ABSTRACT
John Hutchinson is one of the few contemporary theorists of nationalism who calls for a modification to the argument that cultural nationalism takes over in those situations where political national movements have failed to achieve their objectives due to a combination of unfavourable factors (for example, political repression or a lack of public support).1 Indeed, cultural nationalism should not be considered as something inferior or secondary to nation-building. The cultural politics of national movements are an integral part (or an extension) of the same political struggle to establish the supremacy of a nationalist agenda. In other words, culture is not outside the nationalist project, and that is why analysing the cultural rhetoric of nationalists is so important. Besides being an important mobilizing factor, cultural nationalism is a realm and a form of public activism through which patriotic elites define their identities. Only having established themselves as the cultural elites, could nationalist leaders expect to gain considerable political credibility from the masses.
