National Discourse Research Articles

The Durres Government and its Foreign Policy in Defense of the National Cause

This paper examines the efforts of Albanian patriots to establish a national government following the Congress of Durrës, with the primary goal of defending the Albanian national cause. The government formed at Durrës was tasked with safeguarding the territorial integrity of Albania, both within its current borders and through the reclamation of lands lost after 1913. Drawing on historical documents and testimonies from key Albanian and foreign figures involved in these events, the paper provides a comprehensive account of the political struggle to secure Albania’s sovereignty. The analysis includes an exploration of the government’s program, which aimed to preserve independence, address border issues, and ensure Albania’s representation at the Peace Conference. Ultimately, this paper argues that the actions of the Durrës government were pivotal in shaping the national discourse on Albanian territorial integrity and sovereignty, especially during the critical negotiations of the Peace Conference. Received: 2 August 2024 / Accepted: 10 November 2024 / Published: 3 December 2024

Kanthapura as “India in Microcosm” in Raja Rao’s Kanthapura

Against the backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle, Raja Rao’s Kanthapura touches on the psycho-spiritual idea of India in a rural setting through motifs and expressions such as “Gandhi,” “Congress,” “Mother,” “Vande Mataram,” and “a thousand pillared temple.” The Kanthapurians are psychologically conditioned to collectively participate in the freedom struggle through a nationalist discourse. However, their peculiar understanding of and attitude to the national movement are unique and do not represent the essence of the multifaceted Indian independence movement. The novel has a limited scope, and it, rather than representing India during the British Raj, mainly constructs an imaginary caste-ridden village. To interpret Kanthapura as “India in microcosm” is to overlook the fictional local/regional nuances in the text and to dilute the complexity of Indianness in favor of exaggerating the “nationalness” of Kanthapura. Kanthapura is a fictional village that appears to embody Ambedkar’s understanding of the Indian village rather than Gandhi’s.

Borders of belonging: how Chinese nationalism constructs exclusion in the age of populism

This paper investigates how state-led and popular nationalism in China construct borders as tools of exclusion, reinforcing national identity amidst global populist movements. Using the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a case study, the analysis examines Global Times articles and corresponding user-generated content to reveal how geopolitical, ideological, and emotional borders are created and maintained through nationalist discourse. State-led nationalism emphasizes cooperation and diplomacy, framing borders to position China as a global leader promoting shared prosperity. In contrast, popular nationalism—expressed through user-generated comments—manifests in a confrontational, exclusionary discourse that delineates China from external adversaries, particularly Western powers. Through a mixed-methods approach—combining word frequency, sentiment, and emotional categorization using the NRC Emotion Lexicon—this study uncovers key differences between the two forms of nationalism. State narratives construct inclusive borders that foster international engagement, aligning with China’s diplomatic ambitions. Meanwhile, popular nationalism reflects heightened emotional intensity, especially through expressions of fear, anger, and opposition, creating rigid borders that emphasize ideological conflict and national pride. The research contributes to the literature on populism and border studies by demonstrating how Chinese nationalism functions as both a state strategy and a grassroots expression, delineating “the people” from “the other.” It highlights the critical role of media—both state-controlled outlets and user-generated platforms—in constructing and reinforcing these boundaries. As populism continues to shape political discourse globally, the study offers valuable insights into how nationalism in non-Western contexts mirrors broader populist strategies of identity formation through the construction of symbolic and emotional borders.

The Role of the Constitution in Sweden: Addressing its Patchy Legal Legitimacy and the (Half-Way) Transition from Political to Legal Constitutionalism

Abstract The constitution holds unparalleled importance in a well-established democracy, serving as the foremost legal, political, and social document that molds the life of the entire national community. Beyond structuring the fundamental components of a state, constitutions also articulate the core values guiding both public and private actors. However, upon closer examination of realities, the idealized concept of constitutions reveals a divergence in many contemporary democracies, including Sweden. Despite aspiring to the ideal-typical model, Sweden showcases a divergence in its constitutional landscape. Certain constitutional documents in the Scandinavian country are deemed ‘fully constitutional,’ providing a solid and stable legal foundation acknowledged by both legal and political actors to shape and limit their work. On the contrary, substantial portions of Sweden’s constitutional charters appear less stable, lacking essential support within the legal discourse of the nation. This work aims to present the varying perception and utilization of constitutional charters in Sweden, exploring the factors contributing to their “political” role rather than a purely legal one in the national discourse. Additionally, it highlights recent shifts in these factors, suggesting emerging tendencies that may guide major legal actors in Sweden toward a more inherently ‘legal’ vision of the constitution as a fundamental framework for all legal and political discourse.

