Reclaiming Patriotism

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Reclaiming Patriotism: Nation-Building for Australian Progressives is a 2009 book by Tim Soutphommasane published by Cambridge University Press. It's the lead title of the Australian Encounters series [1] which argues that the Australian left have misunderstood patriotism and should embrace it in order to re-engage with political discourse and ordinary Australians.

Contents

Content

Introduction

In the introduction to his book, Soutphommasane argues that patriotism is important and relevant to the modern era for three reasons. The first is the challenge of solidarity, which refers to the need for Australian people to have a common unifying identity in an era of multiculturalism and diversity. Secondly, Soutphommasane says that progressives must avoid intellectual complacency about national discourses and instead engage in such conversations in order to explain how Australia is today and to challenge the Australian right's dominance in this area. Thirdly is the importance for the left of articulating a positive cultural vision of their own in order to become more influential and persuasive advocates of their cause.

Chapter 1 – The dog whistle excuse

The first chapter deals with how progressives in Australia have come to interpret all appeals to nationalism and Australianness as merely being ‘dog whistles’ to racist Australians who pick up the prejudiced undertones of such messages. According to Soutphommasane, Australian leftists are wrong to think this way because the majority of Australians love Australia, and patriotism need not be racist or based on exclusion. Soutphommasane also says that such effortless dismissals of patriotic sentiments hinder the left's ability to understand and connect with the broader Australian population.

Chapter 2 - Liberal patriotism and an Australian tradition

Chapter 2 explores whether left liberal values of universalism and compassion for all human beings are compatible with patriotism, which feels a higher level of connection with people of the same country. Soutphommasane argues that the left side of politics in Australia used to be patriotic, but that this declined in the 1960s and has given way to a suspicion of nationalistic feelings. The author concludes that there no necessary contradiction. Soutphommasane writes that "A distinctive brand of egalitarianism, a robust democracy supported by an Anzac myth – these are the foundations of an Australian patriotism". He also argues that progressive criticisms of Australia and its history are compatible with patriotism as a more sophisticated love of one's country involves acknowledging its faults as well as celebrating its virtues.

Chapter 3 - Citizenship and multiculturalism

This chapter firstly deals with how the Anzac tradition can be shared by new Australians, whose ancestors were neither Anzacs not Australians. According to Soutphommasane (who is himself of Chinese and Laotian extraction), "while I am unable to claim direct lineage back to Anzac, the whole legend can still resonate for me because I can relate to the mateship and the egalitarianism".

Issues concerning the White Australia Policy and multiculturalism are then explored. Soutphommasane advocates a ‘liberal middle ground on diversity’ which values expressions of cultural identity insofar as they contribute to individual autonomy or social cohesion.

The rest of the chapter questions whether dual citizenship should be permissible, given that it would make some citizens out of convenience, rather than love of country.

Chapter 4 - Australian progressives and nation-building

This chapter deals with the concept of nation building, which Soutphommasane laments has become synonymous with infrastructure in political discourse. Nevertheless, Soutphommasane praises Kevin Rudd's use of the term and outlines how progressive politics involves a more activist government which builds bridges, roads, rails, high speed broadband and other public works. But to Soutphommasane, the concept of nation building extends beyond just infrastructure and also involves civics and solidarity within a nation. An applied patriotism is also required.

Chapter 5 - Republican renewal

This chapter deals with the debate of whether or not Australia should move from a monarchy to a republic. According to Soutphommasane, it is regrettable that both sides of the debate view the issue as being purely symbolic. Soutphommasane writes that:

A republic denotes a political community rooted in the popular will of citizens and conducted for the common good; it denotes a society in which people govern themselves, through elected representatives, and on the basis that every member of society is of equal standing. A monarchy, in its most literal sense, means 'the rule of one'. Those who belong to a community governed by a monarch are not citizens, but are subjects of a monarch who attains office by virtue of birthright. The connection between a republic and patriotism should be clear. Monarchical government is in a basic sense antithetical to patriotic citizenship.

