H5 - Nation, nationalism and citizenship
Three reasons why the nation is here to stay. First, nationalism is politically necessary to
anchor the multi-state system upon the principle of popular sovereignty. Second, national
myths provide social cohesion and the basis of political action. Third, the nation is historically
embedded by being the heir to premodern ethnic identity. Nationalism does not only look
backwards and forwards in time, It also looks inwards and outwards, possessing a
double-spatial face to complement the historic one. The resulting double Janus looks
inwards and backwards to create a sense of history for a national group in order for the
nation to look forwards and outwards to what is portrayed as a progressive path in the
capitalist world-economy.
Proto-nationalism
This is the nationalism of the original core states, the medium-sized states of Western
Europe. → loyalty to the monarch or state or even country, not to the collective idea of a
people as a nation incorporating all sections and classes. State preceded nation, and it can
even be said that the state produced a nation.
Unification nationalism
Nationalism was the justification for uniting most of the German cultural area under Prussian
leadership into a new German nation-state and transforming Italy from a mere ‘geographical
expression’ to an Italian nation-state.
Separation nationalism
The disintegration of existing sovereign states.
Liberation nationalism
Colonies becoming independent
Renewal nationalism
Neo-nationalisme
Renegotiating the nation?
Rodriguez defines three dimensions of change in national and ethnic identity related to the
globalization of economic relations. One dimension is the global diasporas created by
massive international migration, especially from the periphery to the core. Second is the
growing ‘global–urban context of racial and ethnic intergroup relations’. Inter-group relations
within urban centres occur within the context of the role played by the city in the global
economy. The third dimension of global change is the growth of bi-national communities as
rapid communication and transportation allowed for the reproduction of households in two
different countries.
Is a new European identity emerging?
Two competing models for the creation of collective identities. First, identities may be seen
as socially constructed artifacts, which can be brought into being and shaped by active
intervention and planning. Thus, proactive policies by European elites can create a
supranational European identity, just as these elites created a supranational institutional
framework. The second model sees cultural identities as ‘collective memory’ or ‘the
,precipitate of generations of shared memories and experiences’. Thus, according to this
model, a European identity would evolve in a routine, unplanned, even banal manner as a
variety of symbols, myths and traditions from across Europe coalesced into a supranational
identity that included all the peoples of Europe. The multiscalar presence of the EU is trying
to create different outcomes and realities at different scales, meaning that any sense of
Europeanness always remains just one level of identity amongst many. As with all identities,
an ‘other’ is useful in creating a sense of oneself. The overarching ideology of nationalism
maintains a sense of a singular national group that is the ‘core’ of a nation, both
self-identified by the majority and perceived by minorities. Nationalism creates a sense
of difference and otherness that cannot be entirely lost, especially by minorities, even when
policymakers define a project of multicultural nationalism.
The gendered nation: feminist understandings of the nation
The feminist critique identified the relative exclusion of women from the public sphere of
government and business operations. In addition, the way in which women and men are
portrayed in nationalist ideology was highlighted. Nationalist struggles often include calls for
women to fulfill the biological function of sexual reproduction as part of the political project of
reproducing the nation
Types of citizenship: formal and substantive
Formal citizenship refers to the legal category of citizen defined by a state, with related rights
and responsibilities. Substantive citizenship refers ‘to the ability to act as a citizen and to be
respected as one’. Rights and responsibilities combine in the important concept of
participation in formal and informal politics. Hence, citizenship is not just a legal
classification. It is also substantive in that it demands and is a result of certain ways of
behaving politically.
Citizenship and the state
A new social contract was born, in which state benefits would be received as long as citizens
performed their ‘duties’. Citizenship divided into three components: civil citizenship, referring
to civil and legal rights; political citizenship, regarding the right to vote and associate in a
group for political purposes; and social citizenship, referring to social entitlements such as
education, and health and social benefits
Citizenship and scale
There are three underlying assumptions guiding contemporary political geography
scholarship on citizenship. The first is that citizenship itself is multi-scalar. The components
of identity, rights, and practices that make a citizen are ‘shaped by conditions, processes,
and institutions at the local, national, and international scales’. Second, citizenship can only
be understood as a relational outcome of interaction between included and excluded groups;
or the politics of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Third, citizenship is more than just a legal classification and
a set of roles and practices; it is a political process of continually becoming a particular
political subject that carries the title ‘citizen’.
Citizenship in the capitalist world-economy: movement and morals
Nett based his argument (He argues that there is a case for an ethical right to the freedom of
movement) on the idea that rights are discovered. Rights are not fixed or pre-given but come
about through political struggle and negotiation in particular space-time contexts.
