nationalism: core ideas and principles Flashcards
1
Q
core principles
A
- nations
- self determination
- nation state
- culturalism
- racialism
- internationalism
2
Q
culturalism
A
- cultural nationalism reflects national identity, defined by a shared sense of cultural tradition
- cultural nationalism is most clearly identified via symbols of national pride
- this may be contrasted with the ascribed characteristics surrounding race and ethnicity
- in ideological terms, cultural nationalism thereby adopts a moderate stance
- it is more inclusive in tone and character than the belligerent approach of ethnic nationalism
- that said, cultural nationalism is of a more traditional and homogenous character than the diversity and choice inherent within the ideology of liberal nationalism
3
Q
culturalism, societies, and language
A
- cultural nationalism is more common within those societies characterised by a degree of ethnic diversity, alongside a common set of cultural beliefs and language
- these societies posses a shared culture, even when they lack the ethnic and racial characteristics of a nation
- cultural nationalism may be expressed within a shared cultural idea and its political ideology as opposed to a common ethnicity
- although it is a nation of immigrants, the US adopts a strong sense of a cultural pride and a common set of beliefs, commonly referred to as the ‘American dream’
- in terms of language, a nation may well hold a native language from a previous historical era
- a spirit of nationalist feeling may reassert itself after gaining independence from an outside source
- this was the case of the Baltic states after liberation from the soviet union
- such is the intricate link between languages and nationhood, nations have often faced persecution in regards to national symbols and the use of their own language
3
Q
cultural nationalism - Scotland and Wales
A
- after centuries of rule imposed by the Westminster parliament, the cultural identity of the Celtic nations have been enhanced via two inter related developments
- firstly, the process of devolution has enabled the smaller nations within the UK to more fully express their cultural identity
- Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly have implemented various schemes that celebrate the distinct culture (and to some extent, linguistic traditions) of their respective nations
- secondly, the process of European integration and its focus upon a ‘Europe of the regions’ has also played a positive role
- this process has been welcomes by nationalist movements within Catalonia and the Basque region in Spain
4
Q
nations and nation states
A
- if a ‘nation’ is a group of people who identify themselves as such, a ‘state’ simply refers to a geographical area with clear boundaries
- so, a ‘nation state’ can be defined as a nation of people who rule themselves in their own sovereign territory
- nation states come about through national self determination and the two concepts are closely related
- in todays world (particularly in Europe), the nation state is the usual organisation of a country, i.e., France is ruled by the French in their own geographical territory
- this has not always been the case, as recently as the 1970s, the nation of Germany was divided into two states, and Yugoslavia (which has now disintegrated, with its component states becoming nations in their own right) has one country
- nation - group of people who self identify as belonging to the same group or community
- a state must have 4 specific elements: permanent population, functioning and effective government, defined territory, and recognition by other nation states
- a state can only have sovereignty of absolute power over somewhere, conflict is often based on competing claims, e.g., Kashmir
5
Q
self determination
A
- nations being able to decide how they are governed
- applied to individuals, this could be called autonomy or independence
- the belief in self determination is based on the view that nations are a genuine political association and that only they know what is in the national interest
- it sounds relatively uncontroversial, but different forms of nationalism have very different views about its benefits and desirability for other nations
- some nationalists rest on the belief that international order can only exist when all nations have the right of self determination, others believe that only they and no offer nation, have the right to self determination
- many conflicts throughout history have existed because of self determination - the Balkans war in the 1990s came after the collapse of Yugoslavia when the Serbs, Croats, Slovenians, and Bosnians - each of whom identified themselves as individual nations - fought to win self determination
- self determination is a purpose of the UN to ‘develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self determination of peoples’
6
Q
self determination and colonialism
A
- the further back you go in history, the fewer nation states you will find
- it used to be a sign of power and prestige for larger countries to rule other countries, known as imperialism or colonialism
- self determination is not compatible with colonialism
- having an empire was a key aim of monarchs and countries throughout history
- citizens of European countries will be familiar with stories of historical figures finding ‘new’ countries and bringing back delights from far flung shores
- the ‘newly discovered’ countries actually already existed with indigenous populations who had their own government, cultures, and economies
7
Q
racialism
A
