Tailor-made nationalism: digital nomads and the crafting of national identity

This paper explores how the mobile lifestyle of digital nomads informs national identity and collective belonging through technological means, focusing on the Israeli digital nomad community. This study reveals that despite embracing a hypermobile and individualistic lifestyle, Israeli digital nomads use technology to construct a new form of national identity, which I describe as ‘tailor-made nationalism’. Through interviews with 21 digital nomads, this research demonstrates how technology mediates a process of national affiliation that allows individuals to customise their national identity without the traditional territorial and civic obligations. The concept of tailor-made nationalism contributes to mobilities studies by illustrating how hypermobility and digital technologies inform national belonging. It also extends debates on technology’s impact on nationalism, suggesting that digital platforms enable more flexible and personalised forms of national affiliation. By examining the Israeli case, this paper shows that digital nomadism does not necessarily deny nationalism and is not in itself a post-national, cosmopolitan phenomenon. It offers insights into how mobile lifestyles facilitate the negotiation of national identity through technology, shedding light on the interaction between mobility, technology, and national belonging.