Problematising Aboriginal nationalism

Abstract

The modern concept of nationalism is a highly contested phenomenon. It provokes debate at both a theoretical and an emotional level. The idea of an Aboriginal nationalism is no less complex. This article discusses a range of perspectives on Aboriginal nationalism and relates them to theoretical debates. The works of Benedict Anderson and Anthony Smith are discussed in some detail. Both these theorists regard the nation as a 'modern' construct. They posit a range of conditions and processes which have enabled different peoples to generate a sense of nationalism. These models are advanced as useful tools for the ensuing discussion of Aboriginal nationalism and whether such a phenomenon exists or has ever existed in the modern sense. Their theories are necessarily problematic when viewed from a post-modern perspective which highlights the plural nature of identity, but the very gap between the 'modem' and the 'post-modern' allows us to historicise nationalism. Thus, the period of the 1960s and 70s sees the development of a 'modern' pan-Aboriginal nationalist, movement while in more recent years writers have highlighted the diversity of Aboriginal thought.