Identifying with Nationality: Europeans, Ottomans, and Egyptians in Alexandria

Nationality is the most important legal mechanism sorting and classifying the world's population today, but Will Hanley shows that it was just a century ago. In Identifying with Nationality, he develops a genealogy of the nation and the formation of the modern national subject using the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Nationality laws came to govern Alexandria's population, defining and dividing people through status, mobility, and residency.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 06 September 2022
Publisher: Columbia University Press

The concept of nationality holds immense significance as the primary legal framework employed for the classification and sorting of the global population today. It plays a pivotal role in determining an individual's place of birth or naturalization, thereby governing their rights, privileges, and limitations both within and outside their homeland. While this system may be perceived as universal and natural, Will Hanley's book, Identifying with Nationality, reveals that it emerged merely a century ago. Through the lens of the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Hanley explores the genealogy of the nation and the formation of the modern national subject.

In 1880, Alexandria was a bustling immigrant metropolis governed by a multitude of overlapping regimes. On its streets, police stations, and courtrooms, individuals were identified based on various attributes such as name, occupation, place of origin, sect, physical description, and more. However, by 1914, prior to the widespread emergence of nationalist calls for independence and decolonization, nationality had assumed the central role in defining personal identification. Consequently, nationality laws began to govern the population of Alexandria.

Identifying with Nationality delves into the historical roots of modern citizenship, tracing its emergence in multinational and transimperial contexts. It highlights how ordinary people in turn-of-the-century colonial Alexandria abandoned traditional identifiers and embraced nationality as a means to access the protections promised by expanding states. This shift resulted in the establishment of a system that continues to shape and categorize individuals based on their status, mobility, and residency, perpetuating divisions and hierarchies within society.

Through its comprehensive analysis, Identifying with Nationality sheds light on the complex dynamics of nationality, its historical development, and its profound impact on individuals, communities, and nations. It challenges the notion of a universal and natural system and emphasizes the historical and political factors that have shaped its evolution. By examining the case of Alexandria, Hanley provides a valuable insight into the processes that have contributed to the formation of modern citizenship and its implications for our understanding of identity, belonging, and the global order.

Weight: 614g
Dimension: 153 x 228 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231177634