Small state imperialism: the place of empire in contemporary nationalist discourse

Abstract Many modern E uropean nations can trace their heritage back to one of the large multinational empires that once encompassed much of the E uropean landscape, and nationalising elites often refer back to their place in these empires for the materials upon which their nation was purportedly built. In this article we examine some B elarusian nationalising elites and their references to the G rand D uchy of L ithuania in order to demonstrate a recent trend in E ast E uropean small‐state national identity construction, which we refer to as ‘small state imperialism.’ Small state imperialism exhibits realist characteristics and paints the small nation's place in empires of the past as privileged and aggressive, and in this way deviates from the oppressed but morally superior image one typically expects of a small nation. This interpretation is not limited to B elarus; in a number of E ast E uropean states a similar imperialist turn has taken root in nationalist discourses.