7_Book Reviews.indd 401Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 67 (2018) (4) 393–404. Herb, G.H. and Kaplan, D.H. (eds.): Scaling Identities: Nationalism and Territoriality. Lanham–Boulder– New York–London, Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. 294 p. Both scale and identity tend to be increasingly popu- lar, albeit contested concepts in the realm of human geography. Discussions around scale have come a long way from the 1980s. From early on, scale seemed to be an appropriate tool to interpret an increasingly complex world, and has become widely used in a myriad of investigations. However, increased schol- arly attention cast doubt on the explanatory power of scalar divisions first, then called into question their ontological status. It was not until the first decade of the new millennium that, in a programmatic call, the elimination of scale was proposed (Marston, S.A. et al. 2005). While such concepts like actor-network theory (Latour, B. 2005) and flat ontology (Jones, J.P. III. et al. 2007) seem to fill the void left in the downsizing of scale, one may find that scales are not neglected at all, but a re-conceptualisation has been going on. Likewise, the notion of identity has been debated for quite a long time as scholars attached different associations to it. Prior to the post-structuralist turn (see among others Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. 1988), identity was deemed socially and institutionally em- bedded, so the dominant view conceptualised it as a collective or institutional mechanism of control and domination (Malešević, S. 2003). However, as the postmodern condition favoured a relational approach (Murdoch, J. 2006), identities have come to be viewed as multiple, fluid and flexible. Despite the notion’s conceptual ambiguity, as we are currently witness- ing that identity politics, being articulated within the wider context of culture wars, appear to be gaining momentum again, identity inevitably remains a trivial matter in social sciences. Such rapid changes in scholarly literature in rela- tion to post-structural perspectives demand prudent attitude towards scale and identity, something the editors of „Scaling Identities”, Guntram H. Herb and David H. Kaplan, are completely aware of. The editors are well-known experts in the field, their long-term commitment has already been proven since this volume’s predecessor „Nested Identities” (Herb, G.H. and Kaplan, D.H. 1999). Right in the in- troduction, the editors insist on the ever-changing nature of scales, and they acknowledge that in the previous volume a conceptualisation in a dynamic manner, regrettably, was missing. This is indeed a sympathetic attitude which deserves respect. In the introduction the editors explicitly express that a move beyond Eurocentric national identity narratives is de- sired, and we could not be more delighted with this intention as nine out of twelve case studies take place outside of Europe. The book, on its surface, explores topics around the very notions of scale and identity. Nevertheless, it becomes clear that it is national identity and its spa- tial articulation what is aimed to be discussed. This does not mean automatically, however, that identities coalesce around the national scales, because identi- ties are in a constant flux. This volume contains five thematic sections, consisting of a total of 14 chapters. The first two chapters, marked by the editors them- selves, offer profound theoretical insights into nation- al identities, emphasising their interrelatedness with place and scale. Herb is primarily concerned with issues revolving around identity and territory. As he traces their relationship throughout multiple exam- ples, we may feel that a tangible and quantifiable sub- ject of power can only have a troublesome interaction with its elusive counterpart. Speaking more clearly, an ethnic group’s nation-building strategy attempts to exert control over an utmost piece of territory, but so do others, and if these territories overlap, conflicts arise. Herb concludes that these will continuously occur as far as ’us-them’ distinction will remain a central characteristic of national identity. Thereafter, DOI: 10.15201/hungeobull.67.4.9 Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 67 2018 (4) 402 Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 67 (2018) (4) 393–404. Kaplan examines why a sense of belonging is so of- ten related to nations. However, the national scale does not exclude either lower or higher scales, but a nested coexistence is given. Moreover, in the wake of globalisation, flows in the form of transnational- ism, diasporas and hybridity transcend scales to an increasingly larger extent. Part Two pays tribute to the multi-faceted social processes through which identities are being con- solidated. This part is opened by Corey Johnson’s intriguing study about German nationalism. For the collective memory, relation between Germany and nationalism is practically identical to the Third Reich’s short-lived but destructive cultural policies. Johnson deliberately steps out of this historical pe- riod, drawing attention to German