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What does globalization mean for nationalism?

By Ahsan Butt Mon, May 07, 2012 12:57AM UTC View Comments

There was an interesting comment on my last post by a reader named Omar, which posited the hypothesis that globalization and the increasing inter-connectedness of people(s) through technology spells doom (or at least trouble) for nationalism. This is a fairly popular view amongst certain people but I disagree with it completely, and I think it’s...

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The usefulness of nationalism to states

By Ahsan Butt Wed, May 02, 2012 5:44AM UTC View Comments

Here’s an excerpt from a really great essay by Eric Hobsbawm titled “Mass-Producing Traditions: Europe, 1870-1914″ in an edited volume titled The Invention of Tradition. In this essay, Hobsbawm focuses on the instrumental uses of “tradition”; that is, how leaders birthed traditions and symbols (such as flags, national anthems, and statues of leaders) for the...

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The contingency and construction of national identity

By Ahsan Butt Sat, Mar 24, 2012 4:52AM UTC View Comments

One thing I find fascinating about the literature and scholarship on nationalism and ethnicity is the extent to which it is accepted that such identities are politically and socially constructed. That is to say, without the deliberate efforts of states and state-like entities, national identities would not exist, or perhaps not exist in their current...

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Japan: Severed finger sent to politician by right wing group

By Anna Watanabe Tue, Mar 13, 2012 8:05PM UTC View Comments

A severed finger was among several intimidating items sent to a Japanese politician by right-wing activists yesterday. Hiroshi Nakai, a veteran lawmaker in the left wing Democratic Party of Japan, received a shoe box, delivered by a courier service to his office at 2pm yesterday. The box contained the tip of a little finger, a...

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Nationalism and Newt Gingrich’s “Palestinians are an invented people” comment

By Ahsan Butt Thu, Dec 15, 2011 12:26AM UTC View Comments

Last week, Newt Gingrich said the following about Palestinian nationalism: Remember, there was no Palestine as a state — (it was) part of the Ottoman Empire. I think we have an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places....

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