On the shock of civil war: cultural trauma and national identity in Finland and Ireland

Kissane, Bill ORCID: 0000-0002-0371-7889 (2020) On the shock of civil war: cultural trauma and national identity in Finland and Ireland. Nations and Nationalism, 26 (1). 22 - 43. ISSN 1354-5078

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Abstract

What role does national identity play after civil war? Is reconstruction possible on the basis of an existing identity, or does a new identity have to be found? Much depends on whether narratives of conflict are unifying. I use the tools of cultural sociology to explain why the Finnish Civil War of 1918 has become a unifying ‘cultural trauma’ for the Finns, whereas the Irish Civil War of 1922–23 never became the dominant referent in Irish national identity. The difference is explained by the greater shock civil war posed to Finnish national identity.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14698129
Additional Information:	© 2019 The Authors
Divisions:	Government
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform J Political Science > JC Political theory
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2019 15:06
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 01:40
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/100060

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