ABSTRACT
This chapter commences with an examination of the origin of the modern flag tradition, in order to demonstrate how flags, as markers of identity, have become attached to national communities. By demonstrating that there is a link between pre-modern and national symbolism, we may also explore the process of nation-building by the means of the development of the national flags. The underlying assumption is that national flags have something to tell us about the properties of nation-states,1 as the flag is the main image by which the nation-state projects itself and constitutes an indicator of political change. Flags represent nations and are powerful symbols to rally around (Billig 1995: 93).
