Editorial
This double issue on national identity is devoted to a weighty
subject that is crucial for all of us in this region. National
identity is often a force that dominates conflict between peoples,
not least in the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. Nevertheless,
it can also be a concept that provides meaning and motivation for
people everywhere to conduct an active struggle for the realization
of shared ideas, emotions and values.
While in its modern meaning, national identity emerged only in the
last two hundred years, the concept of nation has been in use for
more than two thousands years. It originated in ancient times,
especially in association with the city-state concept. The word
used in English, "nation," derives from Latin "to be born." Today,
national identity does not only imply self-categorization as a
member of a "nation" or self-identification with a nation. Other
key elements construct (in Benedict Anderson's words) an "imagined
community," including a sense of belonging
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