The Concept Of Nationalism In Belize

Within the young borders of Belize reside approximately 11 ethnic groups (Shoman, 1994), each with its own varying cultural identity. This variance makes Belize an interesting case in the context of nationalism. Nationalism is centered upon a core of common values that are communicated to the rest of the world through national symbols, traditions, and holidays. The questions of what common values, if any, do Belizeans have and if the national symbols are communicating those values are what drive this paper. Nationalism in a developing country will also be addressed in examining the need for national unity for sustainable development. The information in this paper has been acquired from both academic sources and interviews with Belizeans over the course of 3 weeks. The interviews provided a broad and simplified idea as to what Belizeans think their national identity is. Through these, it was found that Belizeans consider local community, diversity, and hard work to be important to the Belizean national identity. Upon examination of a few of the national holidays and symbols it was found that the symbols that represent Belize do not support these values well, yet …show more content…
Nationality is the legal relationship between an individual and the state in which they live. Nationality gives concrete basis to an otherwise fluid idea of identity. In this paper, the focus will be primarily on the idea of national identity as opposed to legal ties. Nationalism provides insights to many fields of study. Understanding the role of national identity in civics, modernization, political and social history, and economics (Hass, 1986) may add an entirely new understanding of people’s motivations and how those connect back to a nation. Insight about the role of national identity in nation building and development will add to work concerning both developing nations and developed