discourses of nation and identity prior to World War II. German nationalism, as Johnson points it out, has not come from nowhere. In the aftermath of the successful uni- fication in 1871, a common political-territorial um- brella was given for German people, but „allegiances and identity politics in the new empire were highly parochial and cleavages along regional, class-based, urban-rural, as well as linguistic and religious lines were pervasive” (p. 55). So German-ness needed to be discovered through a rescaling of local affairs and through internal othering (e.g. orientalised Catholics). The latter has been repeatedly brought about after the reunification in 1990, treating the economically back- ward regions as a risk to well-being of the nation. The author uses the case of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations located in Leipzig to reflect on scalar re- lationships between the local and the abstract (supra) national. Being one of the largest battle monuments, it was originally intended to represent German pride, but, particularly during the Communist era, became the symbol of friendship between German and Russian people as they have been fighting together against the Napoleonic regime. Nowadays, festivities around it tend to celebrate European peace, marking a new shift in the scaling of German identity. In the next chapter, David Keeling addresses the tensions between territorial and sociocultural aspects of identity, epitomised by the modern identity of Argentina (Argentinidad). Given the vast territories, loose connections between inhabitants – including both indigenous people and those coming from Europe – hindered the solidification of a modern state. However economic progress might have taken place from the 1880s, the challenge was to „define an acceptable state-based territorial, rather than lo- cal, identity” (p. 74) What brought on a constant headache for national elites has been reconciling a cosmopolitan, Europeanised cultural identity with an authentic one, imbued with ethnic and colonial heritage. The latter signifies Latin American common- alities too, binding together various scales from the local to supranational. In chapter 5, Kefa M. Otiso illuminates why Tanzania is being perceived as having the most developed nation- al identity in Africa (on the basis of an Afro-barometer survey). This fact could cause more surprise if we take into account that an ethnically diverse country is given, where nation-building projects took quite different tra- jectories between Zanzibar and the mainland. Otiso argues that under external threat identities operating on a micro-scale (e.g. families and households) are be- ing forced to create meso-scale units (e.g. clans and ethnic communities). In that vein, taking advantage of consecutive colonial rules’ subjection, the Tanzanian state has been proclaimed on favourable grounds. The next key element lies in Julius Nyerere’s presidency, under whom almost every aspect of the society was nationalised and de-ethnicised. However, the so-called Utanzania’s (Tanzian-ness) bright idea nowadays faces major challenges as the transition from socialism to capitalism – paralleled by the resignation of Nyerere – surfaced such issues as the growing tension between Muslims and Christians. Part Three sets forth supranational identities. As first within this section, Alexander B. Murphy explores a meaningful European identity. As we may all assume, the very idea of a European identity has yet to be es- poused by its population. That is to say, Europeans do not seem themselves as clearly Europeans, but they rather attach to the identities operating at national or regional scale. Nonetheless, it would be misleading to compare European identity with other identities, be- cause „European identity coexists with other identities – state, regional, ethnic and local – in a way that is not strictly hierarchical”, hence it is no more than a „cultur- al-territorial construct to which meaning is attached” (p. 112). Diffusion of such a meaningful European identity requires a smoothly functioning and cohesive European Union first. But growing EU-scepticism, Brexit, endur- ing impacts of the economic crisis, and falling turn- outs at European elections, to name but a few, do not confirm that. On the other hand, in Murphy’s opinion, the European Union was able to establish a discursive space, in which a European identity can unfold. In the next chapter, Gary S. Elbow investigates whether a regional Caribbean identity does exist. He vividly deconstructs the homogenous image of the Caribbean by distinguishing several scales and subregions, where identities are being expressed. We may find how the colonial history and associated lan- guages shape the elusive notion of Caribbean identi- ty. Unsurprisingly, as Elbow argues, geographical lo- cation has little to do with this scale of identity. Then in the search of a general sense of Caribbean-ness, he turns to material and performative aspects of iden- tity. For example, carnivals show that „the specific elements vary from place to place, but their general characteristics make up an Afro-European tradition expressed