Mythomoteur
Overview
 
A mythomoteur is the constitutive myth that gives an ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

 its sense of purpose. The term was first used in this context by Ramon d’Abadal i de Vinyals, and was later taken up by John Armstrong in his book Nations before Nationalism. It has subsequently become a common theme in Anthony D. Smith’s
Anthony D. Smith
Anthony D. Smith is Professor Emeritus of Nationalism and Ethnicity at the London School of Economics, and is considered one of the founders of the interdisciplinary field of nationalism studies...

work on ethnicity and nationalism, particularly his book The Ethnic Origins of Nations.
 
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