Nationalism
Nationalism (in contrast to internationalism, cosmopolitism or multiethnic
concepts) is a concept of identity which members of a particular government,
nation, society, or territory may collectively feel. Nationalists strive to
create or sustain a nation based on various notions of political legitimacy.
Nationalist ideologies often trace their development from the Romantic
theory of "cultural identity" and/or the Liberalist argument that political
legitimacy is derived from the consent of a region's population.
Nationalism is a frequently misunderstood term. Nationalism does not
necessarily imply that one nation is better than another, simply that groups
of similar people should be governed by the same government, independent of
different groups. Jingoism is a more extreme ideology that emphasizes the
superiority of one nation over another.
Several theorists have argued that the necessary conditions for nationalism
include the development of the printing press and capitalism.
Evolution of Nationalism
The nation-state was born in Europe with the Treaty of Westphalia (1648).
Nationalism was still an elite phenomenon for a couple of centuries after
that, but during the 19th century in Europe it spread widely and became
popularized. Nationalism has dominated European and even global politics
ever since. Much of 19th century European politics can be seen as a struggle
between nationalist and liberal movements against the old autocratic
regimes. Gradually through that century the old multi-national states were
broken down, and various localized states were absorbed into larger national
entities.
The First World War marked the final destruction of several multinational
states (Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and to some extent Russia).
The Versailles Treaty was marked by an attempt to recognize the principle of
nationalism, as most of Europe was divided into nation states in an attempt
to keep the peace. However, several multinational states and empires
survived. The 20th century has also been marked by the slow assertion of
nationalism around the world with the destruction of European colonial
Empires, the Soviet Union, and various other smaller multinational states.
At the same time, particularly in the latter half of the century,
anti-nationalistic trends have taken place, notably often driven by elites.
The European Union is now transferring power from the national level to both
local and continental bodies. Trade agreements, such as NAFTA and the GATT,
and the increasing internationalization of trade markets are also weakening
the sovereignty of the nation state.
However, nationalism continues to assert itself in opposition to those
trends. Globalization is violently opposed in street demonstrations (see
ATTAC), nationalistic parties continue to do well in elections, and the most
people continue to have a strong sense of attachment to their nationality.
Forms of Nationalism
Civic nationalism (also civil nationalism) is the form of nationalism in
which the state derives political legitimacy from the active participation
of its citizenry, the "will of the people"; "political representation". An
individual in such a nation must believe that the state's actions somehow
reflect his will, even when specific actions go against his will.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who first developed this theory, devised the concept
of the General Will to explain how that could work. Rousseau put down his
theory in various writings, particularly On the Social Contract. (See Social
contract theories for a more in-depth discussion of the historical
development of this philosophy.)
Civic nationalism lies within the traditions of rationalism and liberalism.
It is the theory behind constitutional democracies such as the United States.
Ethnic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives
political legitimacy from historical cultural or hereditary groupings
(ethnicities). This was developed by Johann Gottfried von Herder, who
introduced the concept of the Volk.
Romantic nationalism (also organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the
form of ethnic nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy
as a natural ("organic") consequence of race; in the spirit of Romanticism
and opposed to Enlightenment rationalism. Romantic nationalism relies upon
the existence of a historical ethnic culture which meets the Romantic Ideal;
folklore developed as a Romantic nationalist concept. The Brothers Grimm
were inspired by Herder's writings to create an idealized collection of
tales which they labeled as ethnic German. See Populism and Nationalism.
Giuseppe Mazzini (Italy), Jules Michelet (France), Johann Gottlieb Fichte (Germany).
Religious nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives
political legitimacy as a consequence of shared religion. Zionism is an
example, though many, if not most, forms of ethnic nationalism are in some
ways religious nationalism as well. For example, Irish nationalism is
associated with Catholicism; Indian nationalism is associated with Hinduism.
In general, religious nationalism is viewed as a form of ethnic nationalism.
Sometimes however religion is more of a marker of a group than the
motivation for their nationalism. For example although most Irish
nationalist leaders of the last 100 years are Catholic, in the 19th century
and especially in the 18th century many nationalistic leaders were
Protestant. Irish nationalists are not fighting for theological distinctions
like transubstantiation, the status of the Virgin Mary, or the primacy of
the Pope. Rather they are fighting for an ideology that identifies the
geographical island of Ireland with a particular view of Irish culture,
which for some nationalists does include Catholicism but has as a more
dominant element other elements of culture.
Islam is fiercely opposed to any notion of Nationalism, Tribalism, Racism,
or any other categorization of people not based on one's beliefs. However,
Islamist groups can be considered as racist and nationalist (and are
therefore by some not recognized as truly Islamic).
Some political theorists make the case that any discrimination of forms of
nationalism is false. All forms of nationalism rely on the population being
a nation; that is, that all the members of the population believe that they
share some kind of common culture, and culture can't be wholly separated
from ethnicity. Even the supposedly ethnically neutral "civic culture" of
the United States, for example, relies on English as the one national
language, has "God" on its coinage and in its Pledge of Allegiance, and
designates official holidays, which promote cultural biases. See also the
concept of Manifest Destiny, American nativism, the House Un-American
Activities Committee.
The modern vernacular use of nationalism refers to the political (and
military) exercise of ethnic and religious nationalism.
Fascism is usually marked by ethnic nationalism, the most extreme example
being National Socialism in Nazi Germany.
In some cases there has been a reaction against nationalism. An example was
the perception in pre-World War I, European socialist movements that
nationalism was being used to prevent workers uniting against capitalism.
