Politics of the past: the use and abuse of history - Socialists ...

tion – a reflection of their relationship to their own nation and to
other nations. National identity represents a dynamic system of elements
that may be both compatible and contradictory. They may
change in the historical context of the existence of a nation and in
the context of the life of an individual. People who are considered
to constitute a nation or a certain ethnic group must feel, or must
be viewed as, similar to each other and at the same time somehow
different from others; members’ identification with a national community
is very important.
There are both positive and negative factors connected with identifying
(oneself or others) with a nation. The positive ones may be
embodied in patriotism and national pride, in feelings of shared
identity and of being allied; they may help to overcome the internal
conflicts of national communities and may be particularly strongly
expressed at times of threat from outside. Negative manifestations
of national identity may be radical nationalism, or chauvinism, where
external authority is expressed in categories such as, the overtly
dominating, ‘in the interest of nation and state’ or ‘the soul of the nation’;
this may take the acute form of attitudes towards other nations
centred on the idea that ‘we are enemies’, or suggest notions of
one’s own national exclusivity. This external authority can come to
dominate the internal authority of reason, morality and autonomous
individuality, and in some situations could clearly repress or even,
in the end, stifle it.
Although national identity is a collective identity, it is always present
in all individuals, in their consciousness, because it forms part
of the development of each individual’s personal identity. Identification
with an ethnic group, or a nation, is a lifelong socialisation
process. People care most about their identity during key periods
of life – for example, in adolescence, when identifying oneself ethnically
or nationally may be part of the formation of many different
values. National identification continues in adulthood, with broadening
awareness of one’s own nation and other nations or ethnic
groups, with authentication and deeper absorption, but also with
possible changes in ethnic attitudes and stereotypes. Over the
course of a lifetime, when faced with an environment that contains
other nationalities, identification with one’s own nation can become
stronger or weaker, according to the pressure exerted, or may even
voluntarily shift to another identity.
173 Milan Zemko