Frisian Nationalism: A Response to Cultural and Political Hegemony

The author explores the complexity of the concept of nationalism by presenting the very different) but intimately connected, experiences of Dutch and Frisian nationalism in the Netherlands. In the introduction she outlines nationalism's relation to the concepts of patriarchy and racism, by highlighting their shared tendency to express dominance–subservience relations. At the same time, the concept of hegemony is introduced as the process which seeks to institutionalize unequal power relations based on characteristics of gender, ‘race’, and culture. In the body of the paper she then examines the way in which Frisian nationalism has responded to the cultural and political hegemony born of Dutch nationalism. Specifically, the author demonstrates how Dutch nationalism sought to establish Dutch hegemony; outlines the way in which Frisian nationalism—particularly its most recent phase of political activitism—has responded to Dutch hegemony; and evaluates the effectiveness of this Frisian response. The conclusions draw on the Frisian experience to show how hegemony can be challenged in ways which promote increased equality in the power relations of gender, ‘race’, and culture.