ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the critical theme of animals, nationalism and national histories by offering both a brief overview of the existing historiography as well as offering an illustrative case-study to understand these approaches at work. It discusses historical understanding of nationalism, and then examines the literature on what people think of as the 'Good Animals' of nationalism. The chapter explores the historical dimensions to the choice of 'national animal', defined as any creature that over time has come to be politically identified with a nation-state. It focuses on conventional understandings of nationalism and on Michael Billig's influential model of banal nationalism, the quotidian construction of a nation built on a shared sense of national belonging among humans, which often deploys non-human animals–both symbolically and materially. The chapter looks at roles the 'animal-citizens' play in the story a nation tells about itself. Nationalism is not only a 'dangerous animal', it is dangerous to animals.
