No one could foresee it becoming an issue in last year’s Norwegian General Election: the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s (NRK) launch of the TV show ‘Faten goes to the polls’. Before the show was even aired, NRK had received around 6000 complaints, different in nature, but all deeply dissatisfied with a hijab-wearing woman being the protagonist of the show. The discussion around what the hijab symbolised, and whether it was compatible with Norwegian values, fired off.
Author Archives: identityhunters
The ‘double consciousness’ of Turkish modernity
On the 4th of November 1872, a newspaper in Istanbul featured a rather poetic editorial claiming that “if all the improvements in the world were photographed in a picture, the whole civilised world could only show as much as London”. Signifying somewhat of an internalised orientalism, literary depictions of the ‘civilised’ West were common in late-19th century Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, there is more to this than meets the eye.
History, Nationalism and France’s Role in the Second World War
History is one of the battlegrounds of nationalist movements. In their attempts to naturalize the nation and to control who belongs to it, nationalists mythologize some events while silencing others. In France, the return of nationalism in last year’s elections is indicated by the place that the pretended need for a “roman national” occupied in the electoral debates.
Bretagne: cultural patriotism or political autonomy?
Anywhere you go in France or in the world, for any event be it a football match, a presidential election or a music concert, there will be a Breton flag. This is Brittany’s soft power and cultural expression. Although it is a pretty small region of France, Brittany’s history and cultural identity is powerful.
Madrid Loved, Madrid Hated? The Nation Spaniards Want To Create
Saturday 30th of September 2017. Demonstrators gather in Madrid in protest of the Catalonian referendum. In front of the city hall, some perform the fascist salute while singing the Falangist hymn Cara al Sol (Facing the Sun), an official anthem of the Francoist regime. You’re probably thinking: something must be going wrong if an increasing number of citizens resort to symbols of the dictatorship to defend the unity of their country.
Confucian Nationalism: A Chinese love affair
Ever since its exciting entrance in the global economy, China has undergone the scrutiny of many. Specifically, that of the Western world, trying to comprehend and justify its unpredictably successful communist authoritarian regime. In fact, since the economic boom initiated by Deng Xiaoping in the 1990s, China has been growing at stunningly fast rates that the West can, as of today, only dream of.
Nationalism in Taiwan: Are We Chinese or Taiwanese?
Taiwan throughout history had been given the status of terra nullius, until the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty was able to see the strategic value of the island. He eventually brought Taiwan onto the map, and ever since Taiwan has been considered as part of China. However, the First Sino-Japanese War changed the history of Taiwan, sparking a first identity struggle on the island. Suddenly, Taiwan was no longer part of the Han civilization but under the colonial control of the Japanese, where it remained for 50 years.
Corsica: Macron’s Catalonia?
On the 3rd and 10th December of 2017, the Corsicans were called upon to vote in order to elect the 51 members of the Corsican Assembly who in turn would elect the Executive Council of Corsica. This vote followed the 2015 election which finalised the planned creation of a single region within Corsica; the merge of the two departments of the island: Haute-Corse and Corse-Du-Sud, taking effect from the 1st of January 2018.
Serbian Nationalism by the Beginning of the 20th Century: The Aims and Aspirations of the Срби
The formation of the Serbian state and development of competing forms of Serbian nationalism at the beginning of the 20th century, prior to the calamitous visit of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Princess Sophie of Hohenberg to Sarajevo, have their genesis in the century of nation-building which followed Serbia’s founding.
