Understanding Nationalism
To what extent should nation be
the foundation of identity?
Who are you?
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Do you identify with this flag?
Does this flag make you who you are?
Why do you identify with this flag?
What other icons (images) might you
identify with?
• Why do “we” identify with being Canadian
as “our” nationality?
• Why are we proud of a flag?
What is a nation? What is a
country?
• A nation is
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People who feel a sense of belonging together
People who want to control their own destiny
From Latin meaning “people” or “race”
May not have official borders or government
• A country is
• Geographic area defined by official borders
• Borders and government are recognized by other
countries
• World includes more than 190 official countries
Nation and Nation-state
• Nation
• An idea that means different things to different people. Some
people think a nation is a country with physical territory and a
government. Others think a nation is people who share a
sense of belonging together and who want to control their
own destiny.
• Nation-state
• A country that has physical borders and a single government
that makes laws and conducts business on behalf of its
citizens. Nation-states may be based on ethnic nationalism or
civic nationalism or a combination of the two.
Civic Nation
• According to Michael Ignatieff a civic nation is
made up of people who share certain political
beliefs. In that framework, race, colour, creed,
gender, language, and ethnicity do not matter.
• Civic Nation: citizens are equal; have the same
rights and responsibilities
• Based on shared values and beliefs
• Civic means “related to citizens”
• Ex. Canada
Civic Nation
• Most civic nations have a constitution, or a
legal document that outlines the rights and
responsibilities of a society’s citizens
• It includes the core laws that define the nation
and how it will be governed.
• It is valued because it lays out the kind of society
they want to live in.
• Elected politicians and the courts must support
and conform with these ideas and rules.
Civic Nationalism
• One understanding implies that Civic
Nationalism emerges only after a nation state
has been created.
• Ex. Britain
• Began as four separate nations: Irish, Scottish, English and
Welsh peoples
• Today people of these four nations live within the
British nation-state
• They share certain values and beliefs and they
form a British civic nation.
Civic and Ethnic Nationalism
• Civic nationalism is different from ethnic
nationalism, which is based on shared
ethnicity, culture, and language.
• Ex. Germany
• 1800’s German-speaking peoples lived in a
number of small states, but many people
supported the idea of a German nation-state.
Emergence of Nationalism
Ethnic Nationalism
Civic Nationalism
Pre-Existing characteristics or
traditions lead to a shared
sense of nation.
People or peoples who share
certain values and beliefs choose to
live together in a nation-state.
Their values and beliefs are often
expressed in a constitution.
The people may then create a nation-state if
they choose to live together with others who
share their sense of nation.
The characteristics of the nation evolve over
time, as common beliefs and values enable
people to respect their differences.
How are nation and country
different?
• Can you “belong” to more than one
nation? Country?
• Can you identify with more than one
nation? Country?
• Does your identity stop at the invisible
lines on the ground?
Expressions of Nationality
• How do we express nationalism?
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Language
Ethnicity
Culture
Religion
Geography
Politics
• Is nationalism the same as patriotism?
– Patriotism
• Love of country or nation
• May spark heroism
• Related words: patriot, patriotic, patriate, repatriate
Understandings of Nation
• Language, ethnicity, culture, religion,
geography, relationship to land, spirituality,
and politics are often commonalities
shared by people who feel they belong to
the same “nation” of people.
• How could these traits be the glue that
holds a “nation” together?
Language
• When a language is spoken by a great
many people it can create a feeling of
belonging that inspires a sense of nation.
• In Canada this can most easily be seen
through the Francophone culture in
Quebec.
• Quebecois French has become distinct
from the French spoken in France. It has
created a sense of belonging.
Language
• On the other hand, there are 480 million
people around the world that speak
English as a first language, but it would be
hard to say that they make up a single
nation.
• Why would there be a distinction between
the Quebecois, and the English speaking
world?
Ethnicity
• Ethnicity can be based on shared racial, cultural,
national or linguistic characteristics.
• In that sense then, talking about people of the
“Vietnamese nation” may mean people
physically residing in the Southeast Asian
country of Vietnam, but it may also include other
people around the world who do not actually live
in Vietnam. As well, not all people who live in
Vietnam are of Vietnamese heritage.
Ethnicity
• Many people believe that building a nation
around a shared ethnicity can help protect
peoples’ collective identity.
• However, it may also encourage people to
think in terms of “us” and “them”, which
can be a cause of conflict.
• Can you think of any countries whose
basis is set around ethnicity? Is Canada
one of them?
Culture
• Culture can involved in shaping a person’s
national identity.
• Culture can be seen through dress, art,
traditional ceremonies or stories, etc.
• In Canada, the First Nations peoples have many
distinct cultures. For example, the Haida on the
West Coast have different traditions than the
Piikani of the prairies, etc.
• How can traditions create a national identity?
Religion
• There are many different religions around the
world and they serve to unify populations under
one central doctrine.
• However, a Christian in Saskatchewan could be
very different from a Christian in Africa, or
Alabama.
• As well, within most world religions there are
different sects that take different interpretations
of the traditions
• Being united under one common denominator
can still provide a sense of nation
Geography
• Mountains, oceans, and deserts are
physical barriers that isolate peoples from
one another.
• This isolation can allow people to develop
in their own ways and form a sense of
nation
• Ex. Tibet
Relationship to Land and
Spirituality
• Certain geographic characteristics create
connections to the land for people that
allow them to feel a sense of nation.
• Ex. Niagara Falls, Hoodoos
• Ex. Siksika
• Often the connections to the land can lead
to spiritual connections which also lead to
a sense of belonging to a certain nation
Politics
• Sovereignty- the political authority of a
people to control their own affairs
• Some people believe that a group of
people can be a nation if they have
sovereignty. Others believe it is only the
desire to have sovereignty that qualifies a
people as a nation
• Ex. Tibet
• Ex. Dene Nation in Northwest Territories