Citation

Ipperciel D. Nations Nationalism 2007; 13(3): 395-416.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1469-8129.2007.00293.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article seeks to bring to the fore the intrinsic link between constitutional democracy and the civic nation, relying on Jürgen Habermas's theory of democracy. This theoretical framework will serve as the basis for a communicative understanding of civic nationalism, underscoring the notable role played by language. Attention will be given to the normative dimension that allows for the legitimisation of national divisions of a civic space bound by universal rights. The prime motivation behind this article is thus political-philosophical, although empirical examples, drawn particularly from the French revolutionary discourse, will be brought to bear. And since a civic nation construed in communicative terms has necessary linguistic implications, cases of multilingual and multinational states will be examined.