National Identities and Their Policy

National identity is a concept that has been established and analyzed in different disciplines and it seems to have relevance in many fields of research. This essay explains how the national identities present themselves, how do they shape policy and the onset of conflict and gives solutions to the issue.

National identity concept

Identity is the attributes that makes one unique and different from others. National identity is a collective identity that is determined by territorial, cultural, religious, and social and linguistics. The basic features of national identity include the historic territory, common myths common public culture, common legal rights, common economy and duties of the citizens. National identity is always developed in conjunction with the historical advancements and it is used as a better way of differentiating the different cultures (Smith D. 1993)   

Different cultures and nations possess different features which depict their uniqueness. The global awareness of nationality, culture and ethnicity increase the possibility of conflict and needs the capability of the decision makers to focus on the relevant similarities and differences between cultures and nations with the objective of ensuring a certain advantage in such an environment. The disputes arise between the diasporic elements and homeland authorities over the definition of the people over the emphasis in the national narrative on some historical and modern conflicts. Logistical difficulties with data collection are a hindrance to the effective investigation concerning the national identity in many countries. The framework of national identity does not completely capture all the relevant information related to any given national identity.  This argument is linked with the question of the international comparability of the national identity dimensions (Telhami S and Barnet N. 2002)

In evaluating the nations, the focus should be based on the international operations across the wide cultural range and not being specific to shortcomings of one specific culture.