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The key to the establishment of in-and out-groups is the assumption of internal homogeneity—or unity—of a nation, which in turn can be distinguished from other, equally distinct and united national collectivities. This unity of the nation “is constructed through the narrative of the nation by which stories, images and symbols and rituals represent ‘shared’ meanings of nationhood” (Meinhof & Galasinski, 2000, p. 325). In the narrative of the nation, there are dominant themes through which we mark our sense of self and other. These themes include concepts of national character; national culture (e.g., expressed in language, religion, diet, and fashion); a common past, present, and future; and a national corpus, which represents itself through landscape and natural artefact (see Wodak et al., 1998, pp. 61–102, for a discussion of these themes). The French, for example, are said to have a history of surrendering early and a “gay” sounding language, the English are thought of as a nation that celebrates golden memories of football and war. The narrative of the nation speaks of a united national collectivity in which all members somehow adhere to a particular cultural makeup.
Yet, counter to the idea of the homogenous and unified collectivity, some aspects of our identities may be in conflict with that of “our” nation (Woodward, 1997, p. 12). Our religion, for example, may make it difficult for us to identify with a nation that defines itself around a faith different from ours, or none at all. The debate over whether Muslim women may wear headscarves to school in France highlighted how such conflicts might erupt over the negotiation of national and religious identities. The concept of national identity and culture is, thus, “a discursive device complementary to and in competition with other forms of identity discourses” (Meinhof & Galasinski, 2000, p. 325). Socially dominant concepts of national identity often hide social differences and conflicts within a social group; and national identity itself results from a social, cultural, and political struggle over the right way of how to think about the nation. National cultures are not unified or eternally fixed, once they are established. They are in constant flux, produced and reproduced over space and time. Discursive constructions of the nation are produced by different agents and in different topic contexts.