National Identity and Otherness

'National Identity and Otherness' focuses on the ways in which lay social actors talk about national identity and migration. The particular case studied is Greek speakers' talk about immigration from the Balkans since the 1990s. Migration is relevant to identity construction as it is treated as movement across national space, provoking discourses on integration and identification. The author employs a discursive approach to the understanding of identity, which pays attention to the content, context and function of constructions and their identity implications for speakers. The talk articulated in focus groups sessions is characterized by variation as regards constructions of national identity and otherness, by flexibility in the use of resources in this process and by a concern with accountability. The research shows that lay actors' talk about national identity and migration is realised into the context of Western nationalism ideology as articulated in the perspectives of banal and methodological nationalism. National identity negotiations with reference to migration also indicate an interaction between lay, intellectual and policy discourse.