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- Title
Anti-nationalist nationalism: the paradox of Dutch national identity.
- Authors
Kešić, Josip; Duyvendak, Jan Willem
- Abstract
Academic research on contemporary Dutch nationalism has mainly focused on its overt, xenophobic and chauvinist manifestations, which have become normalised since the early 2000s. As a result, less radical, more nuanced versions of Dutch nationalism have been overlooked. This article attempts to fill this gap by drawing attention to a peculiar self-image among Dutch progressive intellectuals we call anti-nationalist nationalism. Whereas this self-image has had a long history as banal nationalism, it has come to be employed more explicitly for political positioning in an intensified nationalist climate. By dissecting it into its three constitutive dimensions - constructivism, lightness and essentialism - we show how this image of Dutchness is evoked precisely through the simultaneous rejection of 'bad' and enactment of 'good' nationalism. More generally, this article provides a nuanced understanding of contemporary Dutch nationalism. It also challenges prevalent assumptions in nationalism studies by showing that post-modern anti-nationalism does not exclude but rather constitutes essentialist nationalism.
- Subjects
DUTCH in literature; SELF-perception; NATIONALISM; IDEOLOGY; INTELLECTUALS
- Publication
Nations & Nationalism, 2016, Vol 22, Issue 3, p581
- ISSN
1354-5078
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/nana.12187