Geographical perspectives on Finnish national identity

Abstract

National identity has become a catchword in discussions of the relations between culture and nation-states during recent decades. Narratives of nation have become crucial in the definition of the individual, so that other identities are usually understood only as slightly modifying it. The present paper starts from the fact that nation, national identity and nationalism are contextual and co ntested categories, and suggests a critical approach, labelled as the institutionalization of territories, which should evaluate the practices and ideological mechanisms involved in the production and reproduction of territories and their identities. The institutionalization of the Finnish territory and the representations of Finnish national identity are analysed as concrete examples. It is argued that national identities develop and change continually, so that each generation modifies it according to existing socio-cultural situations. Certain critical historical periods and specific natural and cultural elements seem to be crucial in the narration of Finnish identity.