Behind Hummus Wars: The Role of the Food in National Identity in the Middle East

Abstract

Food is an essential part of our everyday lives and it is significantly important for international politics as for national identities. The future of food is widely discussed in political and social sciences in the contexts of food security, health, international marketing cultural identities, and migratory issues. Despite the growing importance of food studies, the enduring power of nationalism and the apparent relationship between food culture and national identity, writers on nationalism have made little reference to food in their research. This article aims to explore the connection between food and nationalism and I argue that food plays a central role in performing the nation's culture and expresses the idea of the nation through portraying spiritual, material and commercial aspects of the national identity. Here, the discussion will proceed through a well – known Middle Eastern food, Hummus.