The Future of the Nation-State?
National cultures tend to portray nations as "natural" phenomena, as if they always have been unified and homogeneous. But they are constructed visions. After the unification of Italy in 1870, Massimo D'Azeglico declared: "We have made Italy. Now we must make Italians." More than a century ago, Ernest Renan described the nation as a daily plebiscite, whereby the willingness of the people to believe in its importance serves to ensure its existence (Renan 1882). Nations are constructed socially by people working on and through each other, and they may be re-constructed as circumstances change.
Nations may be "imagined communities," but they have tangible, real political effectiveness (Agnew 2004). The process of nation-building by states is important for consolidating government authority over its territory, people and resources. Sovereignty, which has historically been focused at the state level, is now being challenged by supranational organizations such as the EU and by regional nationalist movements. Whether people will eventually identify as citizens of these differently scaled phenomena, rather than with states, will most likely depend on how they engage with and depend on these entities in daily life (Fouberg 2002).
It is doubtful that traditional identification with the nation-state concept that has shaped the present world political map will entirely wane. Despite globalization, the nation-state manifests its power in numerous ways every day. David Harvey (1989) argued that the "collective identity" provided by belonging to a nation offers a sense of security in a rapidly changing world. In short, national identity will be an enduring issue for analysis and discussion.
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Date last modified: October 8, 2009.
NSF Project (AAG,Texas State, Northern Colorado)