http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/nationalism Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:53:00 -0400 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:53:00 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1944/love-and-imperialism-reading-whitmans-leaves-of-grass-through-edward-carpenter-and-maurice-bucke By William R. Fuller - This paper explores the complexity of Whitman’s nationalism and, with reference to Leaves of Grass (1856), examines the apparent paradox between Whitman’s poetry of love and recognition and his imperialistic impulses. This paper draws upon the work of Edward and Carpenter and Maurice Bucke to frame Whitman’s nationalism within its historical-intellectual context. Ideas of evolution and cosmic consciousness intertwine with concepts of national and human destiny to give Whitman’s nationalism its distinct form, irreducible to modern definitions of nationalism, yet relevant... Fri, 11 Mar 2022 02:17 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1944/love-and-imperialism-reading-whitmans-leaves-of-grass-through-edward-carpenter-and-maurice-bucke http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1896/ethnography-folklore-afanasev-and-russian-self-identity By Margaret R. Devlin - While the history of ethnography in Russia dates back to the Kievan Rus era, modern ethnographic production in Russia developed in the 17th century and expanded during the late 18th and early 19th centuries as interest in folktales and in the lives and natures of Russian peasants exploded amongst the Russian elite. This paper briefly explores the history of Russian ethnography before examining the Russian concepts of narod (народ, the people) and narodnost (народность, the Russian soul). This work examines the folklore collections of Alexander Afanasev and his process of editing... Thu, 08 Apr 2021 03:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1896/ethnography-folklore-afanasev-and-russian-self-identity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1877/inglorious-basterds-a-satirical-criticism-of-wwii-cinema-and-the-myth-of-the-american-war-hero By Nadine Hussein - This article explores the way in which Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds challenges the myth of the American hero and criticizes the glorification of war cinema by satirizing the viewer directly. The particular focus is on the subtly with which Tarantino creates a network of parallels and analogical relations which dissolve the distinction between hero and villain. This article also argues that Tarantino effectively manipulates the audience into confronting the self-aggrandization of the American collective memory of WWII and exposes the ease at which the viewer is propagandized. Tarantino... Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:53 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1877/inglorious-basterds-a-satirical-criticism-of-wwii-cinema-and-the-myth-of-the-american-war-hero http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1860/reimagining-populism-to-reveal-canadas-right-wing-populist-zeitgeist By Kyle R. Friesen - Through an examination of recent populist political formulations in Canada, this paper argues that prevailing understandings of right-wing populism are incomplete insofar as they occlude expressions of right-wing populism through regional and economic formulations of ‘the people’ that exist outside of ethnic or cultural conceptions of ‘the nation.’ Thus, counter to the prevailing popular narrative, this paper contends that Canada is not immune to right-wing populism and that such populism can exist without overt ethnic or culturally based exclusions in its construction... Mon, 11 Jan 2021 11:37 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1860/reimagining-populism-to-reveal-canadas-right-wing-populist-zeitgeist http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1833/deconstructing-and-renouncing-the-conditioned-identities-of-gender-and-nationality-in-modern-society By Anna . Militsi - This paper investigates the convoluted societal processes to which the individual is exposed from an early age in order to form and acquire their sense of identity, and aims at dismantling these very processes by exhibiting their flimsy and unsubstantiated underpinning rationale. The compelling role of gender has often been excluded from deliberations and studies regarding the issue of national identity and nationalism as culturally constructed forms of identity and "imaginary" figments of historical unity (Rodó-Zárate, n.d.). In this light, the scope of this paper is threefold;... Mon, 09 Nov 2020 09:04 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1833/deconstructing-and-renouncing-the-conditioned-identities-of-gender-and-nationality-in-modern-society http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1826/resurrecting-the-bog-queen-exploring-the-gender-politics-of-irelands-bogs-in-postcolonial-and-nationalist-literature By Rosie Ryan - Bogs are one of Ireland’s most notable and mysterious landscapes. As explored in the work of Seamus Heaney, the bog’s capacity to preserve memory across generations makes it a melancholic terrain that is uniquely suited to explorations of Ireland’s national identity, particularly as Ireland emerged out of the grip of British colonialism. This paper draws upon postcolonial, feminist, and literary theory to explore why the bog has become such a provocative terrain for the