National identity : review of issues

"National identity" is one of the notions in the academic discourse, whose meaning remains unclear. The most common controversy concerns the "subject" of national identity, as it can be ascribed to both individuals and groups. Therefore national identity should not be discussed in abstraction from personal identity, for the latter appears in the academic discourse earlier. The question of the "object" of identity also needs to be specified. There are two main views, as far as the object is concerned: one is based on the notion of "distinctiveness" as a determinant of identity, the other refers to "sameness" as the key concept in examining the issue of identity. These two positions can be treated complimentary.