalism that have become intertwined, ever more, with religion. Further, nationalism's failure to foster a way out of the Israel/Palestine impasse infects not only the familiar (but increasingly problematic) “two‐state” solution but also the contested (but perhaps more productive) “one‐state” solution. The one‐state solution has tended to involve a secular approach, for example, the binational variety emblematized by Edward Said, or, alternatively, a nonbinary democratic state where equal citizenship is not contingent on distinct forms of identity. However, the untapped promise of the one‐state solution could be better actualized with ingredients for the construction of citizenship that, in a real, spiritual sense, transcend the limiting divisions of nationalism. Specifically, shared religious roots, including the modes of reconciliation integral to the three Abrahamic traditions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—most directly ensnared within the Israel/Palestine bind might offer a more fruitful basis for coexistence.     

Nationalisms and the Orthodox worlds

This review article explores the role nationalism has played in the world dominated by the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The focus is on the recent contributions of Paschalis Kitromilides who has written extensively on this topic. The article assesses the four books dealing with the relationship between religion, politics, Enlightenment and nationalism in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. The analysis emphasises the complex and contradictory relationship between nationalisms and the Orthodox Churches pointing to the profound transformation that has taken the place in this relationship over the last 250 years.     

Preserving ‘the Enemy’s’ architecture: preservation and gentrification in a formerly Palestinian Jerusalem neighbourhood

This article relates to the preservation of Palestinian buildings in Jerusalem and raises the question why state-sanctioned institutions act to preserve Palestinian architecture built pre-1948, bearing in mind the context of a difficult past and an on-going conflict? The article addresses the manner in which Jerusalem’s authorised heritage discourse focuses only on preserving Palestinian buildings’ tangible aspects (architectural styles), and not on intangible aspects such as the narrative of their builders. The main argument is that while preservation is presented as a civilised practice, it is driven by the commodification of the buildings and sites and their valued ‘authenticity’. The common practice is to ‘preserve’ these buildings by developing them to create more housing units. This practice inevitably leads to gentrification. Moreover, even when intangible aspects of heritage are pushed aside, preserving these buildings comes with the ‘risk’ of them being used as memory sites for subaltern groups. The article focuses on one formerly Palestinian West Jerusalem neighbourhood, Baka, where gentrification was triggered by historic Palestinian homes and where the neighbourhood’s development continues to be linked with historic preservation.     

Review Article: Professional,Political, and Mercenary Soldiers

Since the late 1970s, most scholarship on the origins of the Zionist–Palestinian conflict has emphasised the actions and agency of the Palestinian Arabs and Zionists, with a focus on the period before 1914. It is argued in this article, however, that the expectation of and commitment to political independence on both sides, a defining feature of the conflict, did not emerge until 1918, and that the actions of the British government in Palestine during the final year of the First World War drove this fundamental shift. Following Britain's occupation of southern Palestine in December 1917, the British administration undertook an extensive propaganda operation in the country to advertise their backing for Arab nationalism and Zionism. This campaign was part of the British government's wider endeavour to mobilise support for the Allied war effort and British imperial expansion in the Middle East in the new age of nationality. It led, the article contends, to a war for national sovereignty over Palestine between two statist nationalist movements. Rather than emphasise British colonial agency at the expense of that of the Palestinian Arabs and Zionists, the article argues that this development derived from a complex interaction between the three parties within the context of radical changes in international politics.     

Nationalism,party political discourse and Scottish independence: comparing discursive visions of Scotland's constitutional status

This article critically examines the predominant narratives which emanated from party political discourse in relation to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Utilising a methodological approach centring on political discourse analysis (Fairclough and Fairclough 2012), this paper analyses party manifestos and constitutional policy documents produced by the three largest political parties represented in the Scottish Parliament, namely, the pro‐independence Scottish National Party, and two pro‐union parties, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. The emergent discourse of each party is interrogated by drawing upon pertinent theoretical concepts from previous academic analyses of Scottish nationalism, with particular attention given to those which have deployed modernist and ethnosymbolist theoretical approaches when analysing the Scottish context. This facilitates a critical reflection on the contrasting and nuanced narratives of the Scottish nation's past and future espoused by each political party vis‐à‐vis modernist and ethnosymbolist theory, illustrating the ways in which contrasting theorisations of nationalism are empirically tangible within political discourse and are thus not simply theoretical abstractions.     