The contested politics of the atmospheric commons: a case study of a mothers’ group fighting particulate matter in South Korea

ABSTRACT This study contends that the politics of the commons framework is essential for identifying inherent political dynamics within atmospheric commons. It highlights boundary work and meaning-making practices as key components of commons politics and ultimately shapes the approach to management. To support this argument, the study presents a case of a South Korean social movement led by a mothers’ group, Call for Response to Particulate Matter. By engaging in boundary work and meaning-making practices to protect children’s health, the group successfully influenced national discourse and collaborated with the government. While this resulted in changes to Korean laws and policies related to PM pollution, the study reveals limitations that prevented the group’s scope and meaning from extending to broader origins of air pollution. Beyond commons management, attention to commons politics raises important questions about who advocates for the commons, who delineates boundaries, and the meanings attributed. Commons management is shaped by these boundaries and meanings, potentially excluding elements outside established boundaries that could aid broader social change or lifestyle adjustments.

English as a Medium of China’s National Storytelling

Foreign language education may serve many goals, but national storytelling would not be an obvious one. Due to the position of English as an international language, it has become an increasingly important tool for intercultural communication and international public relations for countries whose official language is not English. In this study, we will look into the case of China, where English has been seen as the most important medium of China’s national storytelling. Chinese youths are encouraged to learn English well and to equip themselves with the competence to tell China’s stories well in English. As a key theoretical underpinning in this study, national stories are taken as national identities to live by. To better understand this relationship, we have invited 100 undergraduate English Majors in a provincial Chinese university to each tell a China story in English. By subjecting the 100 China stories told by 100 Chinese youths in English to a rigorous thematic analysis, we hope to determine in this study what Chinese national identity is constructed through this national storytelling exercise. More importantly, by examining the Chinese case of English as a medium of national storytelling, this study aims to shed light on the specific purpose of English as a global medium for communicating a country’s national narratives and national discourses.

Negotiating national identity against right-wing nationalism: sonic (re)narrations in Poland

This article discusses a set of approaches to national identity that subverted dominant nationalist discourse in Poland during the rule of Law and Justice (2015–2023). Based on a sonic, lyrical, and visual analysis of three popular music case studies, it explores how the populist-enabled mainstreaming of “turbopatriotism” (Napiórkowski 2019) has been criticized and what alternative visions of Polishness have been put forward. I argue that cultural narrations of Polishness as [1] plural, diverse, and cosmopolitan, [2] peripheral, flawed, and complicated, and [3] bygone and mourned, all have unique affective strengths for the continued negotiations of collectivity in post-communist and populist contexts.

Changing Nationalist Styles in Galicia: The Politics of Dual Identity

Abstract In the Spanish region of Galicia, immediately north of Portugal, the Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG) has achieved unprecedented electoral success, emerging as a prominent nationalist force within the Spanish political landscape. This study analyzes the discursive and performative repertoires employed by Galician nationalism and explores how the prevalent dual national identity in the region shapes these strategies. Reversing Brubaker’s theoretical framework and using framing and visual analysis, we compare the BNG’s strategies during two different institutional settings: its time in government (2005–2009) and its role leading the opposition (2020–2023). The findings reveal the failure of Galician nationalism to nationalize identity when in power, as policies aimed at promoting Galician identity generated a backlash and, ultimately, produced frame dealignment between the nationalists and the Galician people. The new BNG presents a social project based on the defense of Galician interests and the moderation of the nationalist discourse. It successfully accomplishes frame alignment by adapting to the non-conflictive, dual national identity shared by most Galicians while proposing an inclusive political style.

