Ziyadah, Radwan. “The Crisis of Identity: Between Nationalist Policies and the Transformation of the Role of the State,” Year 10, Issue 40 (Spring 1426 AH/ 2005 CE), Pp. 183-205.

Abstract

Radwan Ziyadah’s article addresses the meaning of “identity” and whether it should be understood independently or within a broader discourse on identity. It examines the relationship of identity with globalization and culture, and the implications of this new concept of identity on the political domain. It also tackles the notion of “imagined identity,” to establish that national identity is an imagined concept; because members of the smallest of nationalist groupings do not all know each other, and do not meet or hear about each member of the group. The article holds that despite this reality, the idea of their grouping and unity is alive in the consciousness of each one of them.