British nationalism and encounters with difference: An ethnographic approach to street parties in Thanet

Departing from arguments that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) signals a resurgence of nationalism that strongly draws on a negational politics toward difference, I first consider emotional processes that might have led people to vote for a nationalist agenda. That is, national identities become a source of pride in a context of economic shame. I then look at this material in relation to ethnographic research on street parties in Thanet, UK, where British national repertoires (symbols, dates, stories) work to foster connectedness and joy in older age. Here national events are not only about negational politics, but also offer people a vital way to belong. Thus, I argue that when a sense of national community is materialized in street parties, it actually works to channel some encounters with difference – although not all differences.