Hierarchies of Belonging

Nationalist movements in Scotland and Quebec are enjoying a resurgence.Hierarchies of Belongingexplores the construction of national identity and nationalism and its effect on how citizens of Scotland and Quebec understand their relationship to the nation and the state. Ailsa Henderson analyses each nation's linguistic, racial, cultural, economic, and political diversity within a historical and contemporary context. Challenging the assumption that nationalism in Scotland can be characterized as "civic" in contrast to an "ethnic" model in Quebec, Henderson adopts a more complex model of national identity that distinguishes between nationalistic rhetoric, which is invariably civic in form, and public understandings of belonging, which tend to rely on ethnic markers. InHierarchies of Belongingshe demonstrates that nationalist rhetoric and a sense of belonging affect how citizens feel about the state, the nation, and each other.

Ailsa Henderson is assistant professor, political science, University of Toronto.