The essence of the thesis is to answer the best possible way the theoretical and empirical question how national identity reflects the transcultural turnover (Kreuzzieger, 2012a, 2012b). The concept of transcultural turnover includes theories which consider the cultural aspects of contemporary accelerating globalization, including a premise of weakening of the nation-state in terms of its cultural homogeneity (Welsch, 1999, 2000), which is seen as one of the pillars of national identity (Hall, 1992; Anderson, 2008; Tomlinson 2003). Answers to the raised questions are by some authors conceptualized differently, and as such, in the form of hypotheses, the answers enter the empirical part of this thesis and there they are tested for 16 selected European countries thanks to the publicly available data from a survey of national identity. The research was carried out by ISSP in 1995 and 2003. There are also used some other sources of aggregate data such as GDP level or index of globalization. From the statistical analysis there is hierarchical cluster analysis, correlation analysis and Z-test of proportions. The real effect of transcultural turnover to change the form of national identity can not be on the basis of the empirical part of this thesis excluded, given the fact that the national identities of...

Although an element of our quotidian existence the manner in which national identity is produced is one of the most contested problems in the contemporary social sciences. One method of examining the production of national identity is to study the mechanism through which such identities are constructed in discourse. This study considers the use of historical narratives in the construction of differing formulations of national identity in the Russian Republic of Karelia. Using the tools of critical discourse analysis this study surveys the production of varying historical narratives in the Republic of Karelia and the fashion in which such narratives contribute to producing or deconstructing competing conceptions of national identity. This thesis uses an analysis of both mass media discourse and interview data to provide a thorough illustration of the production of narratives of Karelian history on public and private levels and their use in engendering or refuting opposing notions of Karelian identity. It shall examine how various historical events and tendencies are incorporated into contrasting narratives of the historical development of the Karelian people and their Russian, Finnish and Vepsian counterparts and how such narratives are used to justify or invalidate current political and social realities. The relationship between such narratives of history and other aspects of identity production is investigated alongside the difficulties of ethnic Karelians in producing and promoting such narratives to sustain an image of Karelian national identity. It shall also demonstrate the manner in which Karelian identity can be positioned through the use of such historical narratives as closer to or more distant from Russian or Finnish national identity. The narration of a history of Karelia as an area and the manner in which this can be deployed to incorporate or distance the region from conceptions of Russian or Finno-Ugric identity is also made evident.

Between 1848 – 1870 Dickens’s novels became increasingly outward looking towards transnational spaces. Dickens’s growing interest in China and Chinese commodities such as tea can be seen in his novels where contemporary anxieties about a close association with China and the Chinese is identified. The fraught trading and political relationships between Britain and China both during and after the Opium Wars and the opening of five new ports identifies this nation as one which Dickens perceived to pose a threat to British national identity. Looking at this relationship in terms of commodities, Chinese tea can therefore be a marker not only for a fetishised commodity but also as a representation of a nation. This thesis argues that Dickens’s representation of China through commodities such as tea presents a new way for British national identity to be conceptualised. Dickens’s inclusion of Chinese commodities intersects with other foreign countries that, unlike China, formed part of the British Empire. China’s independence facilitated a commercial freedom that was not available to nations that formed part of the Empire and, as a consequence, increased its commercial power. This thesis underscores some of the significant moments in Dickens’s novels from 1848 -1870 to reveal a commodity dialogue between China and Britain which moves beyond the page and reflects an increasingly interconnected world which was both assimilated and ostracised. This provides a new understanding of Britain that, far from establishing its commercial autonomy, shows how it became increasingly reliant on China and the conversations that these commodities contribute to an understanding of Dickens’s world. The thesis considers the productive readings of China in Dickens’s fiction and the importance of geopolitical commodities in forming an understanding of nation and nationality, identity and culture, and Britain and Britishness through trade.

This study is about the impact of information and communications technologies (ICT) in developing countries, in light of development expectations in healthcare, education, commerce, government services, and other activities that can improve the lives of citizens. However, the deployment of these ICTs have not always resulted in the anticipated ends i.e. development outcomes. Also, expectations and deployment experiences vary amongst developing countries - indicating a need to understand what is locally relevant, meaningful and achievable within development initiatives. These ideas are explored within this study, with intent to contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of ICTs and Development. The study is particularly concerned with the current efforts at deploying a National Identity system in Nigeria, in light of failed attempts over the past 34 years. This is an essential initiative due to the lack of a secure, reliable, or cost effective system of identification within the country (e.g. international passports and drivers’ licenses). The case is explored using Sen’s Capability Approach (CA) to development, which advocates the expansion of people’s freedoms (and opportunities) to engage in valued activities that improve lives. The unique application of the CA for a comprehensive study of the deployment and outcomes of the National Identity system constitutes a theoretical contribution (amongst others) to research - in light of previous applications which only evaluate the latter. Also, the findings reveal deep seated socio-cultural issues (such as corruption and tribalism) as sources of commonly reported technical and managerial problems within IS projects. These offer useful insights and advice for both policy makers and practitioners involved with the ICTs and Development agenda.