at the macroscale” (p. 129). Another case worth to underline are the writings of Gabriel García 403Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 67 (2018) (4) 393–404. Márquez that both retain his Colombian coastal ori- gins and grasp a macro-level Caribbean identity. What does the notion Arab Homeland cover, and what role does Palestine play in it? Karen Culcasi’s chapter revolves around such crucial questions in a macro-region characterised by never-ending strug- gles over territory and identities. Neither the Arab Homeland nor Palestine are internationally recognised or clearly defined, so he resorts to official maps. The included maps reveal altogether that no singular de- lineation of the Arab Homeland exists, though Culcasi assesses that the prevalent use of Arab language and Arab League membership decide commonly whether a certain country belongs to it. This empirical study is completed by another compelling inquiry as Culcasi does not settle for official cartographic texts. Drawing on interviews with Palestinians living abroad, he as- serts that for most of the respondents, Arab unity is just a desired myth. Furthermore, even if they are rhetori- cally linked to the Arab Homeland, they retain a strong sense of localism taking shape in the Palestine identity. This relationship becomes even more strained when we took into consideration the different mappings of Palestine, which invoke hybrid scalar conceptions as the ordering of territories into scales „can be simultane- ously conformed to and defied” (p. 151). Drawing on his observations, Culcasi stands firm against hierarchi- cal and universalist approaches, because the concerned region is made up by „multiscaled, transnational and hybrid territorial entities” (p. 152). The fourth part, entitled “Connecting Identities”, begins with Steven E. Silvern’s lucidly written study about Native American identities. This chapter asserts that indigenous people, after quite a few centuries of suppression, have once reclaimed their agency in de- termining their future within a settler colonial state. This unprecedented cultural resurgence has been un- folding simultaneously at three scales. In this vein the local scale has been the subject to re-imagine place- based identity through reconnecting indigenous peo- ple with their physical environment. Regional scale sets the stage for another opportunity of expanding indigenous identity as the formerly imposed borders of the reservations are getting permeable through treaty rights. On a national level, Silvern presents in a subtle way how identities are being scaled up by the spread of information and communication technologies. Notwithstanding these positive multi-scalar dynamics, the author shares his concern about colonialist imagi- naries’ prevailment, with a wink to the prioritisation of neoliberal economic interests. At this point of the book, we may have collected some sort of knowledge about the often-manifested tensions between minority regionalism and majority nationalism. In Chapter 10, Takashi Yamazaki adds more flavour to this issue by turning our attention to Okinawa Prefecture, where a wide array of influences has been shaping local identity. A cursory investigation would suggest that Okinawans (though characterised by multiple socio-spatial cleavages) were ’Japanised’, but with the islands’ several re-borderings and vast distances from Japanese centres, Okinawan identity has far more layers than a centralised, nationally imposed one. Therefore, Yamazaki distinguishes four different, albeit intertwined scales of identity, each of which having a collective category (islander, Okinawan, Ryukyuan, and Japanese, respectively). He also sheds light on the re-instutionalisation of national identity through the education system, not solely on ideological grounds but in the threatening shadow of Chinese geo- political endeavours of socioeconomic interests as well. In the next chapter, Susan M. Walcott scrutinises the almost inscrutable idea of Chinese national identity. Sketching an overview of China’s history, she attempts to grasp what the multi-faceted Chinese characteristics would entail. Thereafter, Walcott calls into question this essentialist position by numerous arguments. First, periphery identities, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang, are hard to fit into historical meta-narrative, through which a construction of congruent Chinese identity is sought. Second, the globally scattered Chinese diaspora also poses a constant challenge to Chinese-ness via the emergence of hybrid identities. Walcott differentiates the ostensible mass of Chinese migrants, inter alia, by the historical period when migration took place, and the place of origin. Additionally, in the midst of inter- state turmoil, both Hong Kong and Taiwan has seen a reification of distinct identities. Kurdistan set the tone for fragmented identities in the fifth part of the volume. Carl T. Dahlman and Sanan Moradi trace the evolution of the deeply flawed Kurdish history, seeking to answer how the Kurds have become the largest (approximately 33 million) nation without a state. The authors illuminate that in the