Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T05:30:22.590Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Embodying the nation: football,1 emotions and the construction of collective identity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Sven Ismer
Sven Ismer*
Affiliation:
Cluster of Excellence ‘Languages of Emotion,’ Institute of Sociology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
*
*Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The article intends to combine contemporary debates about nations and nationalism with a sociological perspective on collective emotions in its attempt to gain a better understanding of the process of constructing national identity. It will further present interdisciplinary evidence that collective emotions evoked in rituals instigate a number of group-related sociocognitive processes that reinforce enduring feelings of belonging and an emotional priming of collective representations. I will suggest that states of “collective effervescence” (Durkheim) do not only tie individuals to a community, but also provide a strong frame for the creation of symbols and the embodiment of shared meanings defining a community. The second part of the article analyzes examples taken from the football media coverage of the FIFA World Cups 2006 and 1974 (both were held in Germany) in order to provide a comparative case study exemplifying the proposed theoretical approach. The sample illuminates some interesting changes that invite further hypotheses about corresponding changes of national identity in a larger context.

Keywords

nationalismemotionfootball media coveragecollective emotions
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 39 , Issue 4 , July 2011 , pp. 547 - 565
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alkemeyer, Thomas. Körper, Kult und Politik: Von der “Muskelreligion” Pierre de Coubertins zur Inszenierung von Macht in den Olympischen Spielen von 1936. Frankfurt am Main: Campus, 1996. Print.Google Scholar
Anderson, Benedict R. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, 1991. Print.Google Scholar
Becker, Julia, Wagner, Ulrich, and Christ, Oliver. “Nationalismus und Patriotismus als Ursache von Fremdenfeindlichkeit.” Deutsche Zustände. Ed. Heitmeyer, Wilhelm. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2007: 131–49. Print.Google Scholar
(Bild am Sonntag)., BamS Viertelfinale 2006 Deutschland – Argentinien 5:3 N.E. Die Fuβball-WM Klassikersammlung. Deutsche Triumphe, deutsche Tragödien. De Agostini, 2006. DVD.Google Scholar
Billig, Michael. Banal Nationalism. London: Sage, 1995. Print.Google Scholar
Blain, Neil, Boyle, Raymond, and O'Donnell, Hugh. Sport and National Identity in the European Media. Leicester: Leicester UP, 1993. Print.Google Scholar
Blank, Thomas, and Schmidt, Peter. “National Identity in a United Germany: Nationalism or Patriotism? An Empirical Test with Representative Data.” Political Psychology 24 (2003): 289–312. Print.Google Scholar
Blank, Thomas, and Schmidt, Peter. ‘The Interpretation of Pictures and the Documentary Method.” Qualitative Analysis and Documentary Method. Eds. Bohnsack, Ralf, Pfaff, Nicolle, and Weller, Wivian. Opladen: Barbara Budrich, 2010: 267–93. Print.Google Scholar
Bohnsack, Ralf. Qualitative Bild- und Videointerpretation. Opladen: Barbara Budrich, 2009. Print.Google Scholar
Bornmann, Elirea. “National Symbols and Nation-Building in the Post-Apartheid South Africa.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 30.3 (2006): 383–99. Print.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, Pierre. Entwurf einer Theorie der Praxis. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1979. Print.Google Scholar
Bower, Gordon H. “Mood Congruity of Social Judgments.” Emotion and Social Judgments. Ed. Forgas, Joseph P. Oxford: Pergamon, 1991: 31–54. Print.Google Scholar
Boyle, Raymond, and Haynes, Richard. Sport, the Media and Popular Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2009. Print.Google Scholar
Brinkmann, Tomas. “Sport und Medien – Die Auflösung einer ursprünglichen Interessengemeinschaft.” Media Perspektiven 11 (2000): 491–98. Print.Google Scholar
Bromberger, Christian. “Fuβball als Weltsicht und als Ritual.” Ritualtheorien. Ein Einführendes Handbuch. Eds. Belliger, Andréa, and Krieger, David. Opladen: Westdeutscher, 1998: 285–301. Print.Google Scholar
