Ashton-Sánchez, Stephanie; (2023) Negotiating the Nation: Local-National Dynamics in State Formation and Nation-Building in Colombia, 1902-1930. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This PhD thesis explores how the interplay of the local and the national shaped state formation and nation-building in Colombia between 1902 and 1930. It probes the notion – prevalent in academic and popular discourses – that Colombia is a fragmented geographic, social, racial and political space by investigating how some of the traditional conduits for nationalism – civic celebrations, education, the Army, transport infrastructure and elections – played out in Ciénaga, a municipality in Colombia’s Caribbean coast with an estimated population ranging from 14,500 to 42,500 in the period of study. The thesis illustrates that, in a situation of general state weakness, the national level necessitated local buy-in to extend its reach and consolidate the nation-state. Thus, state formation and nation-building unfolded through a permanent negotiation between the local and the national, a multidirectional process of contestation and collaboration involving municipalities, territorial divisions known as departments and the central state. As a result, nationalist discourses took hold in local spheres but were often moulded by local actors to reflect their politics, interests and cultures, or wielded to advance their positions. Overall, nationalist discourses gathered strength during the period of this thesis, although not in a unilinear or consistent way. This research contributes towards the development of new perspectives on nationalism by shedding light on the dynamics of nation-building in contexts of state weakness, heterogeneity and fragmentation, features that are often overlooked in mainstream theories of nationalism.

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