Populism, Territories, Name Disputes, and HyperReality - by Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis (Hardcover)

About the Book

Populism, Territories, Name Disputes, and Hyperreality: Greek Nationalism and the Macedonian Case explains why and how societal actors preserve, construct, and use different names to refer to the same territory, provoking external and internal conflicts for personal gains.

Book Synopsis

In Populism, Territories, Name Disputes, and Hyperreality: Greek Nationalism and the Macedonian Case, Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis examines how and why societal actors may use different names to refer to the same territory. Karyotakis demonstrates the enormous symbolic power that the names of places can hold through a study of the Macedonian name dispute (MND), arguing that territorial names can be symbolic and crucial for constructing nation-states through imbued influential meanings affecting citizens' hearts and minds. These symbolic name disputes (SNDs), he posits, offer societal elites the opportunity to further their own personal ambitions, which can include winning electoral power and spreading hatred against non-supporters. Karyotakis then delineates how some disputes have maintained a seemingly improved version of reality that strongly attaches the conflict to a dogmatized dominant narrative which exploits the nationalistic ideas of the nation-state and blurs territorial borders (hyperreal symbolic name disputes), while other disputes are firmly attached to actual territorial claims that arise from a disagreement over control of a well-defined physical territory (referential symbolic name disputes). Pointing to several persistent territorial name disputes - such as the Arabian/Persian Gulf, Kurdistan, the Kuril Islands/Northern Territories, Macedonia, Navasa Island/La Navase, and Western Sahara, among others - this book provides a model for a novel categorization that broadens our understanding of these conflicts.

Review Quotes

"Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis investigates a heated international dispute, not over land or resources, but over the symbolic power of a country's name. His richly detailed and theoretically groundbreaking study has global, cross-disciplinary relevance in an age of identity wars, when populists inflate enmities for political gain." --Cherian George, Professor of Media Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, China

"Theoretically innovative and empirically rich, this book ably analyzes a hitherto neglected field: media narratives surrounding the politics of naming, supported by a compelling case study." --Daya Thussu, Professor of International Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, China

"Dive into a compelling exploration of territorial name disputes through the lens of the Macedonian Name Dispute (MND) in this insightful book by Dr. Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis. Combining rigorous historical analysis with contemporary political discourse, Karyotakis conducts a novel categorisation of territorial name disputes and reveals how names and identities shape national narratives and political power dynamics.
With a keen focus on the interplay between populism and identity politics, this work examines the MND's impact on Greek political actors, the media's role in shaping public perception, and the existential threats perceived by citizens. Readers will gain a nuanced understanding of how hyperreality influences societal divisions and the implications for democracy.
Richly researched and thoughtfully articulated, this book is a must-read for scholars, policymakers, and anyone interested in the complexities of nationalism and communication in today's world. Join Karyotakis on this journey to uncover the profound significance of names in the ongoing struggle for identity and power." --Dionysios Stivas, Professor of International Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University, China

About the Author

Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis is post-doctoral research fellow at the David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies (LEWI) at Hong Kong Baptist University.