La perception de la communauté humaine construite par l'écrivain Ayn Rand intégrait le principe selon lequel une culture ne peut exister sans un courant permanent des idées, sans les "esprits indépendants" pour le soutenir, vu que l'être humain a impérativement besoin d'un espace de référence, une vision globale de l'existence – quelque rudimentaire qu'elle soit, en assurant les repères de la conscience sociale, en argumentant le bien et le mal, en justifiant les actions et un code de valeurs intrinsèques. Cette prémisse génère les hypothèses de recherche de notre thèse, le palier épistémique général visant à identifier la grille fonctionnelle inhérente au régime totalitaire/marxiste-léniniste de Roumanie, impliquée dans la structuration du milieu intellectuel et dans l'inculcation d'une nouvelle identité nationale référentielle et adaptée aux principes idéologiques. En ce sens, les interrogations de base proposent un sujet peu étudié dans l'historiographie relative au contexte politique et culturel d’après La Seconde Guerre Mondiale : y-avait-il un discours identitaire créé dans l'espace de recherche, intrinsèque dans la "nouvelle culture socialiste" construite par l'idéologie communiste ? La différenciation du discours schématique officiel, caractérisé par une simplicité intelligible pour les masses "prolétariennes", a-t-elle donné au discours théorique sur l'idée de nation (nationalisme, spécificité de la communauté nationale et traditions culturelles) les fonctions d'extension/application des prémisses idéologiques définitoires ? Les normes du milieu intellectuel, déterminées par les effets totalitaires et destructeurs de la "dictature du prolétariat", mises en contraste avec les valeurs culturelles et scientifiques des régimes libres et démocratiques, ont mis en oeuvre un modèle de comportement qui dépend des intérêts politiques du parti-état. Ainsi, notre thèse reconstruira-t-elle le cadre institutionnel pour la création du discours national-identitaire, analysera les étapes de formation et les thèmes récurrents, les modèles de transformation conceptuelle des phrases clés extraites de la pléthore du phénomène national rendra la relation des acteurs impliqués dans l'établissement de l'identité nationale. / The perception of the human community built by the writer Ayn Rand integrated the principle that a culture cannot exist without a permanent stream of ideas, without the "independent minds" to support it, as a human being has an imperative need for a reference space, a comprehensive view of existence - no matter how rudimentary, providing the components of a social consciousness, arguing good and bad, justifying actions and a code of intrinsic values. This assumption generates the research hypotheses of our thesis, the general epistemic level aiming at identifying the functional scale inherent to the totalitarian/Marxist-Leninist regime in Romania, involved in structuring the intellectual environment and instilling a new national identity and tailored to the referential ideological principles. To that end, the basic interrogations propose a less studied topic in the area of historiography regarding the political and cultural post-war context: was there an identitary discourse comprised by the "new socialist culture" built by communist ideology? Did the differentiation of the official schematic discourse characterized by an intelligible simplicity for the proletarian masses, give the theoretical discourse on the idea of nation, nationalism, national community characteristics and cultural traditions, the extension/application of the defining ideological prerequisites? The standards of the intellectual milieu caused by the totalitarian and destructive effects of the "dictatorship of the proletariat", placed in contrast with the cultural and scientific values of the democratic regimes, implemented a behavioral model dependent on the political interests of the party-state. Thus, our thesis will reconstruct the institutional framework for the creation of the nationalist-identitary discourse, will analyze the formative stages and recurring themes, the patterns of conceptual transformation of the key phrases extracted from the national phenomenon plethora will render the relationship between the actors involved in the construction of national identity.