, Transnational migration
Citizenship formation requires a connection between multiple sites within which practices of
citizenship formation occur. A political geography of transnational citizenship highlights the
need for migrants to negotiate between their place of origin, the receiving site, their home
and new state, as well as supranational institutions. Two important processes in the move
towards a transnational sense of citizenship are the increasing acceptance of dual nationality
and an argument that citizenship rights are universal human rights.
Cities as sites for the new politics of transnational citizenship?
As doubts arise about the ability of states to act as containers of citizenship it is not
surprising that increasing attention has turned to the city as a new scale of democratic
politics and the venue for the practice of citizenship. Low argues that the proximity of human
interaction, and the diversity of their populations, can be seen as a basis for the
give-and-take of opinions and goals that is another foundation of how democracy is seen to
work. Citizens as residents of vibrant cities are then seen as the ideal agents of democracy.
We should be wary about forecasting a shift in the prime venue of citizenship from states to
cities. First, Low engages the idea of complexity and social interaction that is often seen as
a basis for city-based democracy. The micro-sociological interaction within a diverse
city-population is seen as a basis for political communication between individuals that allows
them to exercise their citizenship. However, Low cautions that such a view rests upon a
simplistic version of the city as a geographic space. In reality cities are very complex social
spaces which often compartmentalize and separate different social groups rather than
promote their interaction. Second, the relationship between cities and states is a complex
one. Greater political autonomy for cities requires states to ‘give up’ some of their powers,
and cities may not be willing and able to take on functions that have become associated with
state institutions. Third, the form of politics within cities is not necessarily one that opens up
opportunities for citizenship. Governance of cities often involves a host of institutions that are
not open to public scrutiny and involvement.
H6 - Political geography of democracy
Two interpretations of a relationship
Coulter’s analysis was conducted in the middle of a geopolitical world order that no longer
exists, the Cold War.
A new geography of democratization?
Many elections that are held in the poorer countries of the world cannot be considered to be
democracy as rules of conduct are not adhered to and no constitutional system of checks
and balances is established. Collier argues against a positive or transformative view of
democratization: ‘The great political sea change may superficially have looked like the
spread of democracy, but it was actually the spread of elections. If there are no limits on the
power of the winner, the election becomes a matter of life and death’. Collier identifies
six common strategies:
1. Lie to electors – through control of the media.
2. Scapegoat a minority – establish a politics of hatred against a minority or foreigners.
3. Plays to a key advantage of autocrats because of money amassed through
corruption, but it is unreliable as opponents may also employ this tactic.
Three reasons why the nation is here to stay. First, nationalism is politically necessary to
anchor the multi-state system upon the principle of popular sovereignty. Second, national
myths provide social cohesion and the basis of political action. Third, the nation is historically
embedded by being the heir to premodern ethnic identity. Nationalism does not only look
backwards and forwards in time, It also looks inwards and outwards, possessing a
double-spatial face to complement the historic one. The resulting double Janus looks
inwards and backwards to create a sense of history for a national group in order for the
nation to look forwards and outwards to what is portrayed as a progressive path in the
capitalist world-economy.
Proto-nationalism
This is the nationalism of the original core states, the medium-sized states of Western
Europe. → loyalty to the monarch or state or even country, not to the collective idea of a
people as a nation incorporating all sections and classes. State preceded nation, and it can
even be said that the state produced a nation.
Unification nationalism
Nationalism was the justification for uniting most of the German cultural area under Prussian
leadership into a new German nation-state and transforming Italy from a mere ‘geographical
expression’ to an Italian nation-state.
Separation nationalism
The disintegration of existing sovereign states.
Liberation nationalism
Colonies becoming independent
Renewal nationalism
Neo-nationalisme
Renegotiating the nation?
Rodriguez defines three dimensions of change in national and ethnic identity related to the
globalization of economic relations. One dimension is the global diasporas created by
massive international migration, especially from the periphery to the core. Second is the
growing ‘global–urban context of racial and ethnic intergroup relations’. Inter-group relations
within urban centres occur within the context of the role played by the city in the global
economy. The third dimension of global change is the growth of bi-national communities as
rapid communication and transportation allowed for the reproduction of households in two
different countries.
Is a new European identity emerging?
Two competing models for the creation of collective identities. First, identities may be seen
as socially constructed artifacts, which can be brought into being and shaped by active
intervention and planning. Thus, proactive policies by European elites can create a
supranational European identity, just as these elites created a supranational institutional
framework. The second model sees cultural identities as ‘collective memory’ or ‘the
,precipitate of generations of shared memories and experiences’. Thus, according to this
model, a European identity would evolve in a routine, unplanned, even banal manner as a
variety of symbols, myths and traditions from across Europe coalesced into a supranational
identity that included all the peoples of Europe. The multiscalar presence of the EU is trying
to create different outcomes and realities at different scales, meaning that any sense of
Europeanness always remains just one level of identity amongst many. As with all identities,
an ‘other’ is useful in creating a sense of oneself. The overarching ideology of nationalism
maintains a sense of a singular national group that is the ‘core’ of a nation, both
self-identified by the majority and perceived by minorities. Nationalism creates a sense
of difference and otherness that cannot be entirely lost, especially by minorities, even when
policymakers define a project of multicultural nationalism.
