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The Nation/State Fantasy

A Psychoanalytical Genealogy of Nationalism

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  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Moran M. Mandelbaum

    1. School of Social, Political and Global Studies, Keele University, Keele, UK

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  • Explores the origins of our contemporary ‘regime of nation/state congruency’

  • Presents a novel approach of nationalism and the nation/state that goes beyond methodological nationalism and state-centrism critiques

  • Deploys a psychoanalytical and discourse analytical approach to the question of nationalism

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Introduction: Problematising the Present

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 1-39

  3. The Nation/State Fantasy: From Gellner to Lacan

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 41-65

  4. The State as One: The ‘Union of Men’, the ‘People’ and the ‘State’ in Early Modernity

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 67-94

  5. The Fragmentation of the State as Modality of Unity and the Rise of the Fantasy of Nation/State Congruency

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 95-126

  6. Fantasies of Nationalism: Between Nation/State Dialectic and Liberal Thought

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 127-162

  7. The Nation/State Fantasy and the Production of the ‘International’ in IR Theory

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 163-186

  8. Back to the Present: The Contemporaneous Re-homogenisation of the ‘International’

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 187-216

  9. Conclusions: Engaging with the Ethico-Political

    • Moran M. Mandelbaum
    Pages 217-232

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 233-236
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Keywords

About this book

This book explores the origins of nationalism and the ideal of nation/state congruency since early-modern European thought, their transformation over time and endurance in contemporary political thought and IR theory. The author deploys a Lacanian-psychoanalytical reading of nationalism and the nation/state that goes beyond methodological nationalism and state-centrism critiques. He offers a genealogical inquiry into the emergence of the nation/state congruency ideal, thus exposing and problematising the practices that render nationalism and the ideal of the nation/state necessary. Offering a new way to read the ontology and epistemology of the nation/state, this work will be of interest to students and scholars of nations and nationalism, political thought, critical international relations and critical security studies. 

Reviews

  “This exciting and significant book shows how the nation-state is not just ‘imagined’ but is rather the result of a fantasy. Deploying a genealogical history of the present, and a psychoanalytic lens on utopian visions and foregone failures, Mandelbaum updates both Gellner on nationalism and Anderson on communities.  Does democracy require ‘one people’ by race or ethnicity, language or religion, history or values, in order to function without strain? Or is democracy an on-going stressful negotiation of diversities that functions because it never resolves? This book addresses this pressing liberal dilemma with great lucidity and elegance.” (Terrell Carver, Professor, University of Bristol, UK)  

“Ideas of national cohesion and practices of cultural homogenisation played a crucial role in modern European history before WW2—and now risk an undesired come back. Illuminated by insights from Lacanian psychology, this highly original work provides the best and most inspiring investigation into this new field of research. No other book before has analysed so much in-depth (and succeeded so well in combining) this complex set of relationships and interrelated dynamics. It is essential reading for scholars of nationalism and an invaluable guide to students of IR, psychology, political theory and political history.” (Daniele Conversi, Research Professor, Ikerbasque Basque Foundation for Science, Spain)  

“The idea that the borders of nations and states should tightly overlap has been interrogated by a number of scholars in history, sociology and IR alike. Mandelbaum enters this well-charted terrain with an original, provocative and powerful argument. He suggests that the nation-state congruency is a fantasy - a story through which we cover the lack in the social order in order to make understanding possible, yet also one that ultimately fails in doing so. Building on Lacanian psychoanalysis, Mandelbaum guides us through conversations with leading intellectuals of Western modernity and shows how their thought revolved around this nation/state fantasy. Mandelbaum's superbly researched account unpacks the discursive and affective underpinnings of the current international order. As such, it should be an essential reading for students of IR theory, nationalism studies and critical social theory.” (Jakub Eberle, Senior Researcher, Institute of International Relations, Prague)  

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Social, Political and Global Studies, Keele University, Keele, UK

    Moran M. Mandelbaum

About the author

Moran M. Mandelbaum is Lecturer in International Relations in SPIRE (School of Politics, Philosophy, International Relations and Environment), Keele University, UK.    

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