ABSTRACT
As noted in the introductory chapter of this volume, flags are ‘symbolic containers’, with most country flags today symbolizing membership in a national citizenry. National flags therefore ‘condense’ a range of meanings and emotions pertaining to a group’s perceived common historical experience, real or imagined cultural homogeneity, and efforts to define a similarity of outlook for the future. Frequently a central purpose for such flags is to highlight centripetal forces of cohesion, to overcome all existing centrifugal forces of disunion. This function is clearly critical in the multi-national states that dominate the roll of existing countries in the world today. As such, flags are a central element of the ‘glue’ that states develop as part of their sets of national iconography, which may also include myths, heroes, monuments, religious perspectives, language and even sports (Webster 2006). However, the symbolism of a flag does not always disappear when the formal state ceases to exist. Rather, elements of a failed state’s iconography such as its flag may persist and develop additional symbolism through time. Such is the case for the flags associated with the short-lived Confederate States of America (1861-5).
