The Netherlands is the first concise, authored introduction available on the topic. The Netherlands has been a key entrepot in the world capitalist system for centuries, but because of relatively recent demographic changes, it has become symbolic of the clash of European and Islamic cultures. Perhaps the most secular nation in the world, it now houses a very large Islamic population. That population is the fruit of globalization, and how the Dutch have responded to this broad cultural shift tells us a great deal about the changing nature of national identity in the age of globalization. In particular, Frank Lechner explains how globalization calls forth very particularistic and localist responses. Along with providing a broad overview of the contemporary Netherlands, Lechner will focus on how globalization is generating new discourses, cultures, and state policies. Among other topics, the book will feature chapters on soccer culture, religion (and the lack thereof), the media, the welfare state, multiculturalism, and the Netherlands place in the larger European Union.

In this groundbreaking book, Katrina Schwartz examines the intersection of environmental politics, globalization, and national identity in a small East European country: modern-day Latvia. Based on extensive ethnographic research and lively discourse analysis, it explores that country's post-Soviet responses to European assistance and political pressure in nature management, biodiversity conservation, and rural development. These responses were shaped by hotly contested notions of national identity articulated as contrasting visions of the "ideal" rural landscape.The players in this story include Latvian farmers and other traditional rural dwellers, environmental advocates, and professionals with divided attitudes toward new European approaches to sustainable development. An entrenched set of forestry and land management practices, with roots in the Soviet and pre-Soviet eras, confront growing international pressures on a small country to conform to current (Western) notions of environmental responsibility—notions often perceived by Latvians to be at odds with local interests. While the case is that of Latvia, the dynamics Schwartz explores have wide applicability and speak powerfully to broader theoretical discussions about sustainable development, social constructions of nature, the sources of nationalism, and the impacts of globalization and regional integration on the traditional nation-state.

This book critiques dominant discourses and debates pertaining to cultural identity, set against the current backdrop of growing social stratification and unequal access to quality education. It addresses current discourses concerning globalisation, ideologies and the state, as well as approaches to constructing national, ethnic and religious identities in the global culture. It explores the ambivalent and problematic connections between the state, globalisation, the construction of cultural identity, and the nation-building process – also in connection with history education and the history textbooks used in schools. The book also explores conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches applicable to research on the state, globalisation, nation-building and identity politics. Drawing on diverse paradigms, ranging from critical theory to globalisation, the book, by focusing on globalisation, ideology and cultural identity, critically examines recent research in history education and its impact of identity politics, as well as the most significant dimensions defining and contextualising the processes surrounding nation-building and identity politics globally. Given the need for a multiple perspective approach, the authors, who have diverse backgrounds and hail from different countries and regions, offer a wealth of insights, contributing to a more holistic understanding of the nexus between the nation-state and national identity.

Written by a team of international scholars from China, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, this book provides interdisciplinary studies on the construction and transformation of Chinese national identity in the age of globalisation. It addresses a wide range of issues central to national identity in the context of Chinese culture, politics, economy and society, and explores a diverse set of topics including the formation of an embryonic form of national identity in the late Qing era, the influence of popular culture on national identity, globalisation and national identity, the interaction and discourse between ethnic identity and national identity, and identity construction among overseas Chinese. It highlights the latest developments in the field and offers a distinctive contribution to our knowledge and understanding of national identity. ​

Investigates the Singapore Government's approach to the construction of national identity. This book focuses on the global/national nexus: the tensions between the necessity to embrace the global to ensure economic survival, yet needing a committed population to support the perpetuation of the nation-state and its economic success.

The Handbook of Media and Mass Communication Theory presents a comprehensive collection of original essays that focus on all aspects of current and classic theories and practices relating to media and mass communication. Focuses on all aspects of current and classic theories and practices relating to media and mass communication Includes essays from a variety of global contexts, from Asia and the Middle East to the Americas Gives niche theories new life in several essays that use them to illuminate their application in specific contexts Features coverage of a wide variety of theoretical perspectives Pays close attention to the use of theory in understanding new communication contexts, such as social media 2 Volumes

Exploring a much neglected area, the relationship between food and nationalism, this book examines a number of case studies at various levels of political analysis to show how useful the food and nationalism axis can be in the study of politics.