In Cyprus that experienced British imperial rule from 1878 until 1960, Greek and Turkish nationalism developed at different historical periods and at different paces. Relations between Turkish Cypriots and the British on the one hand, and Greek Cypriots and the British on the other, were asymmetrical. During the colonial era in Cyprus, the Muslim community had undergone an enormous change in terms of national/ethnic identity and class characteristics. Turkish Cypriot nationalism developed belatedly as a militant nationalist and anti-Enosis movement. Against this background this thesis explores the relationship between the emergence of the Turkish national identity and the British colonial rule because the latter set out the international, political, social and ideological context wherein the Turkish national identity was shaped. In particular this thesis focusing on the period between the two World Wars (1923-1939) when the transformation of the Muslims of Cyprus into Turkish Cypriots occurred, examines the extent to which the British rule affected the process of development of Turkish nationalism on Cyprus. This thesis discusses educational and administrative policies implemented by the British rule that had an impact on the politics of the Muslim community of Cyprus. The development of Turkish Cypriot national identity is also placed in the broader international context of the Eastern Mediterranean, with due attention being paid to the role of both Turkey and Italy. The impact of the Kemalist reforms on Cyprus and the resultant division of Turkish Cypriots into two conflicting groups of Kemalists and traditionalists is presented, and British fears of Italian expansionism under Mussolini are also examined. The final conclusion is that while a Turkish Cypriot identity would inevitably have developed, the divisive way it developed was a result of the imperial policies the British rule implemented during the period in question.

This dissertation explores the relationship between immigration, diversity and minority nationalism. Through a study of Catalonia and its relationship with the Spanish state, the dissertation assesses how immigration and the growing social diversity that accompanies it, can challenge, undermine, or reinforce the political claims and objectives of minority nationalists, in particular, their goal of promoting a distinct and self-determining national community. It focuses on an effort by Catalan political and civil society leaders to construct a “national consensus” on immigration, the 2008 National Agreement on Immigration, which provided a 20-year plan for adapting Catalan government services and Catalan society to the pressures and demands of its increasingly diverse population, while at the same time providing mechanisms for the integration of newcomers into the Catalan language and national community. The analysis centres on the text of the National Agreement on Immigration as well as recent Catalan immigration plans and policy documents, in addition to the broader debate surrounding the National Agreement among Catalonia’s major political parties. The dissertation reveals that the National Agreement on Immigration represented both a significant re-framing of Catalan national identity and an attempt to expand the power and autonomy of the Catalan government by the various signatories to the accord. It concludes that the National Agreement represented an important component of a pivotal era in Catalan politics, one that has the potential to radically redefine the region’s relationship with both Spain and Europe, and in which questions surrounding immigration and diversity are increasingly intersecting with broader debates surrounding economic instability and the prospect of Catalan independence. / Graduate

This research seeks to understand how Québec governments have constructed the relation between national identity and cultural diversity from the 1960s’ Quiet Revolution to the 2010s by analyzing the discursive and historical dynamics that have shaped Québec identity politics in this period. First, it clarifies how national identity and cultural diversity are symbolically constructed in relation to one another by analyzing three key discursive lenses that have shaped the construction of national identity and cultural diversity in Québec since the Quiet Revolution, namely nationalism, pluralism, and secularism. These lenses offer different interpretations of the identity-diversity problematic, suggesting competing imperatives that social actors must balance against one another when constructing the relation between national identity and cultural diversity. Second, this research examines how state actors in Québec have mobilized these lenses through policy initiatives and discursive strategies and tried to influence how members of their community think about national identity and respond to cultural diversity. Québec governments’ approaches to diversity management have shifted significantly in this period, from promoting the French language and intercultural integration in the mid- to late-20th century to focusing on religious difference and rigid secularism in the early 21st century. Contributors to this shift include increasing nationalist anxieties through the 1990s, followed by the reasonable accommodation debate and the Bouchard-Taylor Commission in the 2000s. This analysis highlights the challenges that sub-state nationalists face when constructing the relation between national identity and cultural diversity, including the need to manage the cultural anxieties of the majority group. / Graduate

This masters thesis analyses how Iraqi national identity is constructed before and after 2003. It explores what relation the national identity has to Sunni-Arab ethnicity. The study is qualitative and uses social constructivism as a methodological outline. Qualitative interviews are done with six Iraqi-Arab-Sunnis living in Sweden. Diaspora is not an analytical scope. The theoretical framework consists of Benedict Anderson’s theory about nations and nationalism where imagined communities is a key concept. Furthermore, Thomas Hylland Eriksen’s theory about ethnicity and nationalism where social identification is a central concept. Drawn conclusions are that Iraqi nationalism, partly constructed by Sunni hegemony, is the main identification and what the community is imagined from. Sunni ethnicity is mostly rejected, and a Sunni community barely exists. Unlike previous research which argues that Sunnis have redefined themselves through Sunni ethnicity. Iraqi nationalism is constructed against the anomaly which is other nations Iran and the US. It is also constructed by idealizing and remembering the past from a nationalistic perspective. It is constructed as kinship, as equal and with pride. However, the Sunni hegemony implies that Iraqi nationalism is not equal but privileges Sunni ethnicity. Sunni ethnicity is barely visible, but mostly post 2003 through victimhood. Sunni ethnicity was under communicated before 2003 but is over communicated after 2003, especially amongst national institutions. An exclusion of Sunni ethnicity occurs amongst national institutions post 2003.

