origins of nationalism and core ideas Flashcards
(14 cards)
when did the idea of ‘nation’ and ‘state’ come together?
18th century
what’s a nation?
a group of people with one or more of the shared common identities e.g. language, religion etc
what’s a state?
a geographically recognised boundary within which the inhabitants are bound by the legal and political jurisdiction of the ruling regime
core ideas about human nature: language
-language is a tool for communication and shaping collective consciousness
-it binds people with a long, common history together in an organic way
core ideas about human nature: religion
-shared religion has formed the basis for much modern nationalism
-e.g. Maurras pointed out the role of the catholic church in french society as a key factor in shaping french national identity
core ideas about human nature: culture
-includes a shared sense of national history and of the artistic, literary and musical achievements of a nation
-pride in your nation’s history and artistic influence (e.g. shakespeare) is a key feature of british nationalism
core ideas about human nature: ethnicity
-ethnic identity invoked in the nationalism of Garvey and Maurras
-e.g. Garvey appealed to the superior culture of the ‘black race’ to combat colonial oppression as he wanted to create a unified african nation-state
core ideas about human nature: geography
-defined territory that a national group is prevalent in
-more prominent in island nations
what is cultural nationalism?
a collective identity that relates to the unity of a nation
what is liberal cultural nationalism?
-cultural nationalism as a defence of minority rights
-flourishes when people think their culture is threatened by a more dominant culture
-e.g. welsh nationalists haven’t sought the creation of a welsh nation state - they just want to promote the welsh language and culture and want to make teaching welsh in welsh schools compulsory
what is conservative cultural nationalism?
-cultural nationalism as an assertion of a dominant national culture
-nationalist movements fear a weakening of social cohesion if the national culture is too diluted by people who refuse to subscribe to it
-sometimes manifests as believing your culture is superior to others e.g. Serbian nationalist Milosivic
what is racialism?
-a political approach and belief that racial distinctions are the most important form of national identity
-e.g. Garvey’s nationalism justified the separation of the african nation from their white suppressors and did so based on the belief that the defining difference between them was their race
-neutral racialism = simply implies that the basis of nationhood should be racial
what is nativism?
the race which originally occupied the territory of a nation-state should be favoured politically and economically over those who arrived later
what is racism?
-acting on racialism
-when a group feels superior to others and translates this prejudice into discrimination or suppression or oppression
-can be a state of mind or a political movement
-e.g. apartheid - white leaders oppressed black people in south africa
