A New Quality of Identities and Nation-Building in the Modern Age

Abstract

The article discusses the relationship between identities and nation-buil-ding processes in the Modern Age. Identity is an inseparable characteristic of a person, which is manifested, on the one hand, in the recognition of their uniqueness, and on the other - in the sense of belonging to a particular community. It is emphasized that it is in the Modern Age, namely capita-lism in economics and liberalism in politics, that nation-building processes begin. The most important features of the nation are formed: common myths and historical memory; common language, civic culture; uniform legal rights and obligations for all members; common economy with the ability to move within the national territory, the national idea (which includes a political program of community development); the primacy of the national in the hierarchy of community identities. The process of forming a political nation in France and a nation based on ethical, cultural and historical ties in Germany is considered. As nation-building processes unfold, national identity begins to take shape, which appeals to such markers as national language, state border, national culture, national character, and modernization processes.