Nationalism

Nationalism is an ideology which holds that the nation, ethnicity or national identity is a fundamental unit of human social life, and makes certain political claims based on that belief, above all the claim that the nation is the only legitimate basis for the state and that each nation is entitled to its own state. In this form nationalism is a universal ideology, but the term also refers to the specific ideology of nationalist movements, which make political claims on behalf of a specific nation. These movements may dispute each others specific claims, but nevertheless they share the general nationalist ideology.

Historical evolution of nationalism

Prior to 1900

Most theories of nationalism assume a European origin of the nation-state. The modern state is often seen as emerging with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. This treaty created the Westphalian system of states, which recognised each others sovereignty and territory. Some of the signatories, such as the Dutch United Provinces, could be seen as a nation state, but there was no German equivalent. In 1648 most states in Europe were still non-national. The theory of the Westphalian origin of the modern state system is disputed.

Related Topics:
State - Treaty of Westphalia - 1648 - Sovereignty - United Provinces

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The major transition to nation-states is often seen as originating in the late 18th and 19th centuries, although this is disputed. Beginning with romantic nationalism, nationalist movements arose throughout Europe. Some of them were separatist, directed against large empires, others sought to unify a divided or fragmented territory, most notably in Germany and Italy. These movements promoted a national identity and culture, and they were successful. By the end of the 19th century most people accepted that Europe was divided into nations, and personally identified with one of these nations. The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War accelerated the formation of nation-states.

Related Topics:
Romantic nationalism - Separatist - Germany - Italy - Austro-Hungarian Empire - Ottoman Empire - First World War

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According to the standard view, before the 19th century people had local, regional, or religious loyalties, but no idea of nationhood. The typical state in Europe was a dynastic state, ruled by a royal house: if there were any loyalties above regional level, then they were owed to the king and the ruling house. Dynastic states could acquire territory by royal marriage, and lose it by division of inheritance - which is now seen as absurd. Going further back, the ancient Greeks called everyone who was not Greek a barbarian but the Greek city states often fought amongst themselves for dominance. Nationalism introduced the idea that each nation has a specific territory, and that beyond this point the claims of other nations apply. Nation-states, in principle, do not seek to conquer territory. However, nationalist movements rarely agreed on where the border should be. As the nationalist movements grew, they introduced new territorial disputes in Europe.

Related Topics:
Dynastic - King - Ancient Greeks - Barbarian - City states

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Nationalism also determined the political life of 19th century Europe. Where the nation was part of an empire, the national liberation struggle was also a struggle against older autocratic regimes, and nationalism was allied with liberal anti-monarchical movements. Where the nation-state was a consolidation of an older monarchy, as in Spain, nationalism was itself conservative and monarchical. Most nationalist movements began in opposition to the existing order, but by the 20th century, there were regimes which primarily identified themselves as nationalist.

Related Topics:
Spain - Regimes

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The standard theory of the 19th-century origin of nation-states is disputed. One problem with it is that the South American independence struggles, and the American War of Independence, predate most European nationalist movements. Some countries, such as the Netherlands and England, seem to have had a clear national identity well before the 19th century.

Related Topics:
South America - Independence struggles - American War of Independence - Netherlands - England

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20th Century nationalism

By the end of the 19th century, nationalist ideas had begun to spread to Asia. In India, nationalism began to encourage calls for the end of British rule. The 20th century nationalist movement in India is generally thought to have been lead by Mahatma Gandhi, although many other leaders were involved as well. In China, nationalism created a justification for the Chinese state that was at odds with the idea of the universal empire. In Japan, nationalism combined with Japanese exceptionalism.

Related Topics:
Asia - India - Mahatma Gandhi - China - Japan - Exceptionalism

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World War I led to new nation states, as several multi-nation empires (Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire) disintegrated. The Russian Empire also lost territory. 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, multi-nation and multi-ethnic states survived, and two new ones emerged, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

Related Topics:
World War I - Ottoman Empire - Austro-Hungarian Empire - Russian Empire - Versailles Treaty - Czechoslovakia - Yugoslavia

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World War II initiated a new wave of nation-state formation, by independence from European colonial Empires. The most dramatic decolonisation was in Africa, which was transformed from a collection of dependent territories into a continent of nation-states. Few of them corresponded to the European ideal of a single people with one language and a clear territory, but they survived. Ironically, the one that best met those criteria, Somalia, disintegrated.

Related Topics:
World War II - Colonial Empires - Decolonisation - Africa - Somalia

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The break-up of the Soviet Union led to an unexpected revival of national movements in Europe around 1990. Its constituent states became independent, for the second time (in modern history) in the case of the Baltic states.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Baltic states

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In the second half of the 20th century, some trends emerged which might indicate a weakening of the nation-state and nationalism. The European Union is widely seen transferring power from the national level to both sub-national and supra-national levels. Critics of globalization almost always see it as a threat to national identity, culture, and sovereignty. Free trade agreements, such as NAFTA and the GATT, and the increasing internationalisation of trade markets, are seen as damaging to the national economy, and have led to a revival of economic nationalism. Protest movements vehemently oppose these negative aspects of globalization, (see Anti-globalisation).

