This is close to Homi Bhabhaís notion of the ëdifferentialí and
Butlerís concept of ëdisidentificationí, whereby modern and essen-
tialist versions of identity are shown not to hold, and to be no longer
desirable. Inscribing a politics of the differential, these theorists show
how deconstructive formulations can be utilized in forging a post-
colonial and post-nationalist consciousness, that fosters a less
essentialist and homogenous politics in opposition to the absolutist
confines of the modern nation-state upon which imperialism is based.
An Excess of the People over the Nation
The prevalent debates of postmodernist theorists within international
relations including that of Shapiro are to some extent touched on by
Kearney in Postnationalist Ireland (1997).^26 In his theorization of
post-nationalism, Kearney claims not to denounce nationalism ñ Irish
or British ñ but to reinterrogate its critical implications. This involves
realizing that far too often the sins of nationalism have been laid
exclusively on the Irish side, with the result that Britainís implication
in the nationalist quarrel is conveniently occluded.^27 Kearney argues
for a ënew nationalismí or ëpost-nationalismí that is summed up by his
epigraph drawn from Paul Ricoeur: ëIn modern republics the origin of
sovereignty is in the people, but now we recognize that we have many
peoples. And many peoples means many centres of sovereignty ñ we
have to deal with that.í^28 Ricoeurís statement precedes Habermasís
comment on the limitations of the nation-state as it does not fulfill the
Spring 1994, p.499. Shapiro, Open Lecture, ëMoving Bodies/Disrupted
Intelligibilities: Deterritorializing Political Initiativesí, The University of
Durham, 5th December, 2000.
26 Theorists used in Kearneyís research are mostly Continental philosophers, and
although Shapiro is a prominent theorist of postmodern and post-nationalist
politics, he is completely overlooked.
27 Kearney, Postnationalist Ireland, p.1, p.9.
28 Ibid., p.15. Paul Ricoeur, ëUniversality and the Power of Differenceí, States of
Mind: Dialogue with Contemporary Thinkers on the European Mind, ed.,
Richard Kearney (Manchester: University Press, 1995), p.36.