Christopher Flood Political Myth

Using the socio-political discourse of Kwame Nkrumah, a pioneering Pan-Africanist and Ghana’s independence leader, Nartey investigates the notion of political myth-making in a context underexplored in the literature. He examines Nkrumah’s construction of a myth described in the book as the Unite or Perish myth (i.e. the idea of a ‘United States of Africa’ being a prerequisite for the survival of Africa in the post-independence period), exploring the rhetorical resources he deployed, categorizing and analyzing key tropes and metaphors, and setting out the myth’s basic components.

This book considers the application of Identity Theory to contemporary debates on extremism, radicalization and security. Britain is taken as the focus of research, within which a unique comparative study is undertaken of identity politics and narratives across a spectrum of minority and majority-community perspectives. Debates concerning Islamophobia, Far Right extremism and state counter-extremism and counter-terrorism policy are subjected to critical scrutiny. This book will appeal to scholars and interested observers alike of contemporary politics and security in the West, and the critical role played by identity within that picture.