Localities and the reproduction of Welsh nationalism

This paper explores Billig’s (1995) notion of banal nationalism through specific reference to issues of scale. Billig explores the importance of routine, day-to-day and mundane symbols and processes in the propagation of nationalism in the established nation states of the west and north. We argue in this paper, however, that there is room to supplement and extend his discussion of banal nationalism by focusing on the small-scale and local contexts within which nationalisms are reproduced. Drawing on evidence from focus groups conducted with students from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, we examine the relationships that exist between senses of nationalism that are locally reproduced and other, more national and global processes that help to reproduce nationalisms. We conclude by arguing for the need to explore more systematically the scales over which nationalisms are reproduced, along with the connections that occur between them.