Mobilizing the Past: Nationalist Images of History

There is an obvious sense in which nationalist mobilization has an important basis in images of the past—images which are typically embellished to produce a tendentious image of the community's own history. This article first examines the mechanisms by which myths of history are created and disseminated, making an important distinction between circumstances where those engaged in this process control a state structure and those where they do not. It then seeks to generalize about the kinds of historiographical stereotypes that have emerged, identifying in particular myths of origin, myths of development (including the golden age, the dark age and the age of struggle) and myths of destiny. These are illustrated by evidence mainly from Europe, and their instrumental character is stressed.