The gendered nation: feminist understandings of the nation
The feminist critique identified the relative exclusion of women from the public sphere of
government and business operations. In addition, the way in which women and men are
portrayed in nationalist ideology was highlighted. Nationalist struggles often include calls for
women to fulfill the biological function of sexual reproduction as part of the political project of
reproducing the nation
Types of citizenship: formal and substantive
Formal citizenship refers to the legal category of citizen defined by a state, with related rights
and responsibilities. Substantive citizenship refers ‘to the ability to act as a citizen and to be
respected as one’. Rights and responsibilities combine in the important concept of
participation in formal and informal politics. Hence, citizenship is not just a legal
classification. It is also substantive in that it demands and is a result of certain ways of
behaving politically.
Citizenship and the state
A new social contract was born, in which state benefits would be received as long as citizens
performed their ‘duties’. Citizenship divided into three components: civil citizenship, referring
to civil and legal rights; political citizenship, regarding the right to vote and associate in a
group for political purposes; and social citizenship, referring to social entitlements such as
education, and health and social benefits
Citizenship and scale
There are three underlying assumptions guiding contemporary political geography
scholarship on citizenship. The first is that citizenship itself is multi-scalar. The components
of identity, rights, and practices that make a citizen are ‘shaped by conditions, processes,
and institutions at the local, national, and international scales’. Second, citizenship can only
be understood as a relational outcome of interaction between included and excluded groups;
or the politics of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Third, citizenship is more than just a legal classification and
a set of roles and practices; it is a political process of continually becoming a particular
political subject that carries the title ‘citizen’.
Citizenship in the capitalist world-economy: movement and morals
Nett based his argument (He argues that there is a case for an ethical right to the freedom of
movement) on the idea that rights are discovered. Rights are not fixed or pre-given but come
about through political struggle and negotiation in particular space-time contexts.
, Transnational migration
Citizenship formation requires a connection between multiple sites within which practices of
citizenship formation occur. A political geography of transnational citizenship highlights the
need for migrants to negotiate between their place of origin, the receiving site, their home
and new state, as well as supranational institutions. Two important processes in the move
towards a transnational sense of citizenship are the increasing acceptance of dual nationality
and an argument that citizenship rights are universal human rights.
Cities as sites for the new politics of transnational citizenship?
As doubts arise about the ability of states to act as containers of citizenship it is not
surprising that increasing attention has turned to the city as a new scale of democratic
politics and the venue for the practice of citizenship. Low argues that the proximity of human
interaction, and the diversity of their populations, can be seen as a basis for the
give-and-take of opinions and goals that is another foundation of how democracy is seen to
work. Citizens as residents of vibrant cities are then seen as the ideal agents of democracy.
We should be wary about forecasting a shift in the prime venue of citizenship from states to
cities. First, Low engages the idea of complexity and social interaction that is often seen as
a basis for city-based democracy. The micro-sociological interaction within a diverse
city-population is seen as a basis for political communication between individuals that allows
them to exercise their citizenship. However, Low cautions that such a view rests upon a
simplistic version of the city as a geographic space. In reality cities are very complex social
spaces which often compartmentalize and separate different social groups rather than
promote their interaction. Second, the relationship between cities and states is a complex
one. Greater political autonomy for cities requires states to ‘give up’ some of their powers,
and cities may not be willing and able to take on functions that have become associated with
state institutions. Third, the form of politics within cities is not necessarily one that opens up
opportunities for citizenship. Governance of cities often involves a host of institutions that are
not open to public scrutiny and involvement.
H6 - Political geography of democracy
Two interpretations of a relationship
Coulter’s analysis was conducted in the middle of a geopolitical world order that no longer
exists, the Cold War.
A new geography of democratization?
Many elections that are held in the poorer countries of the world cannot be considered to be
democracy as rules of conduct are not adhered to and no constitutional system of checks
and balances is established. Collier argues against a positive or transformative view of
democratization: ‘The great political sea change may superficially have looked like the
spread of democracy, but it was actually the spread of elections. If there are no limits on the
power of the winner, the election becomes a matter of life and death’. Collier identifies
six common strategies:
1. Lie to electors – through control of the media.
2. Scapegoat a minority – establish a politics of hatred against a minority or foreigners.
3. Plays to a key advantage of autocrats because of money amassed through
corruption, but it is unreliable as opponents may also employ this tactic.