exploration of Irish identity and Irish femininity. Beginning with the writings of colonial administrators,... Mon, 26 Oct 2020 10:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1826/resurrecting-the-bog-queen-exploring-the-gender-politics-of-irelands-bogs-in-postcolonial-and-nationalist-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1817/the-power-of-right-wing-populism-in-the-twitter-age-analysis-of-donald-trumps-tweets-during-the-2016-election By Cecilia S. Dakers - The emergence of social media platforms into American life has remarkably altered the political communication landscape. Websites such as Twitter have become a prioritized communication medium for politicians looking to directly reach the electorate, replacing more traditional mass-media avenues. Concurrent with this transformation, the United States has seen a rise in modern right-wing populism, reaching a new peak with the election of Donald Trump in 2016. This article dissects the role of Twitter as a vital communication channel for Trump's right-wing populist rhetoric throughout his 17-month... Fri, 16 Oct 2020 07:55 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1817/the-power-of-right-wing-populism-in-the-twitter-age-analysis-of-donald-trumps-tweets-during-the-2016-election http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1801/abu-ghraib-homonationalism-and-the-rationalization-of-modern-torture By Emma D. Rosner - Drawing on Jasbir Puar’s analysis of homonationalism in the post-9/11 United States, I investigate the Orientalist and Islamophobic discourses present in liberal and LGBTQ news articles and human rights reports responding to the release of torture photos from Abu Ghraib prison in May 2004. This study looks at how Western journalists and human rights organizations from diverse political and social identifications bolstered the homonationalist project in their responses to torture at Abu Ghraib. In doing so, it reveals homonationalism as a discourse with multiple iterations that differ across... Thu, 24 Sep 2020 10:18 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1801/abu-ghraib-homonationalism-and-the-rationalization-of-modern-torture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1715/realism-and-arab-nationalism-an-uneasy-partnership By Marina M. Elgawly - The relationship between realism and nationalism is not clearly articulated in international relations literature. On one hand, realism and nationalism are viewed as contradictory forces, standing against one another as reason to emotion, reality to identity. On the other, nationalism and power politics are inherently intertwined; nationalism often significantly promotes the escalation of war, thus affecting the balance of power. In the context of the modern Middle East, the relationship between realism and nationalism is obfuscated even further as Arab nationalism, a neither particularistic nor... Mon, 18 Dec 2017 10:09 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1715/realism-and-arab-nationalism-an-uneasy-partnership http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1651/fighting-for-euskera-the-role-of-language-in-basque-nationalism-and-the-development-of-the-eta By Keely L. Smith - Basque nationalism is a movement that has encompassed myth, mystery, violence, and compromise, all of which have found their justification from the unique language, Euskera. The source of Euskera is uncertain due to its non-Indo-European origin, although there is evidence that it belongs “to the same agglutinative type of speech as do Santali, Mundari, Kurku, and other dialects of the Munda or Kolarian family of Bengal.”[1] This differentiation, though it gives little explanation as to the location of its foundations, does suggest that the Basques “are the descendants of indigenous... Fri, 09 Jun 2017 09:23 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1651/fighting-for-euskera-the-role-of-language-in-basque-nationalism-and-the-development-of-the-eta http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1645/nationalism-identity-and-public-policy-in-sweden-pursuing-an-elusive-national-identity By Gustaf Forsell - Similarly to many European countries, the Swedish population often perceive their history as an epoch of homogeneity: a time when every Swedish citizen was believed to have had the same ethnic phenotype, spoken the same language, believed in the same God, and shared the same basic values (Gardell, 2011, p. 23). It is embedded in the Swedish national identity, as if it is possible to explain lex naturalis. The notion is expressed on the well-recognised Swedish website Nationalencyklopedin (National Encyclopaedia of Sweden) which argues that Sweden has been ‘an immigration country’ (&... Thu, 01 Jun 2017 10:38 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1645/nationalism-identity-and-public-policy-in-sweden-pursuing-an-elusive-national-identity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1635/the-effects-of-race-and-religion-on-patriotism-among-americans By Maria Islam - This paper examines the reasons behind people's different views of defining what "patriotism" is. Three multivariate linear regressions were performed to determine the causes behind an individual's level of patriotism. Two of the regression models found that individuals who identify as black have lower levels of patriotism than whites. None of the models supported the author's hypothesis that Muslims would have lower levels of patriotism than someone non-Muslim. The study also found support from all the regression models for one of the confounding variables, age; the older you are the more patriotic... Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1635/the-effects-of-race-and-religion-on-patriotism-among-americans http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1628/the-fundamental-illegitimacy-of-facism-and-the-innate-desire-for-freedom By Rocco A. Astore - This piece examines the ideologies and tactics used by fascist governments to validate and enforce their authority through Michael Mann’s work Fascists. By explicating Kant’s view of autonomy and progress, found in “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” and Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, it is demonstrated that people are fundamentally progressive beings with innate capacities for freedom. Moreover, explaining J.S. Mill’s view of the innate progressiveness and value of individuality in On Liberty, it is asserted that fascist demands of obedience... Thu, 27 Apr 2017 10:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1628/the-fundamental-illegitimacy-of-facism-and-the-innate-desire-for-freedom http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1521/looking-into-the-crystal-ball-of-kosova-perceptions-understandings-and-predictions-of-the-next-generation By Rachael A. Pulwers - Although the country discussed is often referred to as Kosovo, this paper uses the name Kosova to describe the location. This is the Albanian interpretation of the name, and is being used in the paper because those interviewed are of Albanian ancestry. Although use of Kosova is not accepted everywhere, it is used here to reflect the words and thoughts of those interviewed. Here, Kosovars are those who live in the defined boundaries of the country. Albanians refers to those who live in Kosova but have heritage connected to those in Albanian and speak Albanian every day. Serbs refers to those who... Sun, 29 Jan 2017 10:34 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1521/looking-into-the-crystal-ball-of-kosova-perceptions-understandings-and-predictions-of-the-next-generation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1467/intersections-of-gender-race-and-nation-in-cloud-nine-and-m-butterfly By Miriam Cummins - This article contributes to the debate as to whether Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill and M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang are ultimately essentialist or anti-essentialist, accentuating or disavowing difference. It argues that both plays are successfully anti-essentialist by examining the discursive relationship between categories of gendered, racial and national identity. For both Churchill and Hwang, categories of gender, race and nation can be mutually deconstructed in the same way that they are mutually constructed because their foundation in discourse is fundamentally unstable. Thus, when fluid... Tue, 25 Oct 2016 09:56 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1467/intersections-of-gender-race-and-nation-in-cloud-nine-and-m-butterfly http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1460/theories-of-nationalism-a-brief-comparison-of-realist-and-constructivist-ideas-of-the-nation By Matt Finkel - In the immense field of scholarly work regarding defining nationhood, a raging debate exists between the conservative view of the nation and the constructivist view. A clear and definitive change in the conception of the ‘realness’ of the nation can be seen throughout the historiographical study of nationalism. The conception of the nation has shifted dramatically, from the proto-jingoist conservatism of the ‘primordial nation’ of Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Johann Gottfried Herder and the German nationalist school of thought they represent to the constructivist ‘imagined... Sun, 16 Oct 2016 08:57 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1460/theories-of-nationalism-a-brief-comparison-of-realist-and-constructivist-ideas-of-the-nation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1455/chinese-nationalism-or-the-chinese-communist-party-who-is-really-guiding-chinas-foreign-policy By Tennessee F. Abbott - China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that leads it has historically limited itself in regards to projecting power and inserting itself into international disputes and affairs. With the exception of its involvement in the Korean War, most conflicts that China has involved itself with were over border disputes.[1] This relative lack of assertiveness is by no means an accident, and in fact is a deliberate strategy that harks back to the early days of Deng Xiaoping and the reform and opening up policies. China's “peaceful rise” as its leaders like to put it has placed a heavy emphasis... Wed, 05 Oct 2016 12:11 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1455/chinese-nationalism-or-the-chinese-communist-party-who-is-really-guiding-chinas-foreign-policy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1452/defining-a-terrorist-a-critical-examination-of-the-discourse-of-terrorism By Kanar Talabani - Understanding the term 'terrorist' is a complex and controversial issue within both academic scholarship and mainstream literature. By adopting a post-structuralist approach to the study of 'terrorism,' we are able to dissect the terms and understand how and why they have become dominant in recent years. This