Stillborn chrysalis: reflections on the fate of national culture in neoliberal Zambia

Abstract In this article I use the analysis of a Zambian on‐line magazine to explore the problems and limits of nationalism in neoliberal times. The magazine, Chrysalis, was a bold attempt by a group of young, educated, cosmopolitan elites to craft a new Zambian nationalism for the information age. The discussions that unfolded in the magazine illustrate some of the difficulties in creating national culture and nationalist discourses of legitimation under conditions of neoliberalism.