Ressentiment and the State

Since the dissidents’ political context needs careful elucidation, this is the first of three chapters developing the problematic situation depicted in the Introduction. In this chapter, my focus is theoretical, and I begin by identifying my approach to nationalism, which Calhoun (1997) suggests can be understood as discourse, project and evaluation or ‘ethical imperative’. I primarily engage with nationalism as discourse:

the production of a cultural understanding and rhetoric which leads people throughout the world to think and frame their aspirations in terms of the idea of nation and national identity, and the production of particular versions of national thought and language in particular settings and traditions. (p. 6)