Rehoboth Baster,Namibian or Namibian Baster? An analysis of national discourses in Rehoboth,Namibia*

Abstract. The point of departure of this article is a conception of nations as discursive constructions of ‘us’/‘here’ in relation to ‘them’/‘there’. The empirical analysis examines three national discourses in Rehoboth, Namibia: (1) a discourse on the ethnic Baster nation; (2) a discourse on the Namibian nation‐state and (3) a discourse on the nation‐state containing a variety of ethnic nations (‘the rainbow nation’). The first discourse is characterised by a primordial belief about Rehoboth Basters, their homeland and their ties to this homeland. This conception is challenged by the discourse on the Namibian nation‐state. Here, it is argued that ‘ethnic nations’ are the creation of colonialism; with Namibia's new independence, it is seen as necessary to tear down previous ‘ethnic nations’ and build up a new, united nation‐state. The rainbow discourse attempts to integrate the other two discourses through ideas about overlapping nations, where the boundaries that separate ‘us’/‘here’ from ‘them’/‘there’ overlap and are inclusive rather than exclusive.     

Conflicting nationalist traditions and immigration: the Basque case from 1950 to 1980

Immigration from the different regions in Spain to the Basque Country has traditionally opposed Basque and Spanish nationalism. This article provides an overview of the discourse of both nationalist traditions with respect to the intra‐regional migration movement of the second half of the twentieth century as well as of the resulting controversy. Whereas the Basque nationalist movement claims to have defended the need to integrate immigrants since the middle of the twentieth century, particularly through politics, Spanish nationalism claims that Basque nationalism has helped marginalise these same immigrants. A qualitative analysis is used to contrast this controversy by consulting the opinion of the Spanish immigrants who settled in the Basque Country and did not avail of the political integration proposed by Basque nationalism. The main conclusion is that these immigrants tend to avoid the heart of the matter of discord between both nationalist traditions, granting little importance to political and cultural elements though stressing their social integration in the Basque Country.     

‘Buy and promote the national cause’: consumption,class formation and nationalism in Mandate Palestinian society1

ABSTRACT. This article deals with patterns of consumption and of advertisement, as a field for the analysis of two major processes in the Palestinian society of Mandate Palestine: the growth of an urban middle class and the consolidation of the Palestinian national movement. The advertisements, sampled from the popular daily paper Filastin, analysed in the context of political and economic events, highlight the complex interplay between nationalism and class formation, and the contradictory tensions between the two processes. A smaller sampling in al‐Difa' points to similar, though not identical, trends. This analysis also highlights new dimensions of the Jewish–Arab conflict by drawing attention to the semi‐private sphere of consumption which appears to have been less segregated than the more often studied political and economic spheres.     

The Evolution of British Labour Party Policy on Israel from 1967 to the Intifada

The formation of Israel and the succeeding rival nationalistclaims have been particularly taxing for the social-democraticleft committed in principle to national self-determination.This article explores how the British Labour Party respondedto the Israel—Arab conflict in the post-1967 period. Itshows that Labour's consensus of support for Israel outlastedthe challenge of the 1967 war. It was not until the early 1980sthat a significant shift towards the Palestinian cause tookplace. However, a combination of internal controversies andexternal historical and political developments led to a furtherpolicy revision, ending in a new consensus of support for bothIsraeli and Palestinian nationalism in the late 1980s and early1990s. In outlining these changes, the article sheds light notonly on the intrinsically interesting issue of Labour's attitudetowards Israel but also on the more general question of partypolicy change.     

Liberal nationalism and the nationalisation of liberal values*

ABSTRACT. This article considers whether appeals to ‘national values’ in public discourse and political debate might be a form of nationalism. This theoretical question about the applicability of the category of nationalism faces the objections that political values cannot constitute nationality, and that this is even more so the case when the values in question are liberal, as they often are. Against these objections, it is argued that ‘the nationalisation of liberal values’ may, and in some contexts of immigration and Europeanisation probably do, exhibit ‘boundary mechanisms’ that are among the central features of nationalism. This feature of the nationalisation of liberal values carries both normative and explanatory implications, which relate to the concerns of ‘liberal nationalism’.