The following has been posted on LinkedIn by Guido Gianasso, Professor of Leadership at HEC.

EMMA RADUCANU AND THE ILLUSION OF NATIONS

A new tennis champion has emerged. It is fascinating to observe the dynamics taking place around this young lady.

Emma's father is Romanian. Her name is Romanian and she speaks Romanian fluently. Hence she is considered Romanian by millions of Romanians. But Emma has actually never lived in Romania.

Emma's mother is Chinese. She speaks fluent Chinese, as a recent video available on YouTube shows. Hence she is considered a Chinese hero by millions of Chinese, who seem to forget that the PRC discourages international marriages.

Emma was born in Canada but has lived most of her life and trained in the UK. Hence she is considered British by most Britons and was publicly congratulated by the Queen. But the British public that now celebrates her success is the same that voted Brexit with the very objective to make it difficult for East Europeans such as Emma and her father to live in the UK.

The reality is that Emma is not Romanian, Chinese or British. She is much more. She is the outstanding result of the combination of Romanian talent, Chinese work ethics and British openness and sport infrastructure.

At a time when many countries are going back to very ethnocentric models and policies, Emma is the best evidence that national identities are fading and we must embrace a geocentric mindset.