National Identity and Cultural Nationalism

National identity refers to the collective sense of belonging that individuals derive from shared history, language, symbols and values associated with a given polity. Cultural nationalism emphasises the promotion and preservation of a common cultural heritage—often articulated through language policies, educational curricula, public rituals and symbolic landscapes—as the basis for political legitimacy and social cohesion. Historically, national identities emerged in the nineteenth century alongside the formation of modern nation-states, drawing on ethnolinguistic imaginaries and state-led classification to forge a coherent “imagined community.” In the contemporary era, processes of globalisation, transnational migration and digital communication have reshaped how national belonging is constructed and contested. Civic models of nationhood, based on citizenship and constitutional rights, coexist uneasily with ethnic or cultural models that prioritise descent, religion or linguistic affinity. Cultural nationalism can function both as an inclusive project of cultural revitalisation and as an exclusionary ideology that marginalises minority groups or external “others.” Across crises—from pandemics and economic downturns to geopolitical conflict—national identity is both mobilised for solidarity and weaponised for boundary-making. Research now explores not only elite narratives but also everyday practices through which citizens reproduce or resist national symbols in routine interactions and mundane urban spaces. This multifaceted scholarship highlights the global significance of national identity, its practical applications for social policy, and the tensions between unity, diversity and human rights in plural societies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have examined how political leaders use discourse to construct national solidarity and exclusion during global crises. Analyses of early official speeches on a global health emergency reveal that leaders frequently deploy metaphors of warfare and movement to frame the virus as an external adversary. In-group identity is fostered through multiple solidarities: a vertical solidarity organised by the state; horizontal bonds across generations and communities; and transnational appeals to allied nations. Exclusionary mechanisms target those perceived to break collective norms. Variation in linguistic strategies reflects differing political contexts and socio-cognitive practices, illustrating how national identity is discursively co-constituted through metaphor, argumentation and social representation in times of upheaval.

National Identity and Cultural Nationalism publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in national identity and cultural nationalism across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

National identity: A collective sense of belonging based on shared culture, history, language and symbols within a political community.

Cultural nationalism: An ideology that emphasises the preservation, promotion or restoration of a group’s cultural heritage as the foundation for nationhood and state legitimacy.

Everyday nationalism: The study of how ordinary people enact, reproduce or challenge national identity through routine practices, rituals and consumption of symbols in daily life.

Imagined community: A concept describing a nation as a socially constructed group whose members perceive themselves as part of a larger whole despite never meeting most fellow-members.

Banal nationalism: The subtle, often unnoticed, everyday representations of the nation—such as flags, logos and official language—that reinforce a shared national consciousness.

References

1. Ethnic boxes: the unintended consequences of Habsburg bureaucratic classification. Nationalities Papers (2018).
2. Constructing collective identities and solidarity in premiers’ early speeches on COVID-19: a global perspective. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2021).
3. Global Nationalism in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nationalities Papers (2020).
4. Complexity and nationalism. Nations and Nationalism (2016).
5. The ideological work of the daily visual representations of nations. Nations and Nationalism (2019).
6. Everyday nationalism. A review of the literature. Studies on National Movements (2015).