Contingent nationalism: The genesis of ultras’ nationalist discourse

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study on the historical development of nationalist discourse in Polish football stands. Its main objectives are: (a) to reveal the processes shaping the ultras’ nationalist discourse; and (b) to explain how it has been institutionalised and reproduced. Drawing on the post-foundational discourse analysis, the study conceptualises nationalist discourse as a set of structurally arranged practices of articulation which create a meaning of nation. In order to reconstruct the development of ultras’ nationalist discourse the study uses content analysis of nation-related ultras’ displays from 2002 to 2018 recaptured from the TMK ( To My Kibice, We, the fans) fanzine created by supporters and dedicated to football fan culture in Poland. The analysis identifies a sequence of four different forms of ultras’ nationalist discourse in the period under consideration and shows that they have been shaped by a contingency logic; that is, by rules stemming from the existing practices of articulation, rather than by the logic of ideological cohesion.