The recent proliferation of English flags, from lampposts to roundabouts, can be viewed as more than a simple act of patriotism. It could be argued that it is an expression of deep-seated national anxieties.

Hanging these flags may function as a public psychological defence against a world perceived as increasingly complicated. Against this uncertainty, a flag is a simple, bold symbol. It provides a stark distinction between “us” and “them”, potentially allowing for a sense of order and belonging.

Flags may help us manage what the psychoanalyst Melanie Klein called “persecutory anxiety” – the fear that we are being pursued or attacked. When we feel overwhelmed by forces such as economic instability, social change or a health crisis, we do what we can to cope. We may, for example, resort to a primary psychological defence known as “splitting”. This is a process in which we divide the world into two camps: the “good” and the “bad”.

The flags, in this sense, can become a public object onto which we project our anxieties. Those who choose to put up the flag in public........

© The Conversation