Nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is the most important feature of global politics as a source of both conflict and stability. The meaning of nationalism is elusive, as nationalism exists as an ideology and a movement, pervades domestic and international issues, and acts both on and through political actors on every level. Nationalism has guided the development of our species from ensuring the survival of our ancestors to determining the overlying global structure of the contemporary political world; the nation-state system. An understanding of nationalism is essential to understanding the underlying characteristics of our political world for Liberals, Realists and Marxists.

Nationalism is defined in many ways, ranging from a “belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively” to the “devotion to the interests… of one's nation” 1 or as “Aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination” 1. Looking at these definitions, two truisms immediately become evident; the first is that nationalism needs to be understood in several contexts and the second is that a definition of the nation itself is required to make sense of nationalism. The nation can be defined in several ways, but it is best defined as “a people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality” as to distinguish a nation from a nation-state or country and to draw attention to the importance of a shared history and language. “…Language bespeaks both the solidarity and continuity of a people” because it is the means by which a nation can perpetuate itself through passing on its history from one generation to the next and through lending a nation cohesion and distinction by making interactions between people of the same nation easy and of different nations difficult.

It is necessary to understand nationalism in several contexts, as it is a driving force in the actions of individuals and groups, and it can be the source of very different outcomes in the global arena. In times of international war, nationalism fuels conflict between countries which are well defined by the nationalities of their population, as people are motivated to fight out of devotion to their nation and its interests, to avoid surrender and ensure victory for their nation out of a feeling of intense pride for, and loyalty to, it. In times of peace, nationalism serves to keep nations sovereign and distinct, as it is founded upon the belief that differences between nations are so substantial that cooperation between them is inherently opposed to a nation’s own freedom, that independent action is most desirable venue; for. In times of intra-state conflict, nationalism can manifest itself as a force that, instead of unifying a people, divides peoples, as national self-determination often means the fragmentation of states along national lines as one nation tries to gain independence and self-governance.

It is also important to recognize the variety of ways in which nationalism exists. As an ideology nationalism is a permeating element of all worldviews, “a moral or normative principle, a belief about how the world is or should be” . Nationalism is the source of the very concept of the nation-state, as it is an ideology which demands that governments correspond to nations and justifies states “on the grounds that they represent their peoples.” 4 Domestically, nationalism can unite people if the country consists mainly of a single nationality, or divide people if the country’s population is of diverse origins. Internationally, nationalism can unite people across borders that are already transcended by nationality, or further solidify the divisions between populations of countries created by different nation-states. Whether we speak of the actions of soldiers, dictators, traders or educators, it is necessary that we consider their nationalist influences; nationalism can convince one to fight a war, convict one to spread an idea, or be employed by the rich and powerful to exercise control over the political and economic actions of the masses. Nationalism as a movement has been so influential in human history that it can be said to have dictated it.

The small primitive community, whether a family or a group of families, originates and is maintained mainly through the desire for companionship and the need for help in winning safety and comfort from its natural environment. As material civilization progresses, the benefits to be derived from the extension of a common legal and economic system over wider areas provide a stimulus to the formation of larger groups. … The leaders of smaller groups will be reluctant to relinquish their freedom and the power that goes with it; and their reluctance will grow with the growth of their power. Political unity is never sought as an end in itself; it is sought… as a means to power…

Nationalism, in a primitive form, provided the basis for the very formation of society in our prehistory. Though nationalism today exists on a much larger and more complex scale than group membership did when cavemen first coalesced, certain principles have remained constant and have been important in guiding and governing the political organization of human beings throughout history. The first is that any notion of group membership, loyalty or cohesion is a source of power that can be exploited; where a group has leadership, as all groups have, the solidity of the group equates to the strength of authority of group leaders over other group members. This idea extends to nations and nationalism quite easily and realistically. The second is that this sense of group can unify people, and the third closely related principle is that this sense of group can divide peoples. The second and third principles may seem conflicting, but they are indeed complimentary, for when the first principle is taken into account and the interests of the powerful are considered it makes sense that a sense of group can be encouraged if there is the desire to attain power and that a larger sense of group can be discouraged if there is the desire to retain power. These three principles can explain very well how nationalism has influenced many events in history.

Nationalism can be a great source of conflict when the boundaries of nation states do not reflect the distribution of nations. Nationalism in the post-colonial third world has been complicated because here states do not necessarily correspond to nations; state authority and the loyalties of people rarely reflect one another except where the loyalties