Departmental Monthly Seminar Series, March 2019 Edition

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Departmental Monthly Seminar Series

March, 2019 Edition

Topic: Patriotism in Turbulent and Settled Times

Date: 27th March, 2019

Venue: Kofi Drah Conference Room (Department of Political Science

Speaker: Dr Kofi Takyi Asante (Research Fellow, ISSER, University of Ghana)

Chairman: Dr Lloyd Amoah (Director, Centre for Asian Studies, UG

Abstract

Patriotism fosters national cohesion. In turbulent times, such as during social revolutions, wars of liberations, or national catastrophes, patriotic sentiments are interwoven into narratives of violence and self-sacrifice for a nationalistic cause. In settled times, patriotism is channelled towards the task of state-building and anchored on the moral imperative of preserving a heritage won by sacrifice. Therefore, violent contentions and self-sacrifice are central to narratives of partriotism in both turbulent and settled times. To build my argument, I review theories of society and authority from scholars such as Max, Weber, David Apter, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Claude Ake; highlighting aspects of social formations and structures of power which predispose individuals to self-sacrifice for group causes. This argument is illustrated by drawing on theories of state formation in the west and in former colonies. I propose the notion of politically useful deaths to highlight a variety of functions which patriotic sentiments play in settled times. This proposition is explicated by the following claims: politically useful deaths:1) (re)orient citizens’ imaginations towards the state, acting as a reminder of its existence, 2) serve as a social glue which creates, nurtures, or reinforce the bond among citizens, and 3) provide a vent for politically salient sentiments. Self-sacrifice is a civic aspiration which relevant institutions attempt to inculcate in individuals through political socialization.