Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
Introduction
Key Questions:
•
How are nations, and a sense of
national belonging, created?
•
What are the politics of
nationalism?
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
What Does ‘Nation’ Mean?
•
Medieval origins: nationes as
groups of university students that
share a language
•
Early Modern Times: nationes as
the politically ruling bodies
(nobility of a state was its ‘nation’)
•
Age of Revolutions (French
Revolution): The entire people as
the ‘nation’
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
Theories of Nation Building
•
The nation as a ‘biological’ entity:
a common origin
•
Nations as constructed or
imagined communities
•
Ernest Renan: A nation is a ‘daily
plebiscite’
•
Benedict Anderson: Nations as
‘Imagined Communities’
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
How Nations Are Created
•
The emergence of a public sphere
and a common, vernacular
language
•
Creating and celebrating a
common past
•
Celebrating nature (as another
commonality and ‘home’)
•
National educational systems
(Eugene Weber, Peasants into
Frenchmen)
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
Nations and Nation States
•
The integrative function of railway
systems
•
Common markets (important step
in the unification of Germany in
the 19th century) and national
bureaucracies
•
Political institutions: every nations
should have its own state
(processes of national state
building in Germany and Italy)
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
Warfare and the Nation
•
Military training as a ‘learning site’
of national belonging
•
Solidarity within the nation in
times of war: individuals are
expected to give their lives for the
nation, but also expect the nation
to take care of them and their
families after the war
•
Ideals of nation shaped during
warfare (‘fighting community’)
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
The Confusing Chronology of Nations
•
Early Modern Origins: National
belonging through public spheres
outside the state (in Germany, e.g.)
•
The French Revolution and the
constitution of the nation; the rise
of nationalism during the
Napoleonic Wars
•
National unification (Germany,
Italy) and nation building (France)
during the 19th century
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
The Politics of Nationalism
•
Nationalism as leftist politics –
why?
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
The Politics of Nationalism
•
Nationalism as leftist politics:
democratic impulse, against
transnational (monarchic)
Empires; an International of
nationalism
•
Mid to late 19th century: emergence
of chauvinistic, exclusive and often
anti-Semitic nationalism
•
Nationalism versus working-class
internationalism
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
Nationalism and Empires
•
Early nationalists regarded
empires as the anti-thesis of
nations (Johann Gottfried Herder)
•
Imperialist Nationalism:
Expansion for national survival
(Lebensraum in Nazi Germany);
mission to civilize in France
•
Anti-colonial nationalism after
both World Wars: For national
independence
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
Nationalism Today
•
Is nationalism on the decline? The
rise of transnational institutions
(EU) and international
corporations
•
The persistence of nationalism
(resistance against transnational
institutions and corporations), and
even a revival of nationalism after
the collapse of the Soviet Union
Making of the Modern World: Nations and Nationalism
Nationalism Today (cont.)
How much has changed? Barack Obama after his
reelection in 2012:
What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the
most diverse nation on earth. … The belief that our destiny is shared;
that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one
another and to future generations. The freedom which so many
Americans have fought for and died for comes with with responsibilities
as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and
patriotism. That’s what makes America great. … It doesn’t matter who
you are or where you come from or what you like or where you love. It
doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or
Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or
straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.