The Construction of National(ist) Subject: Applying the Ideals of Louis Althusser and Michel Foucault to Nationalism

Abstract

The article proposes a theoretical approach that analyzes nationalist ideologies as forces creating unique subjectivities. Such a perspective develops from combining Louis Althusser's ideas about ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses with Michel Foucault's insights on modern bio-power. It is suggested that the core of any nationalism is its political construction of subjective consciousness and body. With illustrations from mainly European nationalisms, it is reflected that there is a recognizable set of methods that most nationalist ideologies use to form their subjects. They construct, on the one hand, national consciousness by inventing national history, language and culture, and, on the other, national body using modern scientific knowledge about individuals and populations. In the end, the article suggests a new definition of nationalism that could be used in future empirical research.