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As nation, people and public collide: enacting Dutchness in public discourse
Author(s) -
Reekum Rogier
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
nations and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1469-8129
pISSN - 1354-5078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8129.2012.00554.x
Subject(s) - citizenship , sociology , pluralism (philosophy) , public sphere , publics , public discourse , context (archaeology) , inclusion–exclusion principle , epistemology , the imaginary , gender studies , political science , law , politics , philosophy , paleontology , biology , psychology , psychotherapist
In recent decades, D utchness has become an intensely debated issue in D utch public sphere. The article problematises the labelling of nations and nationalisms that occurs in public and academic understandings of these developments. Craig C alhoun's concept of discursive formation is argued to be more fruitful for understanding the recent contestations over D utchness. Yet C alhoun's theory is itself in need of elaboration. Whereas C alhoun proposes to focus on the extent to which nations are constructed as publics of highly differentiated members, it is precisely this image that is central to an exclusionary discourse of D utchness and enables the exclusion of cultural others from the D utch imaginary. By analysing the enactment of D utchness through discourses on citizenship, the surprising congruence of pluralism and exclusion in the D utch context is explored.