The Political Symbolism of Flags in Revolutionary Movements: The case of the 1821 Greek War of Independence (original) (raw)

Critical Mass[es]: Reflections on the Flag Project as Activist Art

Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education

This is a report on a peace project done at New York University, following the events of 9/11. The authors set their discussion into the framework of activist art and describe the social as well as artistic outcomes of their project.

THE REPRESENTATIONS OF HISTORIES: FLAGS AS CONNECTING AND DISTINGUISHING REPRESENTATIONS

Symbolism in flags tells us many things about construction or restoration of an identity; not only a nation’s building process as conventionally known. This paper aims to show through the examples of Pan-Arabic, Pan-African and Islamic flags that, the impact of symbolism can be seen on flags and flags are not only representations of states but also; representations of supra-nationalist ideologies, representations of religious identities, resistances against colonial powers and influences of colonial powers. In short flags are in and of themselves are representations of histories and traditions as well as political agendas hence ultimately flags are the most useful tools to create an identity, or to hold strong an already existing identity by distinguishing it from the others

National Flag Origins: Religion, Revolution and Rivalry

2011

The introduction of national flags constitutes markers of nation building in the modern period and reflects political change. The national flag appears as a symbol for mass-participating nations that emerged with new notions of citizenship and ‘oneness’ after the course of 1789. Some flags survived from pre-modern times and were transformed into national flags as they were adopted by nations without states and states without nations. Elites in pursuit of power have played an essential role in the selection process throughout history. In this chapter we explore the reasons why flags became attached to nations and explain why some flag designs survived over time and others did not. Flag-related symbolism will be explored with reference to the latter part of the Middle Ages (1100–1500) to the early modern period (1500–1800) up to the modern period from 1800 onwards. The flags of Britain, France and Norway are discussed in detail as they represent different nation-building processes ref...

Black Flags and Social Movements

Black Flags and Social Movements, 2017

Anarchism may be the most misunderstood political ideology of the modern era—it’s surely one of the least studied social movements by English-speaking scholars. Black Flags and Social Movements addresses this deficit with an in-depth analysis of contemporary anarchist movements, as interpreted by social movement theories and the analytical tools of political sociologists. Using unique datasets—gathered by anarchists themselves—the book presents longitudinal and international analyses that focus upon who anarchists are (similar, yet, different from classic anarchists) and where they may be found (most countries in the world, but especially in European and North American cities). Even though scholars have studiously avoided the contradictions and complications that anti-state movements present for their theories, numerous social movement ideas, including political opportunity, new social movements, and social capital theory, are relevant and adaptable to understanding anarchist moveme...