Reconfiguring Nationhood: Populist and Minority Political Mobilisation in an Age of Acceleration

Abstract

European and global integration have led political science and practice to re-think theories of the state, questioning the normative/methodological nationalism and statism implied in the Westphalian order. The re-thinking of statehood has been fuelled by, among other issues, increased cultural complexity and the mobilisation of indigenous minority groups. Throughout modern, European history, the state construction of national unity has been a container of popular sovereignty and democratization. At the same time, the totalizing effects of the nation-state has functioned to marginalised national minorities and migrants. State discrimination and the genocidal violence of Holocaust have in turn prompted the establishment of transnational institutions that monitor human rights. In globalised 21st century Europe, a return to normative nationalism and strategic essentialism is evident with the resurgence of national populist parties and movements. The interrelated crisis of displacement, economy and governance have provided fertile ground for anti-systemic actors promoting exclusionary ethno-nationalism. While movements such as Pegida mobilise on an anti-Muslim and anti-immigration platform, other national movements struggle for the rights and recognition of marginal communities. This panel examines and compare a plurality of national movements in Europe, e.g. UKIP, Pegida, the Basque movement and Saridinian autonomism. The panel will discuss how the discourses and practices of these movements reconfigure the boundaries of national belonging under different socio-economic, political and historical circumstances. Based on recent research, the papers will present findings that could broaden the scope of our thinking on the complexities and implications of renationalisation processes in present day Europe.