ABSTRACT
Global capitalism and global late modernity are still based on nation states, and it is only by understanding different ways of constructing national belongingness that can understand how global inequalities emerge and are sustained within a globalized world. The collective experience of national pride and its linkage to joint efforts to strive for more social justice and opportunities within the country can be regarded as a premise for collective empowerment. A new wave of participation in public affairs might occur as a transformation of national narratives of collective pride. This represents a Brazil that is worth fighting for and potentially challenges the hegemony of traditional national narratives based on Brazilian traits. Late modern national identity is linked to uncertainties, ambivalences and ambiguities on the part of individuals. The social imaginary of the emotional Brazilian serves also as a main ground for hegemonic explanations of social inequalities within the country.
