Nationalism Essay Plans

Question 1

Human nature

Answer 1

AGREE that HUMANS R NATURALLY DRAWN TOGETHER INTO COMMUNITIES— NATIONS

• for Mazzini, people are bound together by a ‘national spirit’, which goes deeper than merely shared political views: ‘a country is not a mere territory; it is the sentiment of love, sense of fellowship which binds together brothers of that territory.’
  -Herder - volksgeist - shared spirit.

CA- although nats believe that people are naturally drawn together, they largely disagree on what draws them together

Rousseau’s ‘civic Nat’ saw shared values as the main bond between members of the nation. Many lib states practice inclusive Nat. In order to be part of a national community, you need to be committed to the nation’s values rather than having the same ethnicity,culture or language

Culturalism- suggest that people are divided by their culture— shared ‘national spirit’- Mazzini believes that this is what unites Italians and herder believed in a volksgeist a deeper rooted spirit that unites people together

Chauvinistic nats - race divided nations e.g Garvey and maurras, hitler.

Question 2

The state

Answer 2

Believes that the best kind of state is the nation state

Rousseau believed that the state should be based on the nation bc the nation is a group of people expressing their ‘general will’ to have a shared democratic govt - self determination in Yugoslavia.

Cons believe that the nation state creates stability by preserving the ‘organic nation’ which has evolved over centuries and binds people together with a common culture or language (volksgeist). If these features are not present, then the state is not legitimate.

CA- the purpose of the state (to protect freedom or preserve the nation)
Libs believe in a democratic constitution to serve the ‘general will’ of the people and believe that states should cooperate together to protect liberal values through supranational bodies like the EU, free trade and treaties.

Post col nats have strong authoritarian dictators to help frame national identity long suppressed by colonialism. Lead to increase cult leadership like mugabe in Zimbabwe - seize white-owned lands “(t)he white man is not indigenous to Africa. Africa is for Africans. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans.’

Question 3

Soc and economy

Answer 3

Mazzini- nations as a group of people ‘bind together’ by the ‘sentiment of love’ and ‘sense of fellowship.’
Post-col- soc is a collection of historically oppressed people who have a common struggle for liberation.

CA
Con- identity based on shared culture and language, not values
Lib- inclusive Nat, values like the USA.
Chauvinism- protectionism limits foreign competition and prioritises domestic industries and workers. Maurras believed in a hierarchy of nations leads to economic dominance- wants isolationism
Libs support internationalism of trade. Super free trade as reduced interference maximises the freedom of the individual and free trade also creates interdependence, minimising risk of conflict.