The nation versus the ‘not-quite-nation’: A semantic approach to nationalism and its terminology (original) (raw)

Studies in Sthnicity and Nationalism, 2021

Abstract

A ‘semantic approach’ to nationalism might focus on how political actors use the word ‘nation’ to legitimate political demands, often contrasting that word with other similar words, such as ‘ethnicity’ or ‘tribe’, which might be generalized as ‘not-quite-nations’. The semantic approach must also address the problem of linguistic diversity, and proposes that the word for ‘nation’ in languages other than English should be the word which bestows legitimacy. Applying this method to three case studies – Catalonia, Hungary, and Ethiopia – suggests that one particular word always emerges as the locus of sovereignty, and thus as the equivalent for ‘nation’. The method is not compatible with all scholarly approaches to nationalism, but it is consistent with the approach of both Benedict Anderson and Rogers Brubaker.

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