Chapter 6 - Reclaiming patriotism

The final chapter is a part summary part conclusion for the entire book. Soutphommasane observes that patriotism has increased in Australia in recent years, as events such as Australia Day in Sydney demonstrate. Soutphommasane argues that whilst patriotism has its dangers, "it is no different to other forms of loyalty or love". He opines that patriotism is necessary for a thriving nation, as serves to form bonds between people which promote progress, direction and collective self-improvement. Soutphommasane writes that:

People should be able to express national pride without being racist, while at the same time being able to criticise parts of the national story without being labelled un-Australian.

The book concludes with a restating of the need for progressives to re-think patriotism as an instrument of progress.

Reviews

The book received high praise from Bob Carr, the Australian Literary Review, The Australian, [2] the Sydney Morning Herald [3] and The Age. However, Crikey! writer Guy Rundle described Reclaiming Patriotism as a "strange book" which reveals an "obsession with social control " and a desire to "legislate against the complex network of chauvinism and cultural privilege that makes up much of patriotism". Writes Rundle:

Soutphommasane has his own complex history, which suggests various reason why such a curiously contentless and lifeless alternative to real countrylove and social solidarity might appeal to him — the aspiring dreamer amid the dreaming spires of Oxford has simply reprised the act of Petrach and the first nationalists — the Renaissance thinkers who invented nationalism from their student clubs ("the nations") and then projected them back onto the regions they came from. [4]

Mark Bahnisch, agreeing with Rundle, made the following comment on his blog Larvatus Prodeo:

it doesn’t represent a viable political strategy for the left, for a whole range of reasons, including the basic failure whereby a project which transforms the social and the cultural cannot be substituted for by a fairly empty civics. [5]

Awards

This book has not received any awards but had been nominated.

Shortlisted for the Community Relations Award in NSW Premier's Literary Awards in 2010.

Longlisted John Button Prize 2010. [6]

Related Research Articles

Political correctness is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. Since the late 1980s, the term has been used to describe a preference for inclusive language and avoidance of language or behavior that can be seen as excluding, marginalizing, or insulting to groups of people disadvantaged or discriminated against, particularly groups defined by ethnicity, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. In public discourse and the media, the term is generally used as a pejorative with an implication that these policies are excessive or unwarranted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriotism</span> Love and attachment to ones country

Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects. It encompasses a set of concepts closely related to nationalism, mostly civic nationalism and sometimes cultural nationalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romantic nationalism</span> Type of nationalism

Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes such factors as language, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, and customs of the nation in its primal sense of those who were born within its culture. It can be applied to ethnic nationalism as well as civic nationalism. Romantic nationalism arose in reaction to dynastic or imperial hegemony, which assessed the legitimacy of the state from the top down, emanating from a monarch or other authority, which justified its existence. Such downward-radiating power might ultimately derive from a god or gods (see the divine right of kings and the Mandate of Heaven).

A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal values.

Civil religion, also referred to as a civic religion, is the implicit religious values of a nation, as expressed through public rituals, symbols, and ceremonies on sacred days and at sacred places. It is distinct from churches, although church officials and ceremonies are sometimes incorporated into the practice of civil religion. Countries described as having a civil religion include France, the former Soviet Union, and the United States. As a concept, it originated in French political thought and became a major topic for U.S. sociologists since its use by Robert Bellah in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia First Party</span> Political party in Australia

The Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, often shortened to the Australia First Party (AFP), is an Australian far-right political party founded in 1996 by Graeme Campbell. The policies of Australia First have been described as ultranationalist, anti-multicultural and economically protectionist. The party's logo includes the Southern Cross of the Eureka Flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anzac spirit</span>

The Anzac spirit or Anzac legend is a concept which suggests that Australian and New Zealand soldiers possess shared characteristics, specifically the qualities those soldiers allegedly exemplified on the battlefields of World War I. These perceived qualities include endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, larrikinism, and mateship. According to this concept, the soldiers are perceived to have been innocent and fit, stoical and laconic, irreverent in the face of authority, naturally egalitarian and disdainful of British class differences.

