The Nation as an Artichoke? A Critique of Ethnosymbolist Interpretations of Nationalism

In: Nations and nationalism: journal of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism, Band 9, Heft 3, S. 339-355

Abstract

The aim of this article is to offer a critique of ethnosymbolism in the light of recent approaches to nations & nationalism. The article will engage with ethnosymbolist interpretations on three different levels. Since ethnosymbolists present their approach as an attempt to revise the modernist analysis from within, it will first address their critique of modernism. It will then assess the analytical contributions of ethnosymbolism, focusing in particular on four issues: the antiquity of nations & national feelings, the importance of the past for the present & the related issue of the role of elites in nation-formation, the notorious issue of resonance, & the plurality of ethnic pasts. Finally, it will question the normative implications of ethnosymbolism & conclude that ethnosymbolism is more an attempt to resuscitate nationalism than to explain it. 30 References. Adapted from the source document.