Territory, Institutions and National Identity: The Case of Acadians in Greater Moncton, Canada

Abstract

Minority Francophones in a metropolitan area of eastern Canada recently grappled with political questions related to health, education and municipal services involving their language, identity and community. The pursuit of these identity projects called upon strategies of territorial integration and segregation where space shaped the issues, defined the Other and influenced the strategies chosen. Boundaries crystallised spaces of power and played a critical role in the definition of nationalist projects and the formation of minority identity. However, the paper's conclusion requires important nuances. The interplay of territory, institutions and identity is reciprocal. Also, one of the three elements can play a stronger role than the others depending on the territorial scale, the sub-state institution and the status of the minority. Research on nationalism should provide greater focus on the sub-state level and the concept of administrative nationalism is proposed as a means to do so.