Speaking with Jason Dittmer on superheroes and fascism
America's flirtations with fascism in the 1930s and the influence of the Second World War gave rise to nationalistic, quasi-fascist superheroes who are still relevant and popular today.
Nationalism: it’s a more complex picture than you think.
Travel Junction
A fragile ceasefire deal is just about holding in Ukraine, but hopes for its long-term success are not high. It is clear that the war for eastern Ukraine is far from over. And most ominously of all, it…
Divided we fall: a Catalonian independence rally.
Ivan McClellan via Wikimedia Commons
After decades of deepening globalisation and interconnection, movements championing national identity and power are sweeping the globe. Breakaway regions, independence referendums, and campaigns for stronger…
Albanian players run for cover.
EPA/Koca Sulejmanovic
Few thought that Serbia’s Euro 2016 qualifying fixture against Albania on October 14 would be an easy match. But the depths to which it sank are shocking even to those familiar with the potency of anti-Albanian…
Tony Abbott and his ministers are presenting ‘Team Australia’ as a national response to the global terrorism threat.
AAP/David Crosling
Tony Abbott’s “Team Australia” is a confusing concept. The latest image of Australian nationalism is headed by a staunch monarchist who campaigned against a local head of state. The same “captain” recently…
Eunice Goes, Richmond American International University
For many English people, the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence is a reminder of England’s Cinderella status in the United Kingdom. While Scotland and Northern Ireland enjoy a large degree…
Garry Kasparov’s unsuccessful campaign for the presidency of chess’ governing body, the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), has once again seen chess became an arena for political and ideological…
Painting about peace in Kiev’s Maidan square.
Robert Ghement/EPA
Ukraine’s recent political crisis, a pro-Russian separatist movement and violence in the East has yet again drawn attention to the competing loyalties of Ukrainian citizens. Ukraine gained statehood in…
A heroes welcome staged at the Brandenburg Gate.
Michael Kappeler/EPA
The German football team returned from its victorious World Cup campaign in Brazil to a rapturous welcome. Hundreds of thousands of Germans gathered in Berlin to celebrate the first World Cup win for a…
The shock, disappointment and shame felt in Brazil after their humiliating semi-final defeat to Germany has been apparent for all to see. In fact, the despair that the defeat caused both team and their…
Other than war, few things fire nationalist sentiments in a society quite like sport. On June 27 2010, as the English football team were being thrashed by Germany in the World Cup in South Africa, England’s…
As a fan and professional sociologist whose main research interest is football, I spend so much of my time immersed in the sport that I should be excited about the World Cup, I know I should. And in a…
Not all Thais have reacted with anger and dismay to the military takeover of their country. In fact, for those on the anti-government side, these are welcome developments. But that is no reason not to…
Here’s a question: what do Cornwall, Scotland, Venice and Sardinia have in common? The answer: they all have vocal political movements calling for either independence from their nation states or at least…
Why has Anzac Day and the concept of ‘Anzac’ experienced such a resurgence in recent years, particularly among young people?
AAP
Thousands of young Australians will gather at Gallipoli this Anzac Day. Our TV screens will fill with faces in the cold light of early dawn, a tear trickling down the cheek in sadness that so many died…
The Kiwis are going to vote on a change of flag. What does the Australian flag mean these days?
Matthew Kenwrick
Do flags matter? Well, if the news from New Zealand is any guide, they do. Holding a referendum or two to change the flag, as proposed by that country’s parliament, will not be cheap. Assuming our friends…
