Intranational Struggles as Means of Building Narratives and Identities

Nationalities and nation-states are one of the defining elements of modern human civilization. One of the tenets of belief in national identity is the idea that members of a nation form a cohesive social, cultural, and political unit. However, nationalisms are built over time and with accumulated effort, both conscious and subconscious. Many of these processes have occurred over the last two hundred years, and narratives often obfuscate or ignore the tensions and divides within nationalist movements and ideologies. Previous authors have analyzed and described the construction of nationalist identities, including Benedict Anderson, Edward Said, and Michael Kammen. But a closer look into the internal structures and beliefs of nations is warranted. Intranational contests are important factors in the development of national narratives and identities, bringing into question just how cohesive and unified a nation truly is. This portfolio compiling three essays examines how the development of nations regularly involves competing interpretations and the intentional propagation of stories and ideals to build and maintain an particular national theme. The essays are each focused on national developments in three countries: Germany, Britain, and Colombia. The former two essays focus on particular artists and authors, while the latter is an investigation into the country's ongoing conflict. There is also a consideration of the United States and how disparate communities connected themselves into a larger national framework, using Frederick, Maryland and Francis Scott Key as an example. The portfolio emphasizes how nations and nationalism are fluid and ever-changing constructs. While many figures, from artists to politicians, try to exemplify a united will and identity, the truth is that not everyone within a nation will believe in the same vision for that identity, if they even believe in the nation at all. In fact, many powerful individuals and organizations resort to erasure, romanticization, and violence to build a nation out of disparate parts. Such considerations demonstrate that national identities and narratives are not uniform, nor should they be taken for granted. The nation of today is neither the nation of the past or of the future.