involves an in depth critical analysis of the knowledge and understanding of the use of the term. This essay applies post-colonial theory in understanding the evolution of identity discourse and its application within the study of 'terrorism.' I focus on the Eurocentric approaches to defining... Wed, 21 Sep 2016 08:26 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1452/defining-a-terrorist-a-critical-examination-of-the-discourse-of-terrorism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1444/spectrums-of-nationalism-a-comparison-of-american-and-chinese-nationalism By Aeron L. Roach - American media generally depicts nationalism as a negative concept, which is threatening to peace and security. However, in its broadest sense, nationalism can incorporate two phenomena: “(1) the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their identity as members of that nation and (2) the actions that the members of a nation take in seeking to achieve (or sustain) some form of political sovereignty.”1 Neither of these is inherently threatening to either peace or security. Why, then, is Chinese nationalism so often viewed as a threat? I propose that this perception... Mon, 12 Sep 2016 10:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1444/spectrums-of-nationalism-a-comparison-of-american-and-chinese-nationalism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1003/homonationalism-and-the-death-of-the-radical-queer By Haley D. O'Shaughnessy - When one analyzes recent LGBTQ advocacy, with its rhetoric of liberal normativity and visibility, the gay rights movement has chosen inclusion over revolution. Through the intersectionality of dominant forms, namely whiteness, patriarchy, and affluent consumerism, these series of political moments constitute homonormativity. While such advocacy has legally decriminalized and validated homosexuality, it has also accentuated state regulation of sexuality. As the construction of homonormativity was in reaction to the terrorist body, sexual tolerance becomes an alibi for necropolitical violence and... Tue, 03 Mar 2015 05:53 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1003/homonationalism-and-the-death-of-the-radical-queer http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/772/james-joyces-ulysses-and-blooms-utopian-vision-of-ireland By Kelley S. Kent - James Joyce's Ulysses is first and foremost a political novel, a "real Irish nationalist epic in its most . . . politically figurative form" (Bowen vii). Joyce himself stated that Ulysses "is the epic of two races," Israel and Ireland ("To Carlo Linati" 273). An analysis of the political views of Joyce’s famous protagonist, Leopold Bloom, can therefore only elucidate his uncertain position in the novel as an Irish, Hungarian Jew. Because of his multi-faceted identity, but mostly his Jewishness, Bloom is an outsider. His Irish nationalist acquaintances (they cannot be called friends) are... Wed, 16 Oct 2013 10:40 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/772/james-joyces-ulysses-and-blooms-utopian-vision-of-ireland http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1603/trouble-in-paradise-fijis-proclivity-to-coups By Tanya Vitusagavulu - Widely known as a tropical tourist destination, the Fiji Islands have been gripped by political turmoil and have had four coups in a span of 20 years. Various factors such as tradition versus modernity, military-civilian relations, failure of constitutionality, nationalism and power struggle are identified in this paper as factors of Fiji's political instability. This paper examines how socio-economic and cultural differences between the country's two major races, Fijians and Indians, have been the underlying cause of Fiji's proclivity to coups from 1987-2006. Along with other factors, the socioeconomic... Fri, 31 May 2013 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1603/trouble-in-paradise-fijis-proclivity-to-coups http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1203/bangladesh-a-case-study-in-the-rise-of-the-nation-state By Aamir Hussain - After the Partition of India in 1947, the two nascent countries of India and Pakistan each faced the difficult task of nation-state consolidation; however, Pakistan's problem was exacerbated by the fact that it had been geographically divided even further with its East and West sections "separated by over 1000 miles of Indian territory"1. The emergence of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (formerly known as East Pakistan) as an independent nation-state in 1971 therefore represents a significant case among modern countries because Bangladesh's seemingly mutually reinforcing identities of "nation... Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1203/bangladesh-a-case-study-in-the-rise-of-the-nation-state http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/731/the-soviet-nationality-policy-in-central-asia By Salvatore J. Freni - The Soviet nationality policy for Central Asia in the early twentieth century was an acceleration of the processes of modernization that the Russian Empire had already begun. However, building socialism in a region where no working class existed and intellectuals based their knowledge primarily on religious texts presented inherent challenges. The primary means of identification for an individual lay within a particular tribe, valley, or oasis rather than in the Western concepts of ‘nationality’ or ‘ethnicity.’ Expanding over an enormous territory and inhabited by a multitude... Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/731/the-soviet-nationality-policy-in-central-asia http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/600/comparing-the-tsarist-russian-and-soviet-empires By Magdalena Noga - Compared to other empires throughout history, the USSR was an exception. The rulers of the Soviet Union viewed empire and imperialism in ideological terms as ‘the highest and final stage of capitalism’.[1] By this Leninist definition, the Soviet Union did not identify itself as an empire, and instead, its leaders vehemently denounced imperialism that was carried out by its enemies and competitors: the capitalist states. Despite its own anguish over being identified as an empire, the Soviet Union indeed was one. While the meaning of ‘empire’ has shifted over time, for the... Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:14 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/600/comparing-the-tsarist-russian-and-soviet-empires http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/582/huntingtons-clash-of-civilizations-in-yugoslavia By Fiona S. Ong - While Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations presents a compelling argument for the events that happened in the former Yugoslavia, the main argument that was set forth by him using religion as the sole cause of the conflicts in the region–in what he regards as ‘fault line’ wars–is erroneous. He has clearly dismissed nationalism as a legitimate cause. Although nationalism is not the single cause of the incidents in Yugoslavia, it was a large part of the reason for the unrest in the Yugoslav state which led to its eventual dissolution. The mechanisms of nationalism... Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:38 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/582/huntingtons-clash-of-civilizations-in-yugoslavia http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/409/immigration-policy-and-controversy-in-sweden-and-denmark By N A - Controversy, in its etymology, expresses a significant change to something deeply rooted. Hence, differing degrees of controversy in response to immigration can be explained in terms of two main factors: 1) countries’ historical experiences, and 2) changing patterns of party competition, expressed through the electoral vacuums occupied by emerging populist-nationalist political parties. Drawing on the cases of Sweden and Denmark, this essay suggests that whilst patterns in immigration policy often are equivocal and challenging to interpret, history and party competition can explain a significant... Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:27 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/409/immigration-policy-and-controversy-in-sweden-and-denmark http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/396/disappearance-and-death-the-fate-of-chechen-human-rights-activists By Kylie Poulin - Article 3 of the Universal Declaration states, “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” This right is constantly violated by those who end up dead as a result of speaking out against a corrupt and violent government. Article 5 guarantees that each person shall not “be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Article 9 provides for those illegally detained, stating, “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile” (United Nations). Nonetheless, human rights violations and murdering... Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:08 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/396/disappearance-and-death-the-fate-of-chechen-human-rights-activists http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/331/defining-a-nation-the-power-of-the-nation-and-its-influence-on-native-american-first-nations By Eve R. Hill - The term ‘nation’ is notoriously hard to define, not only because it has multiple meanings, but because the prevailing definitions change in response to various social and political factors (Ozkirimli 2000). In its most basic form a nation is conceptualized as a distinctive group of people occupying a defined territory between which there is an immutable relationship (Penrose 1993; 1994). However this category has already become problematic as groups of people and territories rarely align so readily. This brings forth the question, is ‘nation’ therefore an unrealistic concept... Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:02 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/331/defining-a-nation-the-power-of-the-nation-and-its-influence-on-native-american-first-nations http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/317/fascism-a-political-ideology-of-the-past By Katharine A. Mackel - Fascism cannot adapt to, and exist under, certain prominent, contemporary conditions. Specifically, it cannot adapt to the strong democracies in which extreme right parties operate, nor to the ideology of radical Islamic groups. This paper begins by defining fascism. It then notes a few conditions that enable fascism to exist, and applies these conditions to post-World War I Italy and Germany to demonstrate how fascism rose in those countries. The paper then discusses extreme right parties in Europe and whether they are fascist. In doing so, it compares the parties’ ideologies to fascist... Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:25 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/317/fascism-a-political-ideology-of-the-past