Another example is in present day Germany, Israel and Ireland where there
are people who are not comfortable with any nationalistic, patriotic, or
even cultural symbols, because these have become associated (and permanently
discredited in their view) with violent nationalism (see self-hatred).
Nationalist theorists
* Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* Johann Gottfried von Herder, Materials for the Philosophy of the
History of Mankind [1]
* Ernest Gellner
* Emir Faisal
* Theodor Herzl
* Benedict Anderson
Benedict Anderson has stated, "only face-to-face contact can sustain
community: nations are in some sense an illusion." [2] (see also [3]).
Historical nationalism
Historical events in which nationalism played an essential role:
* the Italian unification under the rule of Piedmont and Sardinia
* the Franco-Prussian War and the unification of Germany under the rule
of Prussia
* the French Revolution
* World War I and World War II
Ethnic nationalist conflicts
(Includes most wars between the 18th century and World War I. Excludes
conflicts driven primarily by other ideologies such as religion, communism,
or democracy.)
* Americas
o 1837 -- Patriotes Rebellion
o 1898 -- Spanish-American War
o 1970 -- October Crisis
* Balkans
o 1821-28 -- Greek War of Independence
o 1878 -- Bulgarian War of Independence
o 1990-99 -- wars in the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia, Kosovo)
* China
o 1900 -- Boxer Rebellion
* Europe in general
o 1870-71 -- Franco-Prussian War
o 1914-18 -- World War I
o 1939-45 -- World War II and the Holocaust
o 1945-50 -- expulsion of ethnic Germans
* Ireland
o 1798 -- 1798 rebellion
o 1848 -- Young Irelanders' rebellion
o 1867 -- Fenian rebellion
o 1916 -- Easter Rising
o 1919-20 -- Irish War of Independence
o 1920-21 -- Irish Civil War
o 1969-2001 -- Northern Ireland's Troubles
* Middle East
o 19th century-present -- Kurdish conflict against Turkey
o 1915-present -- Kurdish conflict against Iraq
o 1917-present -- Arab-Israeli conflict
* Spain
o 1960-2001 -- Basque conflict
Ethnic nationalist organizations
(Not including governments and formal armies)
* China
o Boxers
* Ireland
o United Irishmen
o Young Irelanders
o Fenian Brotherhood
o Irish Republican Brotherhood
o Irish Republican Army
* Middle East
o PKK
o KDP
o PLO
* Spain
o ETA
Nationalism and patriotism
Patriotism and chauvinism are nowadays often based in nationalism, but can
for instance also come from a feeling of affiliation with an imperial
dynasty.
Nationalism and language
A common language has been one of the main presuppositions for nationalism;
in France, for example, before the French Revolution patois such as Breton
and Occitan were spoken in the various regions which were incomprehensible
to each other. Following the Revolution, French was imposed as the national
language. For instance, in Brittany Celtic names were forbidden.
Some theorists believe that nationalism became pronounced in the 19th
century for the simple reason that language became more important as unifier
due to increased literacy. With increasing numbers of people reading
newspapers, books, pamphlets, etc... which were increasingly widely
available and read since the spread of the printing press, it became
possible for the first time to develop a broader cultural attachment that
went beyond the local community. At the same time, differences in language
solidified, breaking down old dialects, and excluding those from completely
different language groups.
Nationalist movements from Ireland to India promote the teaching,
preservation, and usage of traditional languages, such as Celtic, Hebrew,
and Hindi.
Even the U.S. have a long tradition of discrimination for other languages
than english. Prominent examples are the german language which was nearly
extinct during WWI. Also french and italian have nearly disappeared from
U.S. everydays life.
On the other hand only the availability of an easy to learn language made
integration of such different cultural and ethnic groups as they were found
in the U.S. under a common identity possible. Whether a similar integration
can be reached some day in Europe is still highly controversial.
Nationalism and racism
Although nationalism does not necessarily imply a belief in one's own
superiority over others, excesses of nationalism have not infrequently led
to racist variants of the theory (see Jingoism).
Around the beginning of the 20th century in many countries all over the
world a tendency existed to mix nationalism with racism. One of the clearest
examples of racist nationalism was embodied in the Nazi movement in Germany
with the resulting Holocaust.
However there are other examples of racism that could have been motivated
through nationalism, including ethnic cleansings during the Yugoslav
secession war in the 1990s, the removal of Germans from the Wolga Republic
during the 1940s, the expulsion of Germans after WWII from the former
"German East", the repressions against Germans in the Baltic States in the
1920s, the repressions against blacks in the United States during the 1930s,
the extermination of the Armenians in the Osmanic Empire in 1915, terror
bombing and gas attacks by the British army in Iraq in the 1920s and 1930s,
killing of the Boers in british concentration camps at the end of the 19th
century, and others.
What makes nationalism so attractive?
The reason why nationalism has maintained its appeal over the centuries
might be that belonging to a culturally, economically or politically strong
nation makes you feel better regardless of your own contribution to this
strength.
Nationalism and pride
Exceeding or violated pride or in the worst case both together can be the
most potent driving forces for the rise of nationalism. In Germany the soil
for nationalism was prepared by a sequence of a period with exceeding pride
followed by a period of defeat and devastation. Whereas during the
"Wilhelminian" era exceeding pride has been risen by the German government,
the period after WWI was determined by violated pride due to defeat and the
conditions of the Versailles treaty. In conjunction with the resulting
economic devastation due to hyperinflation (1922, 1923, and 1929), this lead
to the rise of Nazism and in the last consequence to WWII.
