Forming new national identities: a retrospective

The ideas of national identity were formed under a modernist framework. But, increasingly, national identities exist and are recreated under new postmodern structures. These new identities stem from different dimensions of the social experience and are found at different scales. By and large, these postmodern identities reflect paradigmatic changes in human society, from political and economic changes to major technological innovations. While it is difficult to comprehend the specific circumstances in which new or dramatically altered national identities may emerge, it is essential to understand the types of contexts in which an outsider national identity, potentially upsetting the status quo, is likely to form.