National identity

National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status.

National identity is not inborn trait; various studies have shown that a person's national identity is a direct result of the presence of elements from the "common points" in people's daily lives: national symbols, language, national colours, the nation's history, national consciousness, blood ties, culture, music, cuisine, radio, television, etc.

The national identity of most citizens of one state or one nation tends to strengthen when the country or the nation is threatened militarily. The sense of belonging to the nation is essential as an external threat becomes clearer when individuals seek to unite with fellow countrymen to protect themselves and fight against the common threat. An example of this is the development of Taiwanese identity versus Chinese identity, which strengthened after the Republic of China (ROC) became known internationally as "Taiwan" after losing its UN Seat and particularly starting in the late 1990s when it became clear that "China" (People's Republic of China) threatens Taiwan militarily and to "conquer and unite" Taiwan, especially in the face of increased popular support for Taiwan independence and tries to affect Taiwan's politics through "missle tests" and media rhetoric. Although the official country name is "Republic of China" and its residents have been taught that their country is "China" and self-references in the educational system, textbooks, and school public announcements refer to students as "we Chinese..." in the 1980s and 1990s, growing numbers of adults in the 2000s started identifying themselves as "Taiwanese" in the face of hostile Chinese stance and military threat in the 2000s and the Pan-Green Coalition's promotion of Taiwanese identity.

There are cases where national identity collides with a person's civil identity. For example, many Israeli Arabs associate themselves or are associated with the Arab or Palestinian nationality, while at the same time they are citizens of the state of Israel, which is in conflict with the Palestinians and with many Arab countries. The Taiwanese also face an identity crisis: a conflict of national identity with civil identity, in which residents are issued national identification cards and passports under the country name "Republic of China", but a certain portion of them do not feel comfortable about viewing their country as "China". This is also a reason why the Democratic Progressive Party advocates formal "Taiwan Independence" and renaming the country as "Republic of Taiwan".

Also, there are cases in which the national identity of a particular group is oppressed by the government in the country where the group lives. A notable example was in Spain under the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1947) who abolished the official statute and recognition for the Basque, Galician, and Catalan languages for the first time in the history of Spain and returned to Spanish as the only official language of the State and education, although millions of the country's citizens spoke other languages.

The positive expression of one's national identity is Patriotism, and the negative is Chauvinism.

Other resources

• Anthony D. Smith (Mar 1, 1993). National identity (Ethnonationalism in Comparative Perspective) University of Nevada Press ISBN 978-0-87417-204-1
• Samuel P. Huntington (May 2004). Who Are We: Test" Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jake-townsend/branding-peace-norways-id_b_918229.html

See also

• Patriotism
• Scottish national identity
• Identity (social science)
• Identity crisis