This study builds on the idea that discourses have the power to show that national identity did influence the puzzling foreign policy behaviour of India in March 2014 during the Crimean crisis. When analysing the material and illustrating the identified discourses, discourse- theorists Laclau and Mouffe’s framework is used both as theory and method. Discourse analysis has its starting point in the idea that the reality is accessed by the means of language. The use of Laclau and Mouffe’s discursive framework is motivated by the fact that it aims to create an understanding of the social phenomena in question (e.g. the Indian puzzling foreign policy behaviour) by applying discourse analytical tools on texts. Moreover, discourse analysis claims that identities are the result of discursive processes and that political articulation, e.g. foreign policy behaviour, creates the society; ideas that goes well with this paper. Since language is “structured discourses” and because it creates the world which we live in, it is possible to turn to the use of language when conducting a discourse analysis. To decipher which discourses that evolved around the Crimean crisis in March 2014, and to make the connection between national identity and foreign policy behaviour, articles from the three most read Indian newspapers in English are used as material. These articles are triangulated with statements published during 2014 on the homepage of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. This paper tells a rather alternative story compared to that of interest- and power based explanations with roots in realism, since it emphasises that national identity influences foreign policy behaviour. The analysis concludes that two discourses can be deciphered in the material, namely Democracy and Multipolarity, which thus can be seen as elements of Indian national identity. These two discourses imply that the Indian national identity can explain its puzzling foreign policy behaviour in the Crimean crisis in March 2014.

This paper investigates the complextity of identity through the example of a micro-narrative. It zooms in on the relationship between a 24-year-old girl from South Africa and her 86-year-old great aunt from Spain. The investigation focuses on hands – tools with which we carry out our day-to-day practices. The hands are used as a metaphor to represent our connection with the material world – the way in which interact with each other and our surroundings. How do we navigate familiar and unfamiliar places? The outcome is visualised through an audio-visual installation.

[pt] O objetivo central da presente dissertação é a análise da relação entre zona fronteiriça, migração e identidade nacional através do fenômeno dos brasiguaios. A dissertação apresentará o debate teórico dessas três dimensões, a fim de explicitar as relações políticas do Brasil com o Paraguai que resultaram no processo de migração e colonização brasileira na região oriental paraguaia, bem como fizeram emergir novos sujeitos políticos e lutas de pertencimento nacional, como a dos brasiguaios. A partir dessas problemáticas, mostrarei de que forma o cotidiano na fronteira vai além de um espaço de trocas comerciais, apresentando-se como o espaço privilegiado de intercâmbios sociais e culturais. O argumento avançado demonstra que a fronteira coloca diferentes identidades nacionais em contato e que essa interação cria tensões, e oportunidades de integração entre diferentes comunidades políticas. A vida na fronteira aliada aos processos migratórios mostra, ademais, como a ideia de nação atrelada a um Estado se encontra tencionada. Nesse sentido, a fronteira evidencia a necessidade de pensarmos novas formas de compreensão das relações de pertencimento político, particularmente em contextos transnacionais. / [en] The central aim of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between border zones, migration and national identities through the brasiguayos case. The dissertation will present the theoretical debate of these three dimensions in order to explain the political relations between Brazil and Paraguay which resulted in the Brazilian migration and colonization in eastern Paraguay, and generated new political subjects, the brasiguayos. Therefore, I will show that the border zone is more than an area of trade, presenting itself as the privileged space of social and cultural exchanges. My main point is that the border puts different national identities in touch and that this interaction creates new tensions with moments of conflict / integration between different peoples. Life along the border together with human mobility shows, moreover, how the idea of a nation tied to a state is tensioned. Therefore, the border highlights the need to think of new ways to constitute political identities, particularly in transnational contexts.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo a análise de poemas da escritora moçambicana Noémia de Sousa, reunidos na obra Sangue Negro (2016). A partir de discussões teóricas sobre o conceito de identidade, buscamos entender de que modo estas se constroem no discurso estético da autora e quais percursos identitários podem ser vislumbrados em sua poética por meio de uma crítica analítica e interpretativa. Buscamos observar como a experiência pessoal de mulher e mestiça dentro de uma sociedade colonial, foi determinante na gênese da poesia engajada da escritora. Para tanto, traçamos um breve panorama histórico sobre as singularidades do colonialismo português no território de Moçambique. / This dissertation aims to analyze the poems of the Mozambican writer Noémia de Sousa, gathered in the work Black Blood (2016). From theoretical discussions about the concept of identity, we seek to understand how those are constructed in the author\'s aesthetic discourse and which identity paths can be glimpsed in her poetics through an analytical and interpretative critique. We sought to observe how the personal experience of woman and mestiza within a colonial society was decisive in the genesis of the writer\'s engaged poetry. To do so, we draw a brief historical overview on the singularities of Portuguese colonialism in the territory of Mozambique.

Abstract This research report examines the relationship between legal status and national identity formation. It is based on a qualitative research of former refugees from Mozambique who have lived and settled in the Northern Province of South Africa now called Limpopo province in the border areas with Mozambique for over twenty years. The report compares the narratives of former Mozambican refugees in South Africa who have acquired permanent residence and citizenship with those that are undocumented. The distinction between undocumented and documented former refugees allows me to look at the role of access to services in identity formation, since most government services in South Africa, as elsewhere, are not accessible without legal documentation. Since most services are, however, accessible for both permanent residents and citizens, the distinction between these two statuses allow me to explore whether there is a more symbolic meaning attached to citizenship. Drawing from citizenship theory, variations in the attachment to South Africa or Mozambique that emerged in the research data are analysed in terms of the refugees’ experience of social inclusion or social exclusion norms. The benefits of social inclusion and how it shapes positive attitudes towards attaching to South Africa is discussed.

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