Related Topics:
European Union - Globalization - Sovereignty - NAFTA - GATT - Economic nationalism - Anti-globalisation

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Not all anti-globalists are nationalists, but nationalism continues to assert itself in response to those trends. Nationalist parties continue to do well in elections, and most people continue to have a strong sense of attachment to their nationality. Moreover, globalism and European federalism are not always opposed to nationalism. For example, theorists of Chinese nationalism within the People's Republic of China have articulated the idea that China's national power is substantially enhanced, rather than being reduced, by engaging in international trade and multinational organizations. For a time sub-national groups such as Catalonian autonomists and Welsh nationalists supported a stronger European Union in the hope that a Europe of the regions would limit the power of the present nation-states. However, with Euroscepticism now widespread in the EU, this transformation is no longer on its political agenda.

Related Topics:
Federalism - Chinese nationalism - People's Republic of China - Catalonian autonomists - Welsh nationalists - European Union - Europe of the regions - Euroscepticism

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Language and nationalism

A common language has been a defining characteristic of the nation, and an ideal for nationalists. For example, in France before the French Revolution, regional languages such as Breton and Occitan were spoken, which were mutually incomprehensible. Standard French was also spoken in large parts of the country and had always been the language of administration, but after the Revolution it was imposed as the national language in non-French-speaking regions. For instance, in Brittany, Celtic names were forbidden. The formation of nation-states, and their consolidation after independence, was generally accompanied by policies to restrict, replace, or abandon minority languages. That accelerates the tendency noted in sociolinguistic research, that high-status languages displace low-status languages. See also: Language policy in France.

Related Topics:
French Revolution - Regional languages - Breton - Occitan - National language - Brittany - Minority language - Sociolinguistic - Language policy in France

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Some theorists believe that nationalism became pronounced in the 19th century simply because language became a more important unifier due to increased literacy. With more people reading newspapers, books, pamphlets and so on, which were increasingly widely available to read since the spread of the printing press, it became possible for the first time to develop a broader cultural attachment beyond the local community. At the same time, differences in language solidified, breaking down old dialects, and excluding those from completely different language groups.

Related Topics:
19th century - Literacy - Newspaper - Book - Pamphlet - Dialect

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Nationalist movements from Ireland to India promote the teaching, preservation, and usa of traditional languages, such as Celtic languages, Hebrew, and Hindi. (See also: Language revival.)

Related Topics:
Ireland - India - Celtic languages - Hebrew - Hindi - Language revival

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Even the United States, a country which supposedly transcends nationality, has a long tradition of discrimination for other languages than English. Prominent examples are the German language, which was nearly eradicated during World War I; French and Italian have nearly disappeared from everyday life. Today Spanish is a large second language across large portion of the country. Some politicians, such as Pat Buchanan have consciously opposed the rise of Spanish as a second American language, for fear that it would undermine traditional institutions.

Related Topics:
United States - German language - World War I - French - Italian - Spanish - Pat Buchanan

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In the Arab World during the colonial period, the Turkish language, French language, Spanish language and English language were often imposed, although the intensity of imposition varied widely. When the colonial period ended (mostly after World War Two), a process of "Arabisation" began; reviving Arabic to unify their states and to facilitate a broader Arab identity, motivated by Pan-Arabism. Countries such as Algeria and Western Sahara underwent large scale Arabisations, changing from French and Spanish to Arabic respectively.

Related Topics:
Arab World - Turkish language - French language - Spanish language - English language - Arabic - Arab - Pan-Arabism - Algeria - Western Sahara

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However within the Arab World, some nationalistic attempts were made to emancipate a domestic vernacular and treat classical Arabic as a formal foreign language. It was often incomprehensible to the non-literate population of nominally Arab countries, which were politically - but not necessarily linguistically, culturally or ethnically, Arabized. These policies were first promoted in Egypt in the mid 20th century by the Egyptian scholar and nationalist Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid, who called for the formalization of the Egyptian Vernacular as the native language of the Egyptian people. More recently Bayoumi Andil, an Egyptian Linguist and Egyptologist, did research in what he nationalistically defines as the "Modern Egyptian Language", which led him to declare it "irrelevant" to Arabic. He claimed that it was the fourth phase of the ancient Egyptian language descended from Coptic, with which it is intimately related, syntactically, morphological, and phonologicaly.

Related Topics:
Vernacular - Classical Arabic - Foreign language - Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid - Egyptian Vernacular - Bayoumi Andil - Linguist - Egyptologist - Coptic - Syntactically - Morphological - Phonologicaly

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Similar attempts to emphasise minority languages completely independent of Arabic were made by the Nubians who are split between Egypt and Sudan, and relatively more successfully by the Amazigh (also known as Imazighen or Berber) in Morocco.

Related Topics:
Minority languages - Nubians - Egypt - Sudan - Amazigh - Berber - Morocco

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Prominent figures

See the List of prominent figures in nationalism.

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