Nation and patria in the emerging world order

The article proposes that we rethink our time-honoured conceptions of nation. The idea of nation as it emerged through the conceptual changes of the term nation is scrutinised. Secondly, a discussion on political and cultural nationalism is introduced, drawing mainly on the European background. It is argued that although routes to the formation of nations as well as nation-states have been different, ideologies of nations are essentially the same. The conceptual roots of the idea of patria are looked at in the following section, helping to explain how the nation became the ultimate object of political identity and loyalty. Finally, based on the findings of previous sections, it is predicted that in the envisaged European supranational state, the idea of nation will eventually regain its cultural significance in 'unity' with the idea of patria entering an era of de-nationalisation.