How Nations Make Up National Identities | NYT - The Interpreter

Summary

In this insightful exploration by The New York Times, the concept of national identity is dissected, revealing its relative novelty and constructiveness. Historically, people identified primarily with local entities such as clans or religions. The evolution towards national identity was propelled by demographic shifts, technological advancements, and political changes. While national identity unifies millions under a shared narrative, it also harbors potential for division and conflict, as seen in historical and modern contexts. The idea that a nation embodies the spirit of its people is potent, influencing societal attitudes and international relations. Presently, the challenge lies in reimagining identity in a globally interconnected world, striving to ensure that shared values, rather than exclusionary myths, define us.

Highlights

• Nationality feels powerful but is a relatively new concept, shifting from local affiliations to national ones. 🤔
• French history shows how national identity can be constructed and doesn't always fit neat borders. 🏰
• Nationalism's rise was fueled by urbanization, new technology, and declining religious authority. 🏙️
• Identity can influence attitudes and self-esteem, as shown in a study related to 'Rocky IV.' 🥊
• Sporting events like the World Cup can heighten national tensions and incite aggression. 🌍
• America's melting pot identity based on shared values faces challenges and contradictions. 🎭
• Struggles over national identity continue globally, shaping political landscapes and policies. 🗳️

Key Takeaways

• Nationality is a modern invention, previously people identified with local entities like clans and religions. 🌍
• National identity combines language, race, and borders into a unifying myth. 🗺️
• Technology, urban migration, and political shifts shaped modern national identities. 🚂
• National identity can foster solidarity but also conflict, nationalism, and racism. ⚔️
• Reimagining identity based on shared values can create a more inclusive global community. 🌐

Overview

Nationality has become a powerful way to define ourselves, but it wasn't always this way. Originally, people identified with smaller and more immediate groups like clans or religions. This transformation towards national identity didn’t happen overnight. It was driven by urbanization, new technologies like newspapers and trains, and changing political dynamics. These factors collectively promoted a sense of unity among millions of people who might otherwise remain strangers.

The idea of national identity is inherently paradoxical, serving as both a unifying force and a source of conflict. It enables individuals to connect deeply with their country, impacting their sense of self. An interesting example is a study where viewers of 'Rocky IV' altered their self-esteem and views based on the outcome of an American sports hero. However, this same identity can lead to nationalism and aggression, as seen when countries become more hostile during international competitions like the World Cup.

The modern challenge is to redefine national identity in a way that's inclusive and based on shared values. The United States’ 'melting pot' model offers one blueprint, based on embracing diversity and common principles. Yet, it struggles with inconsistencies and historical baggage. As global societies become more intertwined, the emphasis on creating an inclusive myth that resonates as deeply as traditional national narratives becomes all the more crucial.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to National Identity Nationality is a significant part of many people's identities, influencing actions and beliefs. Historically, identity was more closely tied to local factors such as clans, religion, and family. The concept of national identity, which involves identifying with a large group of strangers within borders, is a relatively recent development and is essentially a constructed idea.
• 00:30 - 01:00: National Identity and Modern World The chapter titled 'National Identity and Modern World' discusses the concept of national identity and how it has shaped the modern world. It highlights the dual nature of national identity, pointing out its ability to build societies but also its potential to lead to negative outcomes like dictatorship, racism, and genocide. The chapter suggests that the current global discourse involves a struggle over maintaining the notion of national identity, and emphasizes the relatively recent emergence of this idea, challenging readers to rethink their perceptions of national entities, such as France.
• 01:00 - 01:30: French Revolution and Language The chapter discusses the concept of national identity in the context of the French Revolution. At that time, despite France being considered unified by language and ethnicity, there was a significant portion of the population that did not speak French fluently. In fact, only one in eight could speak it well. The linguistic landscape was diverse and did not align with national borders, similar to ethnic distribution. The inception of national identity involved the belief that language, race, and borders should collectively define a country. However, to support this ideology, nations often create a national mythology to assert that their current structure is longstanding and natural.
• 01:30 - 02:00: The Four Changes Leading to National Identity The chapter "The Four Changes Leading to National Identity" discusses how the modern era introduced significant changes that fostered a sense of national identity. It highlights the mass migration from rural areas to cities, necessitating a common language. The advancement in technology, such as the development of newspapers and trains, contributed to making countries feel smaller and more interconnected. Additionally, it notes the transformation of warfare into a large-scale endeavor that required widespread national loyalty and the willingness of people to fight for their nation.
• 02:00 - 02:30: National Identity and Revolutions In the chapter 'National Identity and Revolutions', the focus is on the shift in power dynamics where governments began to challenge religious authority. A significant event exemplifying this shift is Napoleon taking the crown from the pope to crown himself emperor, symbolizing a move towards secular power. This period marked the beginning of revolutions aimed at establishing democratic governance while simultaneously giving rise to nationalism, militarism, and leader worship. People started to perceive their nations as reflections of themselves, leading to the idea that a nation's authority stemmed from its people rather than a monarch or divine right. This transformation significantly altered global perspectives and self-awareness.
• 02:30 - 03:30: The Psychological Effects of National Identity This chapter discusses the psychological impact of national identity on individuals. It explores how people perceive events that happen to their nation as personal experiences. The chapter references "Rocky IV" to illustrate the influence of national identity on the brain. A study from 1994 on American attitudes when watching the movie is mentioned, with the notable detail that all study participants were women because all men had already seen the movie.
• 03:30 - 04:00: War and Nationalism The chapter titled 'War and Nationalism' explores the psychological effects of national pride and animosity through the lens of a popular cultural reference. It describes how American participants' self-esteem was influenced by watching a movie scenario where their nation triumphed or faced defeat. When exposed to a scenario of defeating a rival nation (the Russians in this case), their self-esteem and national pride surged. Conversely, when shown a version where the defeat was inflicted upon their representative, their self-esteem waned. However, they found solace and regained self-esteem through expressing negative sentiments about the rival group. This illustrates the complex interplay between national identity, self-esteem, and perceptions of other nations.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Post-WWII National Identity The chapter discusses the dynamics of national identity and the ways in which perceived threats can lead to a desire to dominate outsiders, both on individual and societal levels. It highlights how nationalism can drive war and increase hostility towards minorities and migrants. The text references studies suggesting a correlation between national events like the World Cup and increased likelihood of a country launching attacks. This behavior reflects broader issues within modern nationalism that have developed over the past century.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Challenges to National Identity The chapter titled 'Challenges to National Identity' discusses the transformation in national identities after the catastrophic impact of World War II. It introduces the concept of a national identity model prominent in the United States, famously described as the 'Great American melting pot.' This model posits that individuals from diverse backgrounds can integrate and be unified under a common set of values such as freedom and hard work.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Conclusion: Building a New Myth The chapter titled 'Conclusion: Building a New Myth' explores the complex and often contentious idea of national identity, particularly in the United States. It critiques the notion that nationality is intrinsically tied to race, religion, and language, highlighting how these ideas have persisted through history. The chapter examines current global trends where issues of identity have led to significant political movements, including the backlash against the European Union and the political rise of figures like Donald Trump, who capitalize on nationalistic sentiments. It questions the elements that truly define a country and argues that these identity struggles are central to contemporary global conflicts.