Brubaker, Rogers. “Ethnicity, Race, and Nationalism.” Annual Review of Sociology 35 (2009): 21–42. Print.Google Scholar
BuaNews. “Counting the World Cup Benefits.” 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011 <http://www.southafrica.info/2010/benefits-020710.htm>..>Google Scholar
Calhoun, Craig J. Nationalism. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1997. Print.Google Scholar
Castells, Manuel. The Power of Identity. The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture. Vol. 2. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997. Print.Google Scholar
Cialdini, R. B. “Descriptive Social Norms as Underappreciated Sources of Social Control.” Psychometrika 72.2 (2007): 263–68. Print.Google Scholar
Clore, Gerald L., Schwarz, Norbert, and Conway, Michael. “Affective Causes and Consequences of Social Information Processing.” Handbook of Social Cognition Eds. Wyer, Robert S., and Srull, Thomas K. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1994. Print.Google Scholar
Couldry, Nick. Media Rituals: A Critical Approach. London: Routledge, 2003. Print.Google Scholar
Crolley, Liz, and Hand, David. Football and European Identities. London: Routledge, 2006. Print.Google Scholar
Crolley, Liz, and Hand, David. Football, Europe and the Press. London: Frank Cass, 2002. Print.Google Scholar
Dauncey, Hugh, and Hare, Geoff. “World Cup France ‘98. Metaphors, Meaning and Values.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 35.3 (2000): 331–47. Print.Google Scholar
Dayan, Daniel, and Katz, Elihu. Media Events. The Live Broadcasting of History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1992. Print.Google Scholar
De Rivera, Joseph H. “Emotional Climate: Social Structure and Emotional Dynamics.” International Review of Studies on Emotion. Ed. Strongman, Kenneth T. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992: 197–218. Print.Google Scholar
Dekker, Henk, Malova, Darina, and Hoogendoorn, Sander. “Nationalism and its Explanations.” Political Psychology 24 (2003): 345–76. Print.Google Scholar
Durkheim, Emile. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.Google Scholar
Eason, Kevin. “South Africa Keen to Discover Their World Cup Identity.” Times Online, 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.Google Scholar
Eisenberg, Christiane. “Deutschland (Zur Kultur- und Sozialgeschichte des Fuβballsports).” Fuβball, Soccer, Calcio. Ein englischer Sport auf seinem Weg um die Welt. Ed. Eisenberg, Christiane. München: DTV, 1997: 94–129. Print.Google Scholar
Ekman, Paul. “Universals and Cultural Differences in Facial Expressions of Emotion.” Nebraska Symposium of Motivation. Ed. James K Cole. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1972: 207–83. Print.Google Scholar
Ekman, Paul, and Friesen, Wallace F. “The Repertoire of Nonverbal Behaviour: Categories, Origin, Usage and Coding.” Semiotica 1.1 (1969): 49–98. Print.Google Scholar
Forgas, Joseph P. “Feeling Is Believing? The Role of Processing Strategies in Mediating Affective Influences on Beliefs.” Emotions and Beliefs. Eds. Frijda, Nico H., Manstead, Anthony S.R., and Bern, Sacha. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000: 108–43. Print.Google Scholar
Gebauer, Gunter. “Fernseh- und Stadionfuβball als religiöses Phänomen. Idole, Heilige und Ikonen am' Himmeĺ von Fangemeinden.” Fuβball als Kulturphänomen. Kunst - Kultur - Kommerz. Ed. Herzog, Markwart. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2002: 305–14. Print.Google Scholar
Gebauer, Gunter. “Fuβball: Nationale Repräsentation durch Körperinszenierungen.” Sport in der Gesellschaft des Spektakels. Ed. Gebauer, Gunter. Sankt Augustin: Akademia, 2002. Print.Google Scholar
Gerhards, Jürgen. Soziologie Der Emotionen. Fragestellungen, Systematik Und Perspektiven. Weinheim: Juventa, 1988. Print.Google Scholar
Goig, Ramón Llopis. “Identity, Nation-State and Football in Spain. The Evolution of Nationalist Feelings in Spanish Football.” Soccer & Society 9 (2008): 56–63. Print.Google Scholar
Guibernau, Montserrat. “Anthony D. Smith on Nations and National Identity: A Critical Assessment.” Nations and Nationalism 10.1-2 (2004): 125–41. Print.Google Scholar
Hawkey, Kim. “Südafrika nach der WM. durch Fuβball vereint.” ZEIT ONLINE, 13 July 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.Google Scholar
Hay, Roy, and Joel, Tony. “Football's World Cup and its Fans – Reflections on National Styles: A Photo Essay on Germany 2006.” Soccer and Society 8 (2007): 1–32. Print.Google Scholar
