Abstract
In a globalising world, people might be expected to be less nationalistic about their personal consumption decisions. Yet support for Trump-style protectionism and ‘buy national’ campaigns appears to be spreading. How do people talk about such purchasing decisions? Applying thematic content analysis and discourse analysis to qualitative data from 27 focus groups (n = 223) conducted across Australia, this article explores the key features of discussions about ‘buying Australian’, comparing migrant/ethnic minority responses with non-migrant/mainstream responses. Perhaps surprisingly, migrants adopt the taken-for-granted imperative that nationalist consumption is good for the national economy, and articulate this choice as a demonstration of loyalty and reciprocity to their adopted country. Perhaps counter to expectations, mainstream participants are far more ambivalent in the ways they express this nationalist imperative. While nationalist consumption remains the bottom line as the appropriate purchasing orientation, their position as charter group enables them to offer more critical arguments about the authenticity of the ‘Australian-made’ logo and the quality and price of goods. For both, however, the taken-for-granted default position is that consumer nationalism is ‘the right thing to do’. Buying national is thus an instance of what Billig identified as ‘banal nationalism’, where the nation-state, as opposed to other collectives such as ‘workers’ or ‘global citizens’, is reproduced as the appropriate category for identification and collective responsibility.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-20 |
| Journal | Journal of Consumer Culture |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 15 Nov 2018 |
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Migrant and mainstream perspectives on buying national : An Australian case study. / Fozdar, Farida.
In: Journal of Consumer Culture, 15.11.2018, p. 1-20.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Migrant and mainstream perspectives on buying national
T2 - An Australian case study
AU - Fozdar, Farida
PY - 2018/11/15
Y1 - 2018/11/15
N2 - In a globalising world, people might be expected to be less nationalistic about their personal consumption decisions. Yet support for Trump-style protectionism and ‘buy national’ campaigns appears to be spreading. How do people talk about such purchasing decisions? Applying thematic content analysis and discourse analysis to qualitative data from 27 focus groups (n = 223) conducted across Australia, this article explores the key features of discussions about ‘buying Australian’, comparing migrant/ethnic minority responses with non-migrant/mainstream responses. Perhaps surprisingly, migrants adopt the taken-for-granted imperative that nationalist consumption is good for the national economy, and articulate this choice as a demonstration of loyalty and reciprocity to their adopted country. Perhaps counter to expectations, mainstream participants are far more ambivalent in the ways they express this nationalist imperative. While nationalist consumption remains the bottom line as the appropriate purchasing orientation, their position as charter group enables them to offer more critical arguments about the authenticity of the ‘Australian-made’ logo and the quality and price of goods. For both, however, the taken-for-granted default position is that consumer nationalism is ‘the right thing to do’. Buying national is thus an instance of what Billig identified as ‘banal nationalism’, where the nation-state, as opposed to other collectives such as ‘workers’ or ‘global citizens’, is reproduced as the appropriate category for identification and collective responsibility.
AB - In a globalising world, people might be expected to be less nationalistic about their personal consumption decisions. Yet support for Trump-style protectionism and ‘buy national’ campaigns appears to be spreading. How do people talk about such purchasing decisions? Applying thematic content analysis and discourse analysis to qualitative data from 27 focus groups (n = 223) conducted across Australia, this article explores the key features of discussions about ‘buying Australian’, comparing migrant/ethnic minority responses with non-migrant/mainstream responses. Perhaps surprisingly, migrants adopt the taken-for-granted imperative that nationalist consumption is good for the national economy, and articulate this choice as a demonstration of loyalty and reciprocity to their adopted country. Perhaps counter to expectations, mainstream participants are far more ambivalent in the ways they express this nationalist imperative. While nationalist consumption remains the bottom line as the appropriate purchasing orientation, their position as charter group enables them to offer more critical arguments about the authenticity of the ‘Australian-made’ logo and the quality and price of goods. For both, however, the taken-for-granted default position is that consumer nationalism is ‘the right thing to do’. Buying national is thus an instance of what Billig identified as ‘banal nationalism’, where the nation-state, as opposed to other collectives such as ‘workers’ or ‘global citizens’, is reproduced as the appropriate category for identification and collective responsibility.
KW - Consumer ethnocentrism
KW - consumer nationalism
KW - consumer patriotism
KW - cosmopolitan
KW - nation branding
KW - nationalism
KW - politically motivated consumption
KW - protectionism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85058651008&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1469540518806960
DO - 10.1177/1469540518806960
M3 - Article
SP - 1
EP - 20
JO - Journal of Consumer Culture
JF - Journal of Consumer Culture
SN - 1469-5405
ER -