Challenges to national identity (Edexcel A-Level Geography): Revision Notes

Challenges to national identity

Foreign Companies

• In many countries, there have been many inward flows of investment and ideas due to
• Many UK-based companies are foreign owned, such as Jaguar Land Rover (Indian-owned)
  • Such businesses provide jobs, so their ownership may not be concerning to employees

Made in Britain

• Component of British national identity which links to the pride in British manufacturing and an appeal to 'buy British' to help support British industry
  • But it is becoming increasingly complex as many firms operating in Britain are foreign owned, with profits made in Britain being transferred to other countries
  • British-owned companies in the UK are also often assembling products using parts made in other countries in a complex supply chain

'Westernisation'

↳ A 'soft' challenge to national identity → Largely driven by global retail, food and media companies

• 'Westernisation' is the collective dominant influence of TNCs from the USA and Western Europe
  • Due to economies of scale, these TNCs can outcompete national brands on price and also marketing, so 'western' brands replace national ones.
• The 'soft power' of Western TNCs also impacts on cultural values by promoting a distinctive view of the benefits of a capitalist mode l- The US retail model of the shopping mall has been replicated globally and US TNCs such as Disney dominate entertainment worldwide
  • They often are known to reinforce the benefits of capitalism
• Some TNCs have altered the ways of life in many of the countries they have invested in by offering different employment opportunities, new products and lifestyle changes ↳ Getting more and more ideas from local cultures

Ownership of Property

• Ownership of property, land and businesses is increasingly becoming non-national → Seen as a threat to national identity
  • Foreign buyers in certain districts of London, and British tourists in parts of Spain and France
  • Argument that such movements impact on national identity and create an ethnoscape Ethnoscape → A landscape created by a minority cultural group

UK

Foreign ownership of property and land is increasing in countries such as the UK, as the market offers good returns on investment.

• The Qatar Investment Authority is London's largest property owner - it owns The Shard, Canary Wharf and the Olympic Village
• Russia has also invested heavily in London, pushing up property prices and making housing unaffordable for many people This is perceived as a threat to national identity because of the importance of London as its symbol