- racialism is the belief that the human species is naturally divided into races that are ostensibly distinct biological categories
- racialist ideas are rooted in the belief that humanity is not one single human race, but can be meaningfully divided into separate races and that the differences are biological and fixed
- in 1903, W.E.B. DuBois said that racialism is the philosophical position that races existed, and that collective differences existed among such categories
- he further stated that racism required advancing the argument that one race is superior to other races of human beings
- in ‘in my father’s house’ (1992), Kwame Anthony Appiah summarised DuBois’ philosophical stance that racialism is value neutral term and that racism is a value charged term
- the Merriam Webster dictionary defines racialism as ‘a theory that race determines human traits and capacities’ and defines racism as ‘a belief that race is primary determinant of human traits and capacities, and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race’
- racialist theories usually ascribe different traits to different races, with certain races being naturally ‘good’ or ‘bad’ at different things, which leads to a racial hierarchy
8
Q
Hitler’s racialist theories
A
- racialist ideas are more than mere bigotry or prejudice, many have pseudo scientific language to justify their theories
- one of the more extreme examples of this are the racialist theories of Hitler’s Nazi Germany
- using the views of count Gobineau and H.S Chamberlain, Hitler came to the view that history was a struggle between races, with the principle struggles between the Jewish and the Aryan race
- for Hitler, the world was generally divided into 3 groups: founders (Aryans), bearers (Slavs, Asians, Latin people), and destroyers of cultures (Jewish, roma people, black people) - mein kamf, chapter 11
- founders were responsible for all creativity in the world, bearers were able to appreciate the greatness of the founders but destroyers were pitted in an unending battle with the founders of culture and responsible for all evil in society
9
Q
race and ethnicity
A
- race concerns a person’s biological make up
- ethnicity refers to a variety of attributes about an individual: the culture they associate with, the culture their parents were brought up in, the language they speak, the history of their region they were brought up in, and in some cases their religion
10
Q
Mo Farah
A
- a British citizen
- referring to his race, he could be described as black african
- describing his ethnicity, he was born in Somalia, came to London aged 8 to join his father (a British citizen), went to school in London, even though he barely spoke the language, his talents were encouraged and he pursued athletics, he is a devout muslim, arsenal supporter, and has a knighthood
11
Q
internationalism
A
- internationalism is the belief that the people of the world should unite and connect across national boundaries, looking beyond what is best for the individual nations to see what is best for the world
- its aim is to secure a peaceful world
- same types of nationalism also have an internationalist perspective
12
Q
liberal internationalism
A
- based on applying the core principles of liberal individualism to the nation
- nations have the right to self determination as much as individuals have the right to individual autonomy and freedom
- the liberal nationalist aim is a world independent nation states
- liberal nationalists also assume that independent nation states will seek to cooperate with each other as and when they need to - economically, educationally, and culturally
- this will create interdependence as they trade goods and services, share ideas, and exchange cultures
- the key aim is to secure an internationally stable and peaceful world where disputes can be resolved rationally without resorting to violence
- this has led to put their faith in supernational organisation, institutions that exist ‘above’ national institutions, e.g., EU, or UN help to resolve conflicts
- just as sovereign individuals need to be kept in heck by a state, so sovereign nation states need to be kept in check by supranational institutions
13
Q
socialist internationalism
A
- largely incompatible with nationalism
- socialist internationalism is concerned with extending the idea of cooperation, community, and humanity across the world
- believes that humans are not naturally divided into nations and are instead connected to the whole of humanity, whatever country they happen to be living in
- socialism is an internationalist ideology and rejects the concept of nationalism
- Karl Marx said ‘the working man has no country’
- Marx and Engels believed that nationalism and patriotism were part of ‘false consciousness’ and a way of keeping the truth hidden from ordinary people
- nationalism artificially divided the proletariat into the French, German, and British, etc. nationalities to stop them from seeing that they were all exploited by the bourgeoisie
- the point of ‘false consciousness’ was to stop the international proletariat from uniting and rising up against their (minority) bourgeoisie bosses
14
Q
nations - human nature
A
- the idea of a nation is linked to human nature as different nationalist views of the concept of the nation, namely civic or ethnic, are to do with their view of human nature, that is, rational or irrational
- language is seen as a key aspect of culture of a nation and binds people together organically (Herder)
- religion binds people together, e.g., Jewish people - some leaders have attempted to synthesise religion and nationalism, e.g., Gaddafi
