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The contradictory political economy of minority...
Journal article

The contradictory political economy of minority nationalism

Abstract

Times have arguably never been better for minority nationalism. The hollowing out of the nation-state has provided spaces for minority nations to assert their identities and seek wider forms of self-rule. Their position is strengthened by the increased salience of development strategies at the regional scale that draw on the cooperation and coordination of economic actors. In this context, minority nationalism can help foster regional economic success by providing increased cohesion and cross-class collaboration. In return, regional economic success promises to strengthen the nation by providing resources to smooth over class divisions. This article lays out this argument, but raises a number of political and economic contradictions that threaten to interfere both with the construction of regional strategies, and with their ability to paper over class divisions within the nation. It concludes with a brief discussion of the Québec case to show how the promise of a mutually reinforcing relationship between minority nationalism and regional strategies runs up against a series of contradictions in practice.

Authors

Graefe P

Journal

Theory and Society, Vol. 34, No. 5-6, pp. 519–549

Publisher

Springer Nature

Publication Date

December 1, 2005

DOI

10.1007/s11186-005-1725-9

ISSN

0304-2421

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