Abstract
No ideology needs history so much as nationalism. History is indispensable to its romantic narrative, essentialist conceptual structure and apocalyptic claim to truth. Nationalist discourse is historicist; it relies on genealogy for the legitimation of the nationalist cause, on the historicization of the national origin for the affirmation of the self and the denial of the other. But history is also the Achilles heel of nationalism. Nationalist historical discourse is repeatedly denounced by historians for distorting the truth, misrepresenting the historical reality of the formation of nations and nation-states. Nationalist historians are criticized for being subjective, partisan and ideological by “objective” and seemingly non-ideological historians who likewise construct historical narratives by selecting and at times inventing historical subjects and historicizing their thoughts and actions. Many of the charges levelled against nationalist historiography concern the epistemology of empiricist historiography in general, and all historiography which is concerned with extracting the truth from given facts on the assumption that they are identical with the real signified by them is by definition empiricist. This is as true as the errors of nationalist historiography.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
