Nationalism and Caribbean masculinity

Anthony Smith (1991:14) has defined the nation as “a named human population sharing an historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, public culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members.” Nationalism is an important complement to the nation, facilitating colonial conquest and subjugation. It also serves as the ideological vehicle through which the nation attempts to homogenize dissimilar social elements into the nationalist project. Indeed, there is no singular conception of the nation. Each nation is constructed in accordance with the priorities which it deems important in the process of unifying disparate social forces. As used in this chapter, “nationalism” refers to the ideological practices articulated by the state and reinforced by other social institutions. These practices are designed to reproduce the many and diverse human groups as a common community of individuals. Nationalism is also a phenomenon which manifests itself, at both the political and cultural levels, as a movement for the creation of an autonomous, sovereign space and unique identity.