LI DOR ZAYEND Û NETEWE(TÎ)YÊ JINA KURD DI BERHEMÊN ELIYÊ EVDILREHMANÎ DA

Nationalism is a masculine field and is based on “the unity of brothers”. However, there is an important participation of women in national projects. Women play an important role in the construction, strengthening and continuity of nationalism, both through active participation and through cultural and ideological involvement. Therefore, women attract the attention of national movements and discourses and become an indispensable subject of nationalism. This situation is also seen in the works of Eliyê Evdilrehman. In this context, in order to verify this claim, three works of Eliyê Evdilrehman, named Xatê Xanim, Şer Li Çîya, Gundê Mêrxasan, in which he tries to create a national identity with nationalist discourse and equip his readers with a Kurdish consciousness, have been examined. As a result, it was seen that the author presented the Kurdish woman as a national representation with her different roles and characteristics. The author characterises Kurdish women as rulers, leaders, warriors, resisters, advisors to men, biological carriers, carriers of culture and honour and idealises them as strong, free, intelligent and visionary. The author has glorified the Kurdish woman greatly, but he has done so by using sexist language and attributing masculine behavior and characteristics to women. Therefore, ironically and paradoxically, the glorification of Kurdish women in the works studied served to reproduce the patriarchy embedded in the Kurdish language and society.

Between deep comradeship and nationalism: The social dynamics of solidarity on the battlefield

AbstractThis article explores the social mechanisms that facilitate the transformation of micro‐level bonds into coherent nationalist narratives of solidarity. The aim is to explain the paradox: while the armed forces are highly nationalist institutions, most ordinary combatants detest nationalist rhetoric on the battlefield. Drawing on the interviews with the combatants who fought in the 1991–1995 wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the analysis of the mass media reports, I examine how deep bonds of micro‐solidarity forged in the violent experiences are transformed into coherent nationalist discourses. I explore how social ties generated in the protracted face‐to‐face interactions can be enveloped by the specific social organisations and then ‘translated’ into nationalist ideologies that project deep comradeship as ‘national solidarities’. I aim to show that the direct war experience does not automatically generate strong bonds of national solidarity. Instead, nationalism is always a product of protracted coercive‐organisational, ideological and micro‐interactional work.

Singing songs for a secular society? The elusive politics of cultural activism in contemporary Bangladesh

Abstract In Bangladesh, many secularists pursue their political goals through cultural activism. While committed to achieving a secular, progressive, and non-communal society, they often refrain from explicitly articulating their politics due to the sensitivity of their goals. Instead, cultural performances allow them to instantiate and embody a secular ethos with transformative potential, expressed through distinct cultural genres that become recognized as secular aesthetics. While activists consider culture to be a morally superior and ‘purer’ way to promote their political aims than party politics, which they perceive as ‘dirty’ and corrupt, cultural traditions are hardly neutral ground from which to enact secular aspirations. This article explores the ethical struggles that emerge from this position to illuminate what it means to act politically while trying to avoid politics, and why people might choose comparatively elusive forms of political engagement despite their strong commitment to a cause. Attending to less tangible forms of politics encourages us to rethink the role of political messages and visibility in social movements by highlighting the significant role, as well as contradictory implications, of aesthetics, embodiment, and gestures in political action. Conversely, the elusive politics of cultural activism underlines the need to go beyond analysing national discourses to understand the contested nature of secularism in Bangladesh.

DEMOCRACY IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL DISCOURSES

The article attempts an interdisciplinary study of the relationship between the forms of modern democracy and its essence in the context of global and national discourses. The priority of forms of direct political participation over individualized sovereignty of the people in quality democracy is argued. Promising areas of interdisciplinary research are the problems of balancing the forms of democracy and securing it from the manipulations of political elites.

Between Queer Joy and Injury

This article expands the notion of queer domesticity from the vantage point of the global South. Drawing on autoethnography, ephemeral archives, and secondary sources, the authors examine Nanur Basha, the residence of a Bangladeshi queer activist and community mentor, which in 2016 was the site of two murders committed by a local chapter of Al-Qaeda. By empirically interrogating the events leading up to the unmaking of Nanur Basha, the authors argue that global South queer domesticities — constituted by quotidian practices of queer worlding and expanding from apartments to rooftops to streets to political discourses — aspire to greater political freedom by deploying imaginative and counterhegemonic practices. As queer domesticities open up interstitial sanctuaries in nationalist discourses and within the urban fabric, they are also unmade by competing postcolonial nationalisms. Contesting Nanur Basha's reduction to a site of victimhood under Islamic terrorism and homophobia, this article illustrates how Nanur Basha indexes a subterranean modality of southern queer domesticity that negotiates secrecy, safety, celebration, and survival under heterosexist nationalist surveillance and violence. Such queer domesticities underpin an affective sanctuary at the borderlands between queer joy and injury. The article contributes to emerging conversations in transnational queer studies by situating queer worldmaking practices within landscapes of authoritarianism and queerphobia.

