Identities

Tinsley, Meghan

doi: 10.1080/1070289X.2021.2004739pmid: N/A

Patriotism frequently is framed as an individualised expression of affinity for a civic polity and a counterweight to ethnocultural nationalism. Yet the term is invoked by theorists and practitioners to denote a broad, often contradictory range of values. This paper argues that this is not simply semantic slippage, but a reflection of the exclusionary character of patriotism. Taking as data the full range of speeches delivered at the 2016 Democratic and Republican National Conventions, alongside 180 campaign speeches delivered by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, I conduct a critical political discourse analysis. I find that invocations of ‘patriotism’ construct an in-group of citizens who are positioned as the heirs of an authentic national tradition, and an out-group of co-citizens who are attempting to hijack the national spirit. Further, despite its global aspirations, patriotism hardens the racialised distinction between citizens and non-citizens.