Your search

Following E. D. Lawson's work (1963, 1965) on the flag preferences of lower and middle-class public school children in the U.S. and Canada, a similar study was carried out with elite private school children. As previously found, responses to the U.N., U.S., Russian, and Canadian flags were very similar for both national samples. In addition, the choice patterns of the elite children in the present study and the non-elites of previous studies were also very similar.

A classic article which examined American civil religion and triggered an academic discussion about civil religion in multiple countries. This is a reprint version of the article that appeared first in Daedalus, volume 96 #1 (Winter 1967), pp. 1-21.

In this chapter, Michael Billig re-assesses the strengths and weaknesses of Banal Nationalism, responds to some of the arguments put forward in the other chapters in this collection and outlines some possible ways in which research on the topic might proceed.

This introduction considers the significance of Michael Billig's (1995) Banal Nationalism to geographers, and how this fits into broader trends of nationalism research in the social sciences. Through an analysis of Web of Science citation trends for the book, we illustrate its spatial and temporal reach in terms of the countries where it has been cited and how its impact has developed since 1995. We also briefly examine how political geographers have engaged the concept of banal nationalism in their research, and what sort of questions it has raised for those conducting research on nationalist discourses and territorial identity narratives more broadly. Considering how political geographers might creatively advance this scholarship, we introduce the individual papers included in this special issue and conclude with a brief gesture to future directions for research beyond Banal Nationalism.

Vexillology is defined by many organizations - including the lnternational Federation of Vexillological Associations and the North American Vexillological Association - as the "scientific study of flags." Exactly what that means is not clear to many. This article presents an overview history, exemplifying many of the issues involved in vexillologicalstudy and suggesting options for future development.

The object of this thesis is to demonstrate that non-verbal symbols, and in particular national flags, have an essential part in the establishment and management of national identity. It is contended that political legitimacy is derived in part from the national self-presentation and that this presentation can be managed by exploiting the full rangeof the national panoply, i.e., the full range of non-verbal symbols available. In terms of penetration and reciprocation as they form a discourse between the elite and the population flags and related items form a body of material that is easy to handle and to comprehend. But they are also capable of being charged with affective overtones which require care and skill in handling. Key concepts with regard to symbols as hitherto dealt with in social science will be derived from a number of authors who have dealt with the nature of identity and identity crises as part of the modernisation process applicable to nation states. These include Edelman and Pye and the contributors to the 'Crises and Sequences' school of political science. In addition the work of Mosse, Firth, Weitman, Zelinsky, Hobsbawm and Ranger, and other authors who have come closest to the subject under review, will also be examined for contributions in the form of concepts and analytical tools. Also to be examined is the work of modern professional image-makers operating in the commercial world to see what techniques and methods they can deploy successfully. The next stage will be to examine three major identity crises, as exemplified by the American, French and Russian Revolutions to see what efforts, if any, were made by the elite to control and shape their self-presentation and what reciprocation they evinced from their populations.

Depuis toujours, les sociétés humaines se déterminent et s’identifient au moyen de symboles. Les drapeaux sont aujourd’hui la forme la plus visible de cette identification. Les couleurs, les dessins qu’ils comportent nous apportent une lecture précieuse susceptible de nous éclairer sur le passé, le présent et le devenir des peuples. Les drapeaux nous offrent en même temps un précieux auxiliaire permettant de comprendre la direction de l’actualité mondiale. La fin de l’URSS en 1991 et la multiplication des drapeaux sur son territoire nous donne une parfaite illustration de cette perpétuelle quête humaine, à savoir son besoin de s’identifier et la justification de sa raison d'exister ici-bas. La preuve nous est en même temps donnée du caractère indispensable de la vexillologie dans la compréhension des sciences humaines. Human societies have always defined and identified themselves through symbols. Today, flags represent the most visible form of this identification. The colors and designs they feature offer valuable insights into the past, present, and future of peoples. At the same time, flags serve as a valuable tool for understanding the direction of global events. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the proliferation of flags across its former territory provide a perfect illustration of this perpetual human quest—namely, the need for identity and the justification of one's reason for existence. This also demonstrates the indispensable role of vexillology in understanding the human sciences.

Michael Billig presents a major challenge to orthodox conceptions of nationalism. While traditional theorizing has focused on extreme expressions of nationalism thus making it an exotic and remote concern, Michael Billig turns his attention to the everyday, and so less visible, forms that are deeply ingrained in contemporary consciousness. Banal Nationalism asks why people do not forget their national identity. It contends that nationalism is constantly "flagged" in the media through routine symbols and habits of language. In a well-thought-out analysis, the author shows how assumptions of nationhood are regularly conveyed, often through small familiar turns of phrase, and how these reminders operate mindlessly beyond the level of conscious awareness, like the flag, which hangs unnoticed outside a public building. Banal Nationalism addresses these core features of nationalism while providing the reader with meaningful insights into their own nationality. Billig's elegantly written and broad-ranging book argues forcefully that nationalism continues to be a major ideological force in the contemporary world and will be essential reading for students and academics across the social sciences.