This thesis is conducted as a descriptive comparative case study with the aim to explore the utilisation of different forms of nationalist arguments for secession by the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament and Plaid Cymru in the Welsh Assembly. Based on the application of nationalist theories from three different modernist scholars, statements made by each party are analysed from politico-ideological, economic, and socio-cultural perspectives. The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru share both secession as the ultimate goal and perceptions of being in a subjugated position within the United Kingdom. However, the results of the qualitative textual content analyses show that the approach towards secession is fundamentally varied between the two parties. The Scottish National Party utilises predominantly economic arguments for independence whilst Plaid Cymru find themselves arguing for further devolution of powers together with attempts to differentiate themselves from the UK. This study confirms a number of claims and ideas from previous research within the academic fields of nationalism and secessionism while simultaneously delivering findings on unexplored idiosyncrasies of nationalist discourses in Scotland and Wales. Subsequently, it is our aim to contribute to a deeper and more structured understanding regarding the content of nationalist arguments for secession.

ABSTRACT Radical Black movements in the United States are often judged according to the feasibility of their aims and practices. This tends to overlook other ameliorative and even revolutionary contributions that these movements make. While the Civil Rights Protest Movement is well acknowledged for its ameliorative contributions to the just treatment of Blacks in America, black radicals are often decried as having been impractical and unrealistic. The impracticality of black radical movements often baffles scholars when they try to rationalize the existence of these movements, and often sociological justifications are sought. This dissertation seeks to show that the sentiments of the black radical movements were rooted in variables which are understandable and justifiable. Separatism and revolutionism, by the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party respectively, were direct responses to the situation of Blacks in America, in the past and in the future. The past was that of brutal discrimination and exploitation, the future spelled out assimilation and yet again exploitation. It made sense to the Nation of Islam that they should seek separatism and self-determination within or without America, and it also made sense to the Black Panther to seek revolution in order to end all exploitation and paternalism. The history of Black/white relations could not be erased from the collective memory. In order to denounce the past, the present was to be cursed. The callous past justified autonomy and this autonomy was sought in separatism and revolution. The proponents of these tenets were not deluded about the feasibility of the most extreme of their demands- the tenets were a denunciation of America, the American national consciousness. The mere adherence to these beliefs granted its proponents racial and class solidarity, dignity and pride. These alone are enough to justify the noise that these movements made. This is the argument of this dissertation. An attempt will be made, through textual analysis of some of the documents of the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party to extract excerpts that link to the ideals of racial solidarity, dignity and pride.

Thesis advisor: Kathleen Bailey / Arab Nationalism rose to prominence in the Middle East region following the establishment of the mandate states after World War II. The ideology attempted to unite the area and to propel the Arabs forward. The collapse of Arab Nationalism left many in the region questioning the very basics of their culture. Islam became the answer for the failure of Arab Nationalism because it offered the Arabs a genuine ideology, unlike Arab Nationalism which was imported from European ideas. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

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Abstract The aim of this research paper is to investigate the allegorical and national qualities present within South African post-apartheid cinema. Through the production of a satirical short film, an analysis of key texts by Frederic Jameson and Aijaz Ahmad, as well as a comparative breakdown of French and Australian national cinema, these topics will be explored and unpacked. The South African film environment establishes itself as one dominated by internationally produced films and one that utilises indigenous cultural aspects in order to compete against this dominance. This study identifies the specific techniques employed by South African filmmakers and highlights the successes and pitfalls of doing so. By examining the film careers of Darrell Roodt and producer Anant Singh, this paper identifies South African cinema as one with a focus on international goals, aspirations and audiences, while it neglects its own local audience and development. This research then proposes ways in which to resolve this problem by drawing on examples from other national cinemas.