Afrikaner identity after Nationalism: young Afrikaners and the "new" South Africa
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Date
2009-02-23T11:01:24Z
Authors
Blaser, Thomas Michael
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
Towards the end of the twentieth century, Afrikaner nationalism has significantly
declined – how can we explain that such a strong and dominant ethno-nationalist
movement has become powerless? From a theoretical perspective, I argue that we
have to analyze the formation and dissolution of identities. Modernist approaches to
the study of Afrikaner nationalism and ethnicity focus on the state in shaping
identities that were supportive of nationalist mobilization. While the state certainly
matters, I want to suggest that we have to integrate these historical and political
accounts closer with subjectivity. Subjective aspects of nationalism are best reflected
in narratives of the self. These narratives are analyzed in four categories: reflecting on
the apartheid past; living in an African society; language and culture; and relating to
“black” South Africans. In narrating the self, young Afrikaners give us insights into
processes of ethnic and nationalist mobilization. These narratives indicate that living
in a consumer society in late modernity has contributed to the formation of identities
that are multiple, contradictory and contingent and hence are not readily available for
ethno-nationalist mobilization.