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On the shock of civil war: cultural trauma and national identity in Finland and Ireland
Author(s) -
Kissane Bill
Publication year - 2020
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/nana.12526
Subject(s) - spanish civil war , irish , national identity , referent , identity (music) , shock (circulatory) , narrative , sociology , cultural identity , political science , gender studies , law , politics , aesthetics , medicine , negotiation , philosophy , linguistics
What role does national identity play after civil war? Is reconstruction possible on the basis of an existing identity, or does a new identity have to be found? Much depends on whether narratives of conflict are unifying. I use the tools of cultural sociology to explain why the Finnish Civil War of 1918 has become a unifying ‘cultural trauma’ for the Finns, whereas the Irish Civil War of 1922–23 never became the dominant referent in Irish national identity. The difference is explained by the greater shock civil war posed to Finnish national identity.