Abstract
Negotiating National Identities: Between Globalization, the Past and ‘the Other’ presents a compelling view of how contemporary Austrian national and pan-European identities are negotiated in the context of current economic, social, political, and cultural globalization. By engaging relevant social and cultural theory and Discourse Analysis (DA), the book focuses on the conceptual themes of social classification, nation-states, national identities, and the negotiation of social and cultural boundaries. The book makes a significant contribution to the field of DA by demonstrating that a strong empirical analysis of talk in civil society remains crucial to our understanding of local, regional, national, and European identities.
The major strength of this text lies in its enriching evaluation of the complexities of ideologically heterogeneous and contested social and political realities of nation-states and national identities. The author strongly adheres to a wide variety of empirical, historical, and geographical details for such discursive analysis. This practice challenges ideas of what is typically deemed to be historically determined collective psychic dispositions and adds a useful contribution to the scope and salience of talk in the context of globalization.
A practical significance of this book is its focus on and application of a central case study (Austria) in each chapter to wider contexts. This approach helps the reader to understand how to extrapolate the general from the specific in order to generate further research and discussion. Moreover, the strong orientation of the book towards an exploration of DA in real-world contexts makes it a valuable resource for researchers and students who wish to explore topics that are seemingly ideologically monolithic, but are instead defined by contesting public discourses and instances of everyday talk.
The book consists of an introduction, conclusion, and seven chapters. Chapter 1 makes a crucial distinction between nationalism and national identities, presenting the latter as a complex, diverse, and pluralistic ideological phenomenon that is subject to ongoing (re)negotiation and contestation by groups and individuals. This is contrasted with widely held beliefs of nationalism that conceive of the modern nation-state as an ideological formation and legitimization of a ‘nation’ that unifies populations through symbolism, public memories, contemporary myths, and pre-existing traditions (p. 23). Chapter 2 explicates the use of national symbols and histories to convey cultural/ethnic particularism as a competing discursive response to perceived or imminent crises that may arise from the consequences of globalization.
Chapter 3 discusses Austrian European Union (EU) skepticism and the presence of heterogeneous discourses concerning the relationship between the nation-state and the EU. Such discourses range from opposition to enthusiasm and are characterized by the use of political discursive chains that tie disparate issues together, debates by citizens over an idealistic versus realistic Europe, and nostalgic narratives of decline (p. 118). Chapter 4 traces the discursive tensions between nation-states and the advocated limits of the power of market forces, particularly financial markets, for the period preceding the global financial crisis of 2008. It illustrates that tensions between economics, politics, and the market are central to many contemporary national identity negotiations and debates that shape contemporary Europe.
Chapter 5 presents an analysis of civil society activities and local critical media discourses concerning boundaries of social/ethnic inclusion and entitlement. The author argues that such critiques created by social actors in profoundly different political spaces constitute pluralistic counterpublics that articulate counter-narratives to neo-nationalism and exclusion while illuminating the ideological heterogeneity of national identities. Chapter 6 discusses the complexities of contemporary identity discourses and the idea that they extend beyond the contradictory forces of exclusive identity politics, nostalgia, and racism, versus conviviality. In an analysis of a wide variety of media sources, the author shows that the discourses of the everyday encompass ideologically diverse responses to ethnic pluralism and can include lived ambivalences or failures to conform by individuals to exclusive identity politics and social constraints. The final chapter, Chapter 7, affirms this presence of internal discursive heterogeneities and ideological contestability of (contemporary) nations in its discussion of subaltern responses to dominant national majorities.
While Negotiating National Identities: Between Globalization, the Past and ‘the Other’ is formally directed towards researchers in the fields of national identity, race and ethnicity, and media and cultural studies, it may be helpful to scholars in a wide range of academic contexts. Scholars interested in economic globalization, for instance, may find the chapter on nation-states versus financial markets a good read as it explicates the socio-economic impact of the global markets on the biographies and everyday lives of local individuals. Further, critical scholars, particularly those in the areas of subaltern and critical cultural or media studies, will benefit from its discussion of representations of and by ‘the Other’ in various cultural contexts.
By exploring the pressing topic of globalization and its impact on the political, social, cultural, and economic complexities of both individuals and the collective, the book offers a relevant and complex multi-disciplinary discursive approach towards the politics of social classification and crises overall. This reminds us of the potential and useful practical application of DA as an analytic tool in our ever-evolving world.