In politics, a dog whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition. The concept is named after ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs but not humans. Dog whistles use language that appears normal to the majority but communicates specific things to intended audiences. They are generally used to convey messages on issues likely to provoke controversy without attracting negative attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National-anarchism</span> Radical right-wing nationalist ideology

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional patriotism</span> Concept of citizenship

Constitutional patriotism is the idea that people should form a political attachment to the norms and values of a pluralistic liberal democratic constitution rather than to a national culture or cosmopolitan society. It is associated with post-nationalist identity because, while it is seen as a similar concept to nationalism, the attachment is based on the constitution rather than on a national culture. In essence, it is an attempt to re-conceptualize group identity with a focus on the interpretation of citizenship as a loyalty that goes beyond individuals' ethnocultural identification. Theorists believe this to be more defensible than other forms of shared commitment in a diverse modern state with multiple languages and group identities. It is particularly relevant in post-national democratic states in which multiple cultural and ethnic groups coexist. It was influential in the development of the European Union and a key to Europeanism as a basis for multiple countries belonging to a supranational union.

Neo-Zionism is a right-wing, nationalistic and religious ideology that appeared in Israel following the Six-Day War in 1967 and the capture of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Neo-Zionists consider these lands part of Israel and advocate their settlement by Israeli Jews. Some advocate the transfer of Arabs not only from these areas but also from within the Green Line.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Soutphommasane</span> Australian columnist

Thinethavone "Tim" Soutphommasane is an Australian academic, social commentator and former public servant. He was Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission from 2013 to 2018. He has previously been a political staffer for Bob Carr, a columnist with The Age and The Australian newspapers, a lecturer at Sydney and Monash Universities, and a research fellow with the Per Capita think tank. He is a member of the board of the National Australia Day Council, and an ex officio member of the Council for Multicultural Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Civics Bureau</span> Former Malaysian government agency

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Labour</span> Pressure group advocating small-c conservatism in the UK Labour Party

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<i>The Narrative of John Smith</i>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proletarian internationalism</span> Marxist social class concept

Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that capitalism is a world-system and therefore the working classes of all nations must act in concert if they are to replace it with communism.

Homonationalism is often seen as the favorable association between a nationalist ideology and LGBT people or their rights, but is further described as a systematic oppression of queer, racialized, and sexualized groups in an attempt to support neoliberal structures and ideals. The term was originally proposed by the researcher in gender studies Jasbir K. Puar in 2007 to refer to the processes by which neoliberal and capitalist power structures line up with the claims of the LGBT community in order to justify racist, xenophobic and aporophobic positions, especially against Muslims, basing them on prejudices that immigrants are homophobic and that Western society is egalitarian. Thus, sexual diversity and LGBT rights are used to sustain political stances against immigration, becoming increasingly common among far-right parties. In Terrorist Assemblages, Puar describes homonationalism as a "form of sexual exceptionalism [dependent on the] segregation and disqualification of racial and sexual others" from the dominant image of a particular society, most often discussed within an American framework.

References

  1. "Book: Reclaiming Patriotism - Tim Soutphommasane". www.soutphommasane.com.au. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  2. David Burchell (17 October 2009). "Fresh refuge for patriots". The Australian.
  3. James Robertson (31 October 2009). "Give the patriot a fair go, too". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 31.
  4. Guy Rundle (20 November 2009). "Friday book review: Reclaiming Patriotism".
  5. Mark Bahnisch (20 November 2009). "On Movember, Tim Soutphommasane and civics". Larvatus Prodeo. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  6. "Book: Reclaiming Patriotism - Tim Soutphommasane". www.soutphommasane.com.au. Retrieved 2019-04-23.