Ethnicity, Culture and Identity

Abstract

As the twentieth century draws to a close, so the issue of national identities becomes more salient. In the modern world, we have become used to conflicts over forms of political identity. We can find examples of disputed identities in many Western countries. The peoples of Quebec, Catalonia and Euskadi (the Basque Country), Scotland and Wales are among the most obvious groupings who, to a greater or lesser extent, dispute the political identities conferred on them by the states to which they belong. In many respects this is a remarkable occurrence because, for most of the century (indeed for most of the period we now call ‘modern’), it seemed as if the problem of national identity had been solved once and for all.