The Resurgence of New Malay Nationalism on social media post-GE14

The 14th General Election has significantly changed Malaysia when Barisan Nasional suffered its first ever defeat since Independence. However, among the Malay majority, there was a growing sense of political anxiety and uneasiness as a result of the perceived loss of power, and to some extent, the erosion of national identity. In response, the nationalists and the Islamists have regrouped and reunited. This is manifested with the formal alliance of the two largest Malay-based parties, UMNO and PAS. Amidst the backdrop of this new political realignment, social media played an important role in setting the narrative, and mobilising the masses. Therefore, working from within this background, this paper analysed the discourse of the new Malay nationalism on social media by employing a social media tool, SeoTools, to analyse the Twitter data. The findings revealed a new insight into the dynamics of the Malay mind and motivation from the context of politics, religion, and economy. There was a significant correlation between popular sentiment and social media discourse, in that there was a renewed resurgence to reassert traditional values and identity. The failure to rein in the emotion, and the expectation, eventually cause the fall of Pakatan Harapan in 2020.

The illusion of home and belongingness: a representation and (dis)location of home in Tabish Khair’s novels

ABSTRACT This paper foregrounds Khair’s two novels, The Bus Stopped and Filming: A Love Story, examining the concepts of home, representation, (dis)locations and its non-belongingness, focusing on the discourses of Indian nationalism and national identity. There is a massive gap between the living styles of rural and urban people in India. How people live in a country is vital to a modern nation and its nationalism. Khair says, ‘houses do not make homes’ because the concept of home varies according to the socio-economic conditions. Many poor people in India do not have a permanent home and constantly migrate from one place to another. They mostly make a temporary one-night stand for home, but unfortunately, their journey becomes a permanent home. That makes their existence neither inside nor outside society, creating a different kind of third space, but far more precarious than Bhabha’s notion of a third space. In Khair’s novels, the concept of third space is far less empowering than Bhabha’s notion of third space in postcolonial studies. Khair also shows that home is an illusion, not a permanent place that constantly changes like a dream and never gets concretised.

Immigration Causes: Threats And Implication for Europe

EU immigration has therefore caused the formation of a complex and controversial social and political process as a result of interrelated factors that are economic, political and social. Immigration in the European environment is discussed in this thesis through the identification of causes, impacts and challenges. For these reason, comers have arrived in Europe through several reasons like conflicts, poverty, and search for other better opportunities that have impacted societies in Europe, especially in the change of demography which can be seen as opportunities by some and challenges by others. Therefore, the goals of the present study are confined to the social, political, and economic consequences of Immigration in Europe. This paper considers the problem, challenges faced to services, social integration problems, and national security problems on the other side, it also considers the positive face of the immigrants in terms of diversification of culture, as being the economic boosters, and the solution of demography issues. As it turns out analyzing once again the discourses of populism and nationalism that came to the fore with the focus on immigration, the thesis measures the trends thrown up by the above discourses and their impact on shaping the desirable and non-discriminatory immigration policies at both European and national levels. In its economic part, it compares the supplanting of skills, the possibility of immigrants as innovators, and the role of an immigrant in pension schemes on the one hand, and immigrants competing for a job and taking the social welfare of society, on the other. To strengthen the criticism of grassroots utilization, the research emphasizes the need for integrating a hitherto juxtaposition of immigration, namely causes and domestic consequences. In this regard, this paper highlights the need to pursue conscious policies on integration and harmonization for purposes of fostering the development of social solidarity and proper management of implied diversity and inclusion.

