Transnational lives: An anthropological approach to the negotiation of national identity

Abstract

This article follows the life history of a Croatian-Greek family of four, whose members have spent their lifetime across multiple nation states. Through data collected during a four-month ethnographic fieldwork period in the city of Zagreb, issues of mobility, national identification, and a sense of belonging within the transnational social field are examined. Having been influenced by more than one nation state, the narrations of each of the interlocutors encompass diverse national discourses, reflecting their hybrid national identities. The findings mentioned in this paper underline, first and foremost, the persistent power of the nation state and raise considerable questions about the significance of boundaries and processes of othering in contemporary societies. This paper is open access and may be further distributed in accordance with the provisions of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 HR licence.