ABSTRACT
The organisation of peripheral nationalisms in their instrumental-rational phase into political parties and pressure groups produces frequent conflicts with their underlying cultural-identity based nature. The principal organisational form of peripheral movements is through political parties. This occurs to such an extent that genre of national movements tends to be confused with the type of its parties. The international context is a crucial factor in the origin and evolution of the centre-periphery conflict. An ethno-national movement which accumulates strong social capital will tend to be systemic. Political associations of a territorial-institutional nature can emerge in peripheries that have nationalist parties. The disintegration of Soviet imperialism has brought a new world order that is characterised by the existence of one hegemonic superpower, the United States, which has given itself a more easily defeated enemy: Islamic fundamentalism. The institutionalisation into parties of the nationalist movement strengthens its systemic tendencies, leading to the possibility of conflict between its instrumental-rational dimension and its identity dimension.
