The Psychoanalysis of Racism,
Revolution and Nationalism is available for purchase as a paperback or an e-book. |
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Nations are conceived as bodies. We project our own bodies into a national body. One's fragile, vulnerable self is blown up—becoming a gigantic, omnipotent body politic.
Because territory is imagined in corporeal terms (Neocleous, The Politics of Immunity), the state seeks to secure it borders—its "orifices and entry points."
Entry points must be closed—to prevent penetration. Porous boundaries need to be firmed up, sealed off—walls built to protect a vulnerable self.
One's actual, fragile body fuses with the fantasy of a of a gigantic, invulnerable body. National bodies require borders to prevent penetration; anxiety played out on a monumental scale. Walls must be built—nothing allowed to penetrate. Each and every orifice must be sealed.
It's hard to resist wanting to be a part of this body. Nobody wants to be left out. It's a family affair (I didn't have a clue before I clicked through to this song by Sly & the Family Stone--that there would be an image of an American Flag on the album cover). |
