ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the main ontological assumptions of discourse theory and outlines the concepts and logics which they developed. If subjectivity is governed exclusively by the structural position into which that subject is articulated, then it is impossible for the subject to become a political agent and to subvert the prevailing social structure. The formation of chains of equivalence results in the emergence of discourses as coherent and identifiable entities that can structure the identity of those social elements articulated as moments of that discourse. The chapter examines the discourse theoretical account of nationhood and nationalism, and analyses the construction of Anglo-British nationalism within Eurosceptic discourses. It argues that the construction of nationalist discourses requires the construction of political enemies, who function not only as the ‘other’ against which the national in-group is defined, but form a crucial part of the fantasy structures which support them.
