Postnationalism or non-nationalism is the process or trend by which nation states and national identities lose their importance relative to cross-nation and self-organized or supranational and global entities as well as local entities.
At the same time, socio-political power is partially transferred from national authorities to supernational entities, such as multinational corporations, the United Nations, the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and NATO. In addition, Broadcast media and entertainment industries are becoming increasingly global and facilitate the formation of trends and opinions on a supranational scale. human migration of individuals or groups between countries contributes to the formation of postnational identities and beliefs, even though attachment to citizenship and national identities often remains important.[R. Koopmans and P. Statham; "Challenging the liberal nation-state? Postnationalism, multiculturalism, and the collective claims making of migrants and ethnic minorities in Britain and Germany"; American Journal of Sociology 105:652–96 (1999)][R.A. Hackenberg and R.R. Alvarez; "Close-ups of postnationalism: Reports from the US-Mexico borderlands"; Human Organization 60:97–104 (2001)][I. Bloemraad; "Who claims dual citizenship? The limits of postnationalism, the possibilities of transnationalism, and the persistence of traditional citizenship"; International Migration Review 38:389–426 (2004)]
Postnationalism and human rights
In the scholarly literature, postnationalism is linked to the expansion of international
human rights law and
peremptory norm. International human rights norms are reflected in a growing stress on the rights of individuals in terms of their "personhood," not just their citizenship. International human rights law does not recognize the right of entry to any state by
non-citizens, but demands that individuals should be judged increasingly on universal criteria not particularistic criteria (such as blood descent in ethnicity, or favoring a particular sex). This has impacted citizenship and immigration law, especially in
western world countries. The German parliament, for example, has felt pressure to, and has diluted (if not eradicated),
Jus sanguinis, which had caused German-born
Turkish people, for example, to be excluded from German citizenship. Scholars identified with this argument include
Yasemin Soysal, David Jacobson, and
Saskia Sassen.
[Yasemin Soysal, "Limits of Citizenship:Migrants and Postnational Membership in Europe," University of Chicago Press, 1994; and David Jacobson, "Rights Across Borders: Immigration and the Decline of Citizenship", Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996]
In the European Union
European integration has created a system of supranational entities and is often discussed in relationship to the concept of postnationalism.
[M. Rambour; (2005)][J. Shaw; "Postnational constitutionalism in the European Union"; Journal of European Policy 6:579–97 (1999)][M. Wilkinson; (2002)]
In Canada
In June 2000, Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien described Canada as a post-national state in a speech.
During the 2011 election,
John Ibbitson argued that in the fading issues of the "Laurentian Consensus" were responsible for turning Canada into the first post-national state.
In 2015, Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau, while defining
Canadian values, suggested his country could be considered the world’s first post-national state.
Writing in Macleans in 2018, Scott Gilmore felt like Canada moved past the national stage when talking about post nationalism.
In the media
Catherine Frost, professor of political science at McMaster University, argues that while the Internet and online social relations forge social and political bonds across national borders, they do not have "the commitment or cohesiveness needed to underpin a demanding new mode of social and political relations".
[C. Frost; "Internet galaxy meets postnational constellation: Prospects for political solidarity after the Internet"; Information Society 22:45–49 (2006)] Nonetheless, it has been argued the increasing options of obtaining virtual citizenship from established nations (e.g., E-Residency of Estonia) and
can be seen as examples of what citizenship might look like in a post-national world.
In sports
Postnational trends have been evident in professional sports. Simon Kuper called the 2008 European soccer championship (UEFA Euro 2008) "the first postnational" European Championship.
[Simon Kuper; "Steeds Liever"; Vrij Nederland p. 24, June 28, 2008] He argues that during the tournament both for players and fans
sportsmanship and enjoyment of the event were more important than national rivalries or even winning.
See also
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Anti-globalization movement
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Digital currency
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Global citizenship
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Identity politics
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Transnationalism
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Tribe (Internet)
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Types of nationalism
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World Wide Web
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Constitutional patriotism
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Civic nationalism
Bibliography
