Formal and informal nationalism

Abstract

Abstract This article argues that nationalism is an essentially dual phenomenon with its crucial loci in the formal organization of the state on the one hand, and in civil society on the other. Formal nationalism is connected with the demands of the modern nation‐state, including bureaucratic organization and meritocratic ideology, cultural uniformity and political consensus among the inhabitants. Informal nationalism is identified in collective events, such as ritual celebrations and international sports competitions, taking place in civil society. Both these aspects of nationalism have been discussed in the recent literature, but it has not been common to distinguish between them. It is argued here that the two nationalisms are not reducible to each other; both are equally 'authentic', but they can be contradictory. Although the discussion is intended to have general relevance for theories of nationalism, it draws its empirical material from nationalist ideologies in two recently invented, poly‐ethnic nations, the twin‐island state of Trinidad and Tobago, and Mauritius.