How Nations Make Up National Identities | NYT - The Interpreter Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Nationality feels so powerful. We fight for our country. We cheer for it. We draw our values from it. It’s a big way many of us describe who we are, but it didn’t used to be. Up until really recently, our identities came from stuff immediately around us — clans, religion, family. If you think about it, nationality is weird, the idea that you identify with millions of strangers just based on borders. That’s because national identity is made up.
• 00:30 - 01:00 “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” “And then [INAUDIBLE] scores!” National identity is the myth that built the modern world, but it also primes us for dictatorship, racism, genocide. And today, we’re fighting over whether to keep that kind of national identity. To understand why, you have to see how new this idea is. So you think you know what France is.
• 01:00 - 01:30 It’s a place united by the French language and the French ethnicity, right? But as of the French Revolution, half of the people there could not speak French. Only one in eight spoke it well. These are the languages that people spoke, just a patchwork that didn’t line up with borders. We know from modern genetics that ethnicity didn’t line up with borders, either. National identity became the idea that language, race, and borders should add up to a country. Nations can’t admit they’re made up, so they invent a national mythology that says they’ve been like this forever.
• 01:30 - 02:00 The modern era brought four big changes that led to national identity. People moved in big numbers from the country to the city, and they needed a common language. New technology, like newspapers and trains, made countries feel smaller and more interconnected. War was changing into this vast all-consuming thing. Countries needed people that cared so much about their nation, they’d fight for it in huge numbers.
• 02:00 - 02:30 Governments were challenging religion for power. Here’s Napoleon taking his crown from the pope to crown himself emperor. It was a big deal. These four things sparked an era of revolutions in democracy, but they also unleashed ideas of nationalism, militarism, and leader worship. People came to see their countries as extensions of themselves. This new identity meant that a nation got its authority, not from the government, or the King, or God, but from the people. This changed the world, but it also changed how we think.
• 02:30 - 03:00 National identity changes our reality. We experience whatever happens to our nation as if it happened to us. “Rocky IV” can tell us a lot about what national identity does to our brains. “The Russian towers above the American.” A 1994 study tested the attitudes of Americans watching the movie. It includes an amazing footnote. All 216 participants were women because, quote, “There were no males who had not seen ‘Rocky IV.’”
• 03:00 - 03:30 Anyway — When Rocky beat his Russian opponent, participants who strongly identified as American felt a boost in self-esteem. When they were shown re-edited footage to make it look like Rocky lost, they felt a drop in self-esteem and they became likelier to hold negative views about Russians. But when they said something bad about Russians, their self-esteem recovered.
• 03:30 - 04:00 When we feel threatened, it makes us want to humiliate and dominate the outsider. That dynamic doesn’t just apply to individuals. It can apply to whole societies. This can drive war, itself. One study found that any country whose team plays in the World Cup becomes likelier to launch attacks abroad. That hostility also plays out against minorities and migrants who don’t fit the national myth. It only took a century for these problems of modern nationalism
• 04:00 - 04:30 to culminate into World War II, something so terrible, it convinced the world to try a new kind of national identity. (SINGING) “Great American melting pot.” This model of identity is based on an idea from the United States. Anyone can be American if you share values like freedom and hard work. “May I please remind you that it does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty.”
• 04:30 - 05:00 It’s a stirring idea, but it never completely worked. “Your race is your nation.” “If you don’t speak English and don’t contribute, get out!” The belief that being American is really about race, religion, and language also runs throughout history. So what makes a country? Which identity should matter? That fight defines so much of the world right now. And it’s intensified. You see it in the backlash to the European Union. “We’ve got our country back.” You see it in how Donald Trump began his campaign.
• 05:00 - 05:30 “We either have a country or we don’t, and it’s that simple.” The national myth is powerful. We fight for a common past and a common future. It isn’t real, but that doesn’t matter. We’ve been taught for so long that this is who we are. Building a world based on shared values really means creating a new myth. But that only works if it feels as powerful as the last one.