medieval ages Kurdistan has been stuck between the Turkish Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire, a situation getting even more complicated with the appearance of British and Russian imperial interests. Thus, the region has come to be seen as a frontier, with no singular Kurdish geopolitical orientation. The ex- pression ’Kurds have no friends but the mountains’ in- dicate not just the harsh consequences of Realpolitik but intra-Kurdish rivalries as well. More contemporarily, we are still witnessing a fractured Kurdish nationalism: „while oil, gas, and Islamist militants might flow easily across the partition, Kurdish unity does not” (p. 236). In concluding, authors pour fantasies around Kurdish unity into a pessimistic mould because territorialised self-interests and contesting geopolitical agendas will probably keep Kurdish people divided. In Chapter 13, George W. White explores the con- tested identities in Transylvania, a well-known topic among Hungarian geographers. In theorising the discussion, he moves away from the popular view of ethnic differences, proposing instead a more fluid conceptualisation that does not see the multiethnic 404 Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 67 (2018) (4) 393–404. character doomed to be the subject of conflicts. In that vein he argues for a Transylvanian identity based on a blend of different cultures, hoping that „if shared his- tory is a component of shared identity, then a shared Transylvanian identity exists at some level” (p. 246). This bright prospect has been over-shadowed by mutually exclusive nationalist discourses though, as Transylvania is considered a special constituent of both Romania’s and Hungary’s national consciousness. Fragmentation remains the core issue in Pablo Bose’s chapter, drawing the attention to Indian diasporas and their linkages to national identity. It is no wonder that one could find it difficult to illustrate a monolithic Indian national identity among diasporas, exemplified in this chapter by the great variations between those from Punjab and Kerala. Yet another scene where scale and place matters. Bose explores the so-called Khalistan movement (a Sikh-centric political project), the goal of which is to establish a sovereign country, with territo- ries encompassing not only Punjab but the broader re- gion, now being part of Pakistan. What makes this case particularly interesting is the process through which a regional issue is being pushed to a broader scale by the international Sikh community’s militancy. Kerala rep- resents an adequate counter case. Being a remittance- based economy (in fact, one out of every four Indians working in countries of the Persian Gulf originate from there), Bose addresses another spatial relation, where ’outsiders’ are involved directly in internal affairs. Juoni Häkli is in charge of the afterword, which is entitled “Transcending scale”. Based on his concluding words, despite “none is willing to go as far as to simply reject the concept of scale tout court (…), scale, it seems, has been somewhat scaled down in terms of theoreti- cal ambition and vigor” (pp. 274–275). As Häkli duly recognises, scale could retain its useful role for order- ing analytical observation, but one need to be aware of future post-structural methodologies. The value of this book is beyond doubt. In an inex- tricably complex world, where nationalisms tend to be a cornerstone in geopolitics, fluid notions of territory, nation and identity need to be addressed. Where the vol- ume most successful is in weaving together wholly dif- ferent place contexts around clear-cut lens of investiga- tion. Accordingly, every chapter places scale and identity at its centre in a thought-provoking way. The structure of the book is well-balanced, and the easy-to-read case stud- ies have the potential (and even the danger) to sustain the interest for quite a long time. This comprehensive volume will surely serve as a point of departure for any- one who is interested in geographies of identity. Tamás Illés1 1 Doctoral School of Earth Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary. E-mail: tamas. illes92@gmail.com. The research has been supported by the National Research Development and Innovation Office (NKFI), contract no. K 124291. R E F E R E N C E S Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. 1988. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. London, Athlone Press. Herb, G.H. and Kaplan, D.H. (eds.) 1999. Nested Identities: Nationalism, Territory, and Scale. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Jones, J.P. III, Woodward, K. and Marston, S.A. 2007. Situating flatness. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 32. (2): 264–276. Latour, B. 2005. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Malešević, S. 2003. Researching social and ethnic identity: A sceptical view. Journal of Language and Politics 2. (2): 265–287. Marston, S.A., Jones, J.P. III and Woodward, K. 2005: Human geography without scale. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 30. (4): 416–432. Murdoch, J. 2006. Post-Structuralist Geography. London–Thousand Oaks–New Delhi, SAGE.