ABSTRACT
Here we consider some key themes in the psychology of nationalism and national identity. This means confronting the very destructive forces which can drive the more regressive forms of nationalism. However, it also reveals some more positive qualities and potentials in nationalism, and ends with the suggestion that when viewed psychologically, the problem now is not that there is an excess of nationalism, but that there is not enough nationalism of the right sort. Along the way, this chapter briefly discusses some of the work in social and political theory which bears on the psychology of nations: what and when were the origins of modern nations, and can we distinguish between ‘ethnic’ and ‘civic’ forms of national identity? Membership of a nation can be seen as a powerful source of both safety and dignity; the political and psychological task lies in distinguishing between authentic and reality-based forms of those experiences on the one hand, and on the other those based on defensive rejections of underlying feelings of fear and humiliation.
