National Identity in the Context of Globalization: A Structural Perspective

In this era of “liquid modernity,” China faces the dual pressures of external globalization and internal social transformation. Within these dual space-time coordinates, academic research should address the question of what makes national identity possible by moving away from its fixation on macro-narratives and concrete micro-analysis of civic or ethnic identity, etc., to focus on meso-analysis. To do this, it is important to allay individuals’ ontological anxiety so that they return to ontological security; to realize the production and reproduction of a national centripetal force; and to highlight the functional power of national identity. Both theoretical studies and real-world experience show that national identity cannot play a stable and coherent role on its own, but needs the structural support of three fundamental systems: economic incentives, political values, and institutional organization. The functional cohesion of these systems provides an effective path to the realization of national identity.