Nationalism
the pursuit of national interests
Key Ideas are highlighted in red
National Interests
• a cultural, economic, political, religious, or military goal
of a nation
• to ensure
• a nation’s survival and security,
• economic growth and power,
• maintenance of quality of life for people within the nation
• both nations and nation-states pursue national
interests
• example: Inuit pushing for the creation of Nunavut (both the Inuit
nation and the nation-state of Canada were involved in this process)
• Pursuing national interests can result in both positive and
negative outcomes
• Different points of view and perspectives influence the
pursuit of national interests
• E.g. the pursuit of self-determination on Quebec is not
shared by all members of that society
• The militaristic perspective of Germany helped to justify
the actions that led to World War Two
• The five year plans of Stalin that industrialized the USSR
(with a high human toll)
• nationalists feel a nation-state must focus on
their own needs before others, which an
internationalist would state that a nation-state
must consider others when establishing their
national interests
• example – Kyoto Protocol
• Ultranationalism: an extreme form of
nationalism. Ultranationalists are often
fanatically loyal to their own nation and hostile
and racist toward other nations.
• Example – Nazi Germany
One nation’s pursuit of national interests can
often affect other nations
• most nations must deal with other nations in
order to meet their people’s needs and wants
(quality of life – includes security – both
political and economic)
• example: World Wars One and Two
• example: the U.S. efforts with the economic
crisis of 2008 are affecting financial institutions
around the world
• there an unlimited wants and finite resources
JOURNAL
• “Canada has never gone to war to conquer or
enslave other people.” But we will go to war to
defend freedom, democracy and human rights.
• should Canada pursue a national interest in
protecting our ideological ideas of freedom,
democracy and human rights around the world,
including areas like Afghanistan and Bosnia?
The Northwest Passage
• Canada has claimed sovereign control over the region
leading from the Canadian continent to the North
Pole. The United States and other nations refuse to
recognize that sovereignty, stating that it is an
international waterway. With the retreating polar ice
cap and the potential for oil and other minerals, the
Russians are disputing Canada’s claims.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8S4RN3RUjE
Journal
• What should Canada’s national interest be
when it comes to the Northwest Passage?
Should Canada pursue its national interests by
using military presence, going to international
organizations to establish our claims, or
accept the idea of the region being an
international waterway?
JOURNAL
• Social 20-1 textbook: look at the textbook
page 140 – list of new nation-states created
since 1990. What could happen if all ethnic
groups became independent sovereign states?
What would the map of Canada look like (look
at the map of Europe to get an idea)