Place, Kinship and the Case for Non-Ethnic Nations

Abstract

ABSTRACT. One of A. D. Smith’s most controversial contributions to the theory of nationalism is his view of the role of the ethnie in the historical emergence of nationhood. He sees the ethnie, its shared memories, myths and territorial belonging as important conditions for stable national identities based on deep emotional commitments, thereby arguing against radical modernist and constructivist views of nationhood. While Smith’s view has much to recommend it, this paper argues for a wider, more metaphorical conceptualisation of his central terms, using examples to support the view that both kinship (ethnicity) and place (territory) – basic elements in political identity everywhere – may be construed on the basis of diverse materials. However, and here Smith’s interventions have been extremely valuable, the resulting collective identity must be based on some notion of kinship and place in order to be a national identity proper. For many years and through an impressive number of books and journal articles, A. D. Smith has defended his view of the ethnie or ethnic community as the sociocultural and historical basis of modern nationalism (Smith 1986, 1991