Territoriality and Political Identity in Europe

Abstract

An examination of the secessionist claims of Italy's Northern League focuses on three "new rules" of political-identity formation: the self-conscious invention of political units; the flexibility of identities; & the multiplicity of identities. It is argued that these rules proffer the "mutual contingency of different territorial scales in the crafting of political, including national, identities." Myths about & assumptions underlying conventional views of the relationship between territory & political identity are challenged. The Northern League, led by Umberto Rossi, founded the miniscule nation-state of Padania, which lies within the Lombardy & Veneto regions of northern Italy. Although the League has a positive attitude toward Europe in general, it looks unfavorably upon other Italians, especially those from the south. The League illustrates that the link between territoriality & political identity is far more historically contingent, & involves many different processes of identity formation, than assumed by conventional accounts. The need for more complex understandings of territoriality is emphasized. 1 Table. J. Lindroth