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Brexit and Nationalism
So as I say in the first two minutes of the podcast – I somehow
recorded and even edited this podcast back in June when England voted to leave the European Union and then I failed to post it. (And then I go on to say that I want to get through editing and posting fasted. Ha!) But anyway, the night of election 2016 here in the US seems like a plenty opportune time to post the same ideas since Trump’s campaign has often been compared to Brexit itself. Although as I write this it is not really yet clear if the surprise Brexit victory will repeat itself.
The podcast itself looks at how the 19th century ideas of nationalism have informed current political rhetoric. I get a bit far afield, talking about various forms of possible political organization and thinking about what a “nation-state” means. These are questions that all have long books written about them, including the fairly famous work on nationalism by Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities. But one point I found odd was how little people used the explicit ideas of nationalism when describing especially Donald Trump’s campaign (those deeply opposed to him often use fascist, when I think nationalist is more appropriate…and possibly just as worrying) but also when talking about Brexit, although England for the English was definitely a rallying cry for that vote. So this is my meditation on those questions. I also talk about the relative decline in nationalism and even the nation state itself in the last 50 years (although as these debates prove, it sure isn’t gone yet!)
And for this nationalist discourse, of course you need a good nationalist dish: fish, chips, and mushy peas…where the best cod has come from Canada, the potatoes originated in South America (although you can surely grow potatoes in England these days), and the method of frying was purportedly brought by Jews fleeing Spain in the 15th century (although, frankly, I doubt that, because dipping something in batter and frying it? Almost everyone has thought of that in the culinary traditions of the world…it is just so delicious.) But don’t worry! Peas are a long, long (millennia, really…) staple in England. Served with a very Mediterranean lemon, of course. So enjoy!
Bibliography:
In addition to the book above, there is a lot of material on multiple topics – too long to list in short form here and I don’t even quite know what books to start with. So if you want anything in particular, e-mail me!
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So as I say in the first two minutes of the podcast – I somehow
recorded and even edited this podcast back in June when England voted to leave the European Union and then I failed to post it. (And then I go on to say that I want to get through editing and posting fasted. Ha!) But anyway, the night of election 2016 here in the US seems like a plenty opportune time to post the same ideas since Trump’s campaign has often been compared to Brexit itself. Although as I write this it is not really yet clear if the surprise Brexit victory will repeat itself.
The podcast itself looks at how the 19th century ideas of nationalism have informed current political rhetoric. I get a bit far afield, talking about various forms of possible political organization and thinking about what a “nation-state” means. These are questions that all have long books written about them, including the fairly famous work on nationalism by Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities. But one point I found odd was how little people used the explicit ideas of nationalism when describing especially Donald Trump’s campaign (those deeply opposed to him often use fascist, when I think nationalist is more appropriate…and possibly just as worrying) but also when talking about Brexit, although England for the English was definitely a rallying cry for that vote. So this is my meditation on those questions. I also talk about the relative decline in nationalism and even the nation state itself in the last 50 years (although as these debates prove, it sure isn’t gone yet!)
And for this nationalist discourse, of course you need a good nationalist dish: fish, chips, and mushy peas…where the best cod has come from Canada, the potatoes originated in South America (although you can surely grow potatoes in England these days), and the method of frying was purportedly brought by Jews fleeing Spain in the 15th century (although, frankly, I doubt that, because dipping something in batter and frying it? Almost everyone has thought of that in the culinary traditions of the world…it is just so delicious.) But don’t worry! Peas are a long, long (millennia, really…) staple in England. Served with a very Mediterranean lemon, of course. So enjoy!
Bibliography:
In addition to the book above, there is a lot of material on multiple topics – too long to list in short form here and I don’t even quite know what books to start with. So if you want anything in particular, e-mail me!