Politicised at Home but not in Council: The European Coordination of Social Security Systems

After seven years of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council have yet to agree on the reform of one of the most essential regulations facilitating cross-border worker mobility in the EU: the Coordination of Social Security Systems (EC 883/2004). The lack of agreement remains puzzling, as all negotiating partners are generally in favour of the reform. Similar proposals on social policy, such as the Posting of Workers Directive or the Minimum-wage Directive, were also challenging to achieve but could be agreed upon. This article tests whether “unpolitics”—a destructive approach by populist governments in the Council to undermine EU policymaking—is the reason for the persisting deadlock on the file. The central finding of this article is that the interplay of populism and the status of member states as sending or receiving workers shape unpolitical behaviour. Contrary to expectations, unpolitics is largely absent in the behaviour of populist and non-populist governments. Unpolitical behaviour does not promise high gains for the populist governments from Central and Eastern Europe because these member states send workers. The smooth functioning of the freedom of workers is essential for them and their national discourses do not discuss the freedom of movement in the context of welfare chauvinism. Welfare chauvinism is much stronger in countries that receive workers, however, populists were not in power in these member states and therefore there was no unpolitical behaviour. The findings show that unpolitical behaviour is not used by mainstream governments, not even when it would seem likely from the nature of the policy issue. This article highlights that the probability of unpolitical behavior is influenced not only by the nature of the policy issue itself but also by domestic institutional and structural factors, as well as the national discourse.

The Balkans or South-Eastern Europe: a new conceptualization of the spatial and political image of the region (late 20<sup>th</sup> – early 2<sup>st</sup> century)

The author analyzes the process of geospatial diversification of the traditional historical and cultural Balkan region in the national discourses of a number of Balkan countries. It is based on the search for a new identity in the context of a strengthening European political orientation and the desire to minimize the existing negative image of the Balkans, associated in the European political tradition with the phenomenon of «Balkanization». The formulation of the concept of a new broader political space of South-Eastern Europe, the definition of which appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, is accompanied by the discussions in both public and academic circles in the states of the region regarding the combination of traditional cultural and historical identity traits and strengthening the political component that determines the course towards a «return to Europe» as a way out of the so-called geo-historical Balkan impasse. The search for a «geographical alternative» in the modern Balkans has acquired the character of a sharply expressed contrast between the so-called traditional historical Balkan realities and the new trend of Europeanization of this region. At the same time, the Balkan self-identification continues to be preserved in the public narrative in a number of countries, and it is adjacent to the definition of South-Eastern Europe that is increasingly gaining strength and has a wider geographical scope. It is this that allows to emphasize the historical ties of the Balkan peoples and their states with neighboring countries located in the «border zone» between the so-called classical Europe and its virtual periphery.

Against the depoliticisation of Palestinian female shahids

Palestinian women’s engagement with politics and their appropriation of conventionally masculine acts of martyrdom during the Second Intifada (2002–2005) have been subject to intense public debate, media scrutiny and contested cultural representations. This article, drawing on studies of terrorism as well as translation theory, examines first-hand accounts of acts of martyrdom by Palestinian women, which uphold Palestinian national and religious discourses of sacrifice. Failing to grapple with how and why Palestinians recognise these women’s acts as martyrdom, many Euro-American and Israeli scholars focus on personal, social and psychological motivations. While many Euro-American and Israeli scholars construct Palestinian female martyrs as socially deviant, we develop a different framework to understand female martyrdom on more local terms that resonate with Palestinians’ lived experience. We introduce five Palestinian female martyrs’ video testimonies that scholarship to date has overlooked. We contend that Palestinian female martyrs (shahids) are conscious agents whose final acts underscore their adherence to religious and national discourses of sacrifice.

Rwandan Children 30 Years Post-Genocide in Jean Hatzfeld’s Blood Papa

2024 marks the 30th commemoration of the genocide in Rwanda. For the past 30 years, the nebulous figure of the “Rwandan child” has been ubiquitous in Rwandan governmental discourse, as well as in in most Western-oriented humanitarian campaigns. This essay explores the pervasive figure of the “Rwandan child” by focusing on children born during and post-genocide to genocide survivors and perpetrators, a category of Rwandan children that is of emerging research interest. Specifically, it investigates the representation of children in Jean Hatzfeld’s Blood Papa: Rwanda’s New Generation, originally published in French in 2015, which is the most widely available collection of testimonials by children of survivors and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. This analysis focuses on these youth’s reflections on ethnic unity, historical memory, reconciliation and futurity – key concepts undergirding Rwanda’s national post-genocidal discourse of kwibuka twiyubaka, roughly translated as “Let’s commemorate while we grow.” I argue that these youth adults’ reflections on these seminal issues both put into question Rwandan national discourse and also reveal thought-provoking insights on conditions in Rwanda post-genocide, just as another generation of Rwandan children rises to the fore.