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The nature of flag power: How flags entail dominance, subordination, and social solidarity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Robert Shanafelt
Robert Shanafelt*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology Georgia Southern University P.O. Box 8051 Statesboro, Georgia 30460 USA robshan@georgiasouthern.edu
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Extract

Conventionally, flags are explained as symbols of group solidarity that achieve force through ritual processes. Alternatively, flags may be seen as symbols with positive or negative associations derived from our experiences with physical space. While this article accepts these interpretations, it also argues that they need to be augmented. Flag meaning is not entirely a social or linguistic construction because there is a link between flag displays and our inherent predispositions to cues about social rank. Our evolved social intelligence makes us sensitive to the topographic features of flag displays that signal relationships of dominance and subordination.

Keywords

symbolspatriotismemotional dispositionsocial intelligence
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , September 2008 , pp. 13 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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