The thesis defines and explores three different modalities of nationalism - diagnosis, activism and redemption - in the context of contemporary Bulgaria. Nationalists see a significant divergence between ‘who we should be' and ‘who we are'. This is accentuated by Bulgarian citizens' experiences of socio-political chaos and uncertainty. The thesis looks at the political rituals which aim to redeem the ‘ill' Bulgarian nation, conceived as both post-Ottoman and post-Soviet. It focuses the importance of affect for understanding the relevance of the nation for citizens' sense of self. I begin by examining the apparatus of production through which the Bulgarian national subject is imbued with a particular character. I consider how it has been constituted historically and how it continues to be moulded by contemporary discourses. I demonstrate that ‘being Bulgarian' is nowadays a primarily negative state of being, defined through the discourse of the ill nation. As far as nationalists are concerned, this illness can be cured only through attempting, out of the debris of historical contingency, to renew social structures so that they more closely resemble the ideal. My research focussed on one nationalist organisation in Bulgaria which attempted to fulfil this task: VMRO (or IMRO- the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Movement). I explore how the organisation creates and renews itself as a descendant of the national revival movements of the 19th and early 20th century, and thus as a valid form of contemporary nationalism, while at the same time it fills the role of a modern political party. To heal the nation, VMRO declares a need to be vigilant against further catastrophes and to address the consequences of previous ones. It thus interprets existing social grievances according to specific narratives about the nation's problems and prescribes redemptive action. VMRO addresses a public which has internalised a sense of being judged by ‘the international' (often imagined as ‘a dictate'). This is not the ‘real'international, but an imagined, power-laden domain. Nationalists engage with this domain by constructing illicit discourses which challenge this nexus of power. In the thesis, I explore how the traditional imperatives of a nationalist organisation - making claims for territories, populations and minority issues - are hybridized by the organisation's dialogic engagement with both ‘the international', with citizens' daily concerns and their affective states.

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This thesis employs an approach of discourse analysis on male homosexuality in postwar Japan from the viewpoint of the tense relations between Japanese cultural nationalism and the globalisation/Westernisation, along with the shifts of discourses of sexuality in the United States and the UK. Through analysing the discourses of sexuality in post-war Japan, I will theoretically indicate the historical and political relationship between problems of gender and sexuality, and national problems such as national identity between Japanese and Western cultures, ideal image of the nation, and its modern development. Firstly, I argue the works of Mishima Yukio (1925-1970), who is one of the representative writers in post-war Japan, especially famous for his gaythemed works and far-right political activism including his attempt of coup d'état. Then, I explore the political dynamics of gay shame in Japan, focusing on Togo Ken (1932-2012), a pioneer of Japanese gay activism who had challenged national elections since 1971 as an openly homosexual candidate. Next, I discuss how the AIDS crisis has changed the discourses of sexuality and the sense of national and cultural borders in Japan. I then discuss the Japanese homonormativity in the 2000s, analogous to Lisa Duggan's new homonormativity in the US context. Finally, I analyse Japanese ‘LGBT' political phenomena under the transnational influence of the Obama administration's LGBT-friendly policy in the contemporary Japan, and point out problems under the influences of ‘global' LGBT activism in contemporary Japanese society.

This thesis traces the emergence of the Zionist political movement from the mid nineteenth century until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The thesis explores the impetus behind the mainstream political movement which led to the establishment of the State, throwing light on the kaleidoscope of spiritual and political Zionisms. However, the ultimate focus is on the statist form of Zionist ideology which marginalised other forms of Zionism rendering them historical curiosities devoid of meaningful political impact. I analyse the texts of some prominent Zionist ideologues through the theoretical framework of nationalist, colonial and post-colonial theories forging the concept of colonial nationalism to interpret and analyse Zionism. I limit my work to Zionist political texts and their anchor in the surrounding milieu of European nationalism and colonialism in the 19th century. The chapters deal with different trends within the then emergent movement from spiritual Zionism and the religious justification of political Zionism through liberal and bi-national Zionisms. Each chapter engages with Zionist political thought offering textual analysis and historical contextualisation of the major forms of the movement. I argue that at its inception, Zionism was anchored in European ethno-nationalism and colonialism and a modern and highly contingent interpretation of the Hebrew biblical traditions. As such it is rendered a reactionary and regressive form of ethno-nationalist colonialism that, as an ideology in the contemporary world, it can only survive when it is premised on ideas of cultural supremacy. Thus post-Zionism with its espousal of a multiplicity of narratives and valorisation of minority rights is, rather than forging a new de-territorialized identity, a return to a model of diasporic Jewish identity where a common cultural heritage is disparate from citizenship and nationality.

This thesis addresses the relationship between Greek Cypriot nationalism, militarism and masculinity following the opening of the borders in Cyprus between North and South in 2003. Drawing upon empirical research conducted in Cyprus in 2011, the thesis argues that there is an integral relation between nationalism, militarism and masculinity and that since the opening of the borders, there has been a re-constitution of this relationship. In the re-constitution of this relationship what appears as the weakening of each component is illustrated to be an adapted reiteration of its co-constitution under new social and political parameters. This adapted reiteration is a continuation of the Greek Cypriot perceived nationalist militarist masculinist stance of power in the conflict situation against ‘occupation' and explains, amongst other post – 2003 nationalist, militarist and masculinist reiterations, as to why the opening of the borders has not helped in the bringing together of the two communities. On the contrary, in fact, in some cases the adapted reiterations have helped new divisions to emerge. The research reveals that the inextricability of masculinity in this three-fold co-constitutive relationship is significant in the adapted reiteration of an identity, which exists beneath the politically symbolic or institutional level – and is hindering the process of reconciliation. It is argued that despite there being a shifting away of the hegemonic masculinity of men from the national struggle, and thus also the conscription service, towards a transnational entrepreneurial masculinity, there remains a broader masculinist discourse in this co-constitutive relationship, which I name in this thesis as nationalist militarised masculinity. This is significant because it is a discourse that is integral to this Greek Cypriot nationalist militarist masculinist stance, with its adapted reiterations, that creates obstacles for reconciliation. The results of this thesis highlight the necessity of addressing the co-constitution of nationalism, militarism and masculinity in Cyprus and likewise in other post-armed conflict societies.