National Identities explores the correlation/mapping between identity, people, state and nation, and examines the complexities of how national identities are created, represented and adopted in any period from antiquity to the current day, and from any geographical location. The focus of the journal is on identity, on how cultural factors (language, architecture, music, gender, religion, the media, sport, encounters with ‘the other’ etc.) and political factors (state forms, wars, boundaries) contribute to the formation and expression of national identities and on how these factors have been shaped and changed over time. The historical significance of ‘nation’ in political and cultural terms is considered in relationship to other important and in some cases countervailing forms of identity such as religion, region, tribe or class.

The variety of viewpoints published in the journal engenders a multifaceted understanding of national identity, and the journal therefore welcomes papers from a wide range of disciplines, including literature, history, geography, religion, sociology, and architecture among others. Comparative perspectives are encouraged, and the journal features regular review essays as well as book reviews.