National identities are imagined modern constructs rather than primordial bonds

Evidence

National cultures, then, are composed not only of cultural institutions, but in addition of symbols and representations. A national culture is a discourse. It is a way of constructing meanings which influences and organizes both our actions and our conceptions of our selves. National cultures construct identities by producing meanings about “the nation” with which we can identify: these are contained in the stories which are told about it, memories which connect its present with its past, and images which are constructed of it. Differences between nations lie in the different ways in which they are imagined, that is, conceived, comprehended, represented, and critically considered. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 123 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: National identity is built on manufactured ancestral myth, not primordial history. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 74; Nationalist myths date mainly to the nineteenth century and impede shared identity — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 84; National identity is not naturally experienced but requires social transmission to ordinary people — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1930 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Cultural identities are often invented traditions rather than inherited ones #corroborates (0.95)
• National identity is constructed through stories, memories, and images #corroborates (0.92) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 123