Branding National Identity

Despite the onset of globalization, nationalism remains one of the central ideas in European history. It seems, however, that the identity of those within the nation-state increasingly has less to political and economic boundaries and more with cultural boundaries. This story illustrates some of the unique ways that various peoples are trying to maintain their national identity. Scotland is attempting to place restrictions on what can be considered a Scottish kilt. Some of the motivations behind the proposal are surely economic, and this is probably an example of a non-tariff barrier of sorts. Nevertheless, the underlying problem is the way that faux kilts reflect on the real thing and the amount of pride vested in this cultural practice. As the story says, kilts as we now think of them came into being in the 18th century, and in fact, is an "invented tradition" in its own right. Hugh Trevor-Roper contributed a chapter on the invention of the modern kilt in Hobsbawm and Ranger's edited collection "The Invention of Tradition," a book that has been influential in the way people think about constructed nationalism.