In the mid-twentieth century scholars in the United States began to examine American society through the lens of civil religion, a term first coined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century. Although much of the discussion focused on civil religion in the US, other scholars began to recognise that a civil religion also existed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. While American civil religion developed organically within all strata of society, it can be argued that in the Soviet Union there was a deliberate strategy to use civil religion as a tool to replace established religion, and to create a single sense of Soviet identity among a geographically-dispersed and ethnically-diverse population. Most studies on Soviet civil religion have focused on communist rites and rituals, and the ‘cult’ of Lenin. Few scholars have examined the elaborate system of symbols that were essential to reinforcing Soviet civil religion so that it became an everyday aspect of life in the USSR. This thesis seeks to fill that gap by examining the simvolika, or set of symbols, of the Soviet Union. While the official state symbols included the Soviet flag, state emblem, and national anthem, the set of symbols that were vital to the practice of Soviet civil religion was much more extensive. This study will examine the usage of an array of flags, seals, symbolic elements, imagery, and motifs that were essential to the socialisation of children and the reinforcement of Soviet civil religion in adulthood. Finally, it will examine the symbolic legacies of the USSR in the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.

This thesis provides an analysis of the history of the new South African flag of 1994. It presents an overview account of the South African flag legacy from the early colonial period through to the first national flag of the Union of South Africa in 1928. Its main concern however is the process which culminated in the raising of a new national flag on 27 April 1994. It shows how the flag issue was integral to the negotiations aimed at addressing South Africa’s political future and it is within this context that it sets out the steps taken to address the matter. It also recounts how the process initially floundered before the current design - which has become one of the primary graphic symbols of identification for the new South Africa and its people - finally came into being. Despite the initial reaction to the design, it unpacks the extent to which the flag has been embraced by the South African population at large which has far exceeded expectation. Apart from its visual success, the flag is symbolic of the convergence and unification which is inextricably linked to the freedom and democracy which the new political dispensation encapsulated.

This thesis analyses the symbolic changes in the expression of white Rhodesian identity from the arrival of the settlers in 1890 and subsequent establishment of the Colony until the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980. It examines the concepts of ‘nation’ and ‘identity’. It is generally agreed that national symbols, such as flags, anthems, coats of arms, and the like, not only represent the ‘nation’ but also condense and express the values, history and memories associated with it. The thesis argues that initially Rhodesians considered and identified themselves to be quintessentially British and loyal members of the Empire which was demonstrated through the use of Imperial symbols such as the Crown and the Union Jack. However, following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in November 1965, the need for a more distinctive local identity became more acute as the country moved to sever its imperial links and became ostracised on the international stage. A new panoply of symbols was adopted to reflect this change, the most visible and long-lasting of which was the new Rhodesian flag. The flag continues to be the most emotional and contested symbol of post-UDI Rhodesian identity to this day.

This study traces the socio-historical developments and modifications of uses, customs, and rituals associated with the national banner of the United States of America from the first Flag Resolution of 1777 through the Second National Flag Conference of 1924. Commitment to the flag is something culturally determined; this study re-examines the history of the American flag in light of this theoretical foundation, and emphasizes contributions of various individuals, organizations, and institutions to the shifting uses of the banner by American society. Military and naval uses predominated in the eighteenth century, but as the nineteenth century continued the significance of the American flag grew in patriotic music, literature, artwork, rhetoric, and demonstrations. The firing on Ft. Sumter triggered a sudden elevation of the flag to most honored status in American civil religion. Following the Civil War, veterans' organizations, hereditary societies, and popular children's magazines all participated in a movement known as the cult of the flag, placing flags in public schools and instituting rituals such as "The Pledge of Allegiance." Flag desecration statutes sought to curb the exploitation of the American flag in the growing field of advertising in the early twentieth century. Following the First World War, the American Legion gathered representatives of influential patriotic and military organizations to officially establish a national code of flag etiquette.

Proceedings of the tenth International Congress of Vexillology (ICV 10) -- Oxford, England, 25-30 September 1983.

In 1989 the first new political parties were formed in Croatia after almost half a century of the single-party system and in 1990 the multiparty elections were held. The re-born democracy quickly produced dozens of new parties, most of which started using logos and symbols and many of them flags. In the last 20 years some of the parties were disbanded, others newly established, some have united, others split—the total number of parties registered at any given time has averaged about 100, although probably only a score or two had any significant influence in the country’s political life. With the different ideologies and interests, parties chose different flags and emblems depicted in them, some based on the national flag, on the chequy arms, on other national symbols, while other chose elements of regional and local identity, European and global symbols as well as other more particular ones. This paper systematically presents the flags of various parties in Croatia in the last 20 years with an emphasis on the identity symbols they use.

In his provocative think piece, “Flagging Enthusiasm,” Tony Burton muses on the eternal questions of vexillology: what is a flag and what does it do? While not avoiding the simple answers, he unfurls the flag as a symbolic and material object, allowing it to reveal itself as a complicated, challenging, and controversial creature.

Many Lutheran churches in America place the United States and Christian flags in the sanctuary, very frequently on the chancel. This article focuses on the current use of the United States flag in the sanctuary and examines the history of how it came to be introduced. Contrary to myth, the flag did not enter primarily as a symbol of loyalty among German immigrants during the First World War, but rather came in unheralded alongside the service flag, and stayed there through the Second World War and beyond. Sometimes it accompanied church construction or renovation. Such flag use—an apparent contravention of the separation of church and state—is explored through the concept of banal nationalism. These flags are “unwaved”; they remain static in the sanctuaries of many Lutheran churches today, which creates a unique type of civil religion in America.