Hearn, Jonathan. “National Identity: Banal, Personal and Embedded.” Nations & Nationalism 13.4 (2007): 657–74. Print.Google Scholar
Hebeker, Ernst. Fröhlicher Patriotismus? Eine Wm-Nachlese. München: Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung, 2007. Print.Google Scholar
Hermanns, Stefan. “Zum Ersten Mal Stand Das Land Zusammen.” Tagesspiegel Online. 8 June 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.Google Scholar
Hobsbawm, Eric J. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print.Google Scholar
Hochschild, Arlie R. “Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social-Structure.” American Journal of Sociology 85.3 (1979): 551–75. Print.Google Scholar
Horky, Thomas. “Emotion, Spannung und Anschlusskommunikation – Zur Unterhaltungsfunktion der Sportjournalistik aus systemtheoretischer Perspektive.” Die Fuβballweltmeisterschaft als Kommunikationsthema. Ed. Horky, Thomas. Norderstedt: Print on Demand, 2003. Print.Google Scholar
Horne, John D., and Manzenreiter, Wolfram. “Accounting for Mega-Events. Forecast and Actual Impacts of the 2002 Football World Cup Finals on the Host Countries Japan/Korea.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 39.2 (2004): 187–203. Print.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, John. “Nations and Culture.” Understanding Nationalism. Eds. Guibernau i Berdún, Maria M., Guibernau, Montserrat, and Hutchinson, John. Cambridge: Polity, 2001: 74–96. Print.Google Scholar
Ismer, Arne. “'Pokal des Friedens’ oder kommerzielles Medienereignis? Die Fuβballweltmeisterschaft 1974 im Kontext westdeutscher Selbstdarstellung.” Master's Thesis. Universität zu Köln, 2007. Print.Google Scholar
Ismer, Sven. “Nationalism and the Janus Face of Football.” Nationalities Blog: Nationalities Papers, 11 July 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.Google Scholar
Ismer, Sven. “The Staging and (Re-)Construction of Collective, Nation-State-Related Emotions in the Media Coverage of World Cup Soccer Matches.” Local Sport in Europe. Eds. Jütting, Dieter H., Schulze, Bernd, and Ulrike, Müller. Münster: Waxmann, 2008: 180–89. Print.Google Scholar
Jarren, Ottfried. “Gesellschaftliche Integration durch Medien? Zur Begründung normativer Anforderungen an Medien.” Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft 48 (2000): 22–41. Print.Google Scholar
Joas, Hans. Die Entstehung der Werte. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1997. Print.Google Scholar
Kersting, Norbert. “Sport and National Identity: A Comparison of the 2006 and 2010 Fifa World CupsTM.” Politicon – South African Journal of Political Studies 34.3 (2007): 277–93. Print.Google Scholar
King, Anthony. The European Ritual: Football and the New Europe. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003. Print.Google Scholar
Lardellier, Pascal. “Ritual Media. Historical Perspectives and Social Functions.” Media Anthropology. Eds. Rothenbuhler, Eric, and Mihai, Coman. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005: 70–78. Print.Google Scholar
Lewis, Michael. Shame: The Exposed Self. New York: Free, 1992. Print.Google Scholar
Ludwig, Andrea. Sport als Unterhaltung. Mediensport im TV. Norderstedt: Grin, 2008. Print.Google Scholar
MacAloon, John J. This Great Symbol. Pierre De Coubertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1981. Print.Google Scholar
MacAloon, John J. Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle. Rehearsals toward a Theory of Cultural Performance. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues, 1984. Print.Google Scholar
Marievoet, Salomé. “Sports Mega-Events, Power, Spectacle and the City.” Sociological Review 54.2 (2006): 125–43. Print.Google Scholar
McCarthy, E. Doyle. “Emotional Performances as Dramas of Authenticity.” Authenticity in Culture, Self, and Society. Eds. Vannini, Phillip, and Patrick Williams, J. Farnham: Ashgate, 2009: 241–56. Print.Google Scholar
Merkel, Udo. “The 1974 and 2006 World Cups in Germany: Commonalities, Continuities and Changes.” Soccer and Society 7 (2006): 14–28. Print.Google Scholar
Münch, Richard. Globale Dynamik, lokale Lebenswelten: Der schwierige Weg in die Weltgesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1998. Print.Google Scholar
NDR. Der Triumph von München. Die Fuβballweltmeisterschaft 1974. Norddeutscher Rundfunk, 2004. 2DVD.Google Scholar
