| ID | 071637 |
| Title Proper | English and French national identity |
| Other Title Information | comparisons and contrasts |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Kumar. Krishna |
| Publication | 2006. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The English and the French are both former imperial peoples, and to that extent they share certain features of national identity common to peoples who have had empires. That includes a 'missionary' sense of themselves, a feeling that they have, or have had, a purpose in the world wider than the concerns of non-imperial nations. I argue that nevertheless the English and the French have diverged substantially in their self-conceptions. This I put down to a differing experience of empire, the sense especially among the French that the British were more successful in their imperial ventures. I also argue that contrasting domestic histories - evolutionary in the English case, revolutionary in that of the French - have also significantly coloured national identities in the two countries. These factors taken together, I argue, have produced a more intense sense of nationhood and a stronger national consciousness among the French than among the English. |
| `In' analytical Note | Nations and Nationalism Vol. 12, No. 3; Jul 2006: p413-432 |
| Journal Source | Nations and Nationalism Vol: 12 No 3 |
| Key Words | English National Identity ; French National Identity |