Olaveson, Tim. “Collective Effervescence and Communitas: Processual Models of Ritual and Society in Emile Durkheim and Victor Turner.” Dialectical Anthropology 26 (2001): 89–124. Print.Google Scholar
Oswald, Rudolf. “Das ‘Wunder von Bern’ und die deutsche Fuβball-Volksgemeinschaft 1954.” Auswärtige Repräsentationen. Deutsche Kulturdiplomatie nach 1945. Ed. Johannes Paulmann. Köln: Böhlau, 2005: 87–103. Print.Google Scholar
Özkirimli, Umut. Contemporary Debates on Nationalism. A Critical Engagement. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print.Google Scholar
Pornschlegel, Clemens. “Wie kommt die Nation an den Ball? Bemerkungen zur identifikatorischen Funktion des Fuβballs.” Warum Fuβball? Kulturwissenschaftliche Beschreibungen eines Sports. Ed. Martinez, Matias. Bielefeld: AISTHESIS, 2002: 103–12. Print.Google Scholar
Prosser, Michael. “'Fuβballverzückung'beim Stadionbesuch. Zum rituell festiven Charakter von Fuβballveranstaltungen in Deutschland.” Fuβball als Kulturphänomen. Kunst -Kultur- Kommerz. Ed. Herzog, Markwart. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2002: 269–92. Print.Google Scholar
Riedl, Lars. Spitzensport und Publikum. Überlegungen zu einer Theorie der Publikumsbildung. Schondorf: Hofmann, 2006. Print.Google Scholar
Röttger-Rössler, Birgitt, and Markowitsch, Hans. “Introduction.” Emotions as Bio-Cultural Processes. Eds. Röttger-Rössler, Birgitt, and Markowitsch, Hans. New York: Springer, 2009. Print.Google Scholar
Ruchatz, Jens. “Du bist Deutschland und die Popularität des Stars. Muster für Inklusion und Individualisierung.” Das Populäre der Gesellschaft Systemtheorie und Populärkultur. Eds. Huck, Christian, and Zorn, Carsten. Wiesbaden: VS, 2007: 168–94. Print.Google Scholar
Salmela, Mikko, and Mayer, Verena E. “Introduction.” Emotions, Ethics, and Authenticity. Eds. Salmela, Mikko, and Mayer, Verena E. Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins, 2009. Print.Google Scholar
Schediwy, Dagmar. Sommermärchen im Blätterwald. Die Fuβball-WM 2006 im Spiegel der Presse. Marburg: Tectum, 2008. Print.Google Scholar
Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich, and Dahlkamp, Hubert. Die Geschichte der Fuβballweltmeisterschaft 1930-2006. Göttingen: Werkstatt, 2002. Print.Google Scholar
Schwier, Jürgen. “Globaler Fuβball und nationale Identität.” Spectrum 18 (2006): 40–53. Print.Google Scholar
Smith, Anthony D. The Ethnic Origin of Nations. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1986. Print.Google Scholar
Speth, Rudolph. “Nation und Emotion. Von der vorgestellten zur emotional erfahrenen Gemeinschaft.” Masse – Macht – Emotionen. Zu einer politischen Soziologie der Emotionen. Eds. Klein, Ansgar and Nullmeier, Frank. Opladen: Westdeutscher, 1999: 287–307. Print.Google Scholar
Tomlinson, Alan, and Young, Christopher, eds. National Identity and Global Sport Events. Culture, Politics, and Spectacle in the Olympics and the Football World Cup. Albany: State U of New York P, 2006. Print.Google Scholar
Turner, Victor. Das Ritual. Struktur und Anti-Struktur. Frankfurt am Main: Campus, 1969. Print.Google Scholar
Turner, Victor. The Forest of Symbols. Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1967.Google Scholar
Verdery, Katherine. “Wither ‘Nation’ and ‘Nationalism'?” Mapping the Nation. Ed. Balakrishnan, Gopal. London: Verso, 1996: 226–34. Print.Google Scholar
Von Scheve, Christian. “Emotionen, Normkonformität und das Problem sozialer Ordnung.” Regel, Norm, Gesetz: Eine interdisziplinäre Bestandsaufnahme Eds. Iorio, Marco, and Reisenzein, Rainer. Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 2010: 285–308. Print.Google Scholar
Von Scheve, Christian. Emotionen und soziale Strukturen. Die affektiven Grundlagen sozialer Ordnung. Frankfurt am Main: Campus, 2009. Print.Google Scholar
Von Scheve, Christian, and von Luede, Rolf. “Emotion and Social Structures: Towards an Interdisciplinary Approach.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 35 (2005): 304–28. Print.Google Scholar
Wenner, Lawrence, ed. Mediasport. London: Routledge, 1998. Print.Google Scholar
Wodak, Ruth, et al. Zur diskursiven Konstruktion nationaler Identität Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1998. Print.Google Scholar
Zerubavel, Eviatar. Social Mindscapes. An Invitation to Cognitive Sociology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1997. Print.Google Scholar