Brubaker- Nationalism reframed Flashcards
What are nationalising states?
Brubaker introduces the idea of “nationalizing states” to describe states that actively promote the interests of the titular or dominant nation within their borders. These states seek to strengthen the cultural, political, and economic dominance of the core national group while addressing the challenges posed by national minorities. Brubaker contrasts this with the more inclusive civic nationalism found in Western Europe
Nation-building and nationalization
- discusses the evolution of the literature on nationalist politics, which has primarily focused on state-seeking nationalisms while neglecting the processes of nationalization within existing states.
- It highlights the concept of nation-building as a process where the citizenry of a state is progressively unified into a cohesive national identity through state-wide institutions and practices. This literature, emerging from the context of newly independent states in Asia and Africa, often viewed ethnicity as a diminishing factor in favour of a singular national identity, leading to a teleological model of development toward complete national integration. However, it later recognized the resilience of ethnicity and the complexities of ethnic conflict in postcolonial states.
- The chapter critiques the simplistic opposition between ethnicity and nationhood, suggesting that in many contexts, ethnicity is integral to the construction of national identity, thus necessitating a reevaluation of nationalization dynamics that reflect ethnocultural realities rather than merely territorial or state-centric frameworks.
The old ‘New Europe’: nationalizing states in the interwar period
- discusses the emergence of new nation-states from the disintegration of the Ottoman, Habsburg, and Romanov empires, all of which were defined as nation-states for specific ethnocultural groups.
- These nationalizing states were characterized by the perceived existence of a “core nation,” which was distinct from the overall citizenry, and the belief that this core nation rightfully “owned” the state.
- Despite claims of ownership, these nations felt their interests were inadequately represented, prompting nationalizing actions aimed at promoting their language, culture, and political dominance.
- interwar Poland illustrates how these dynamics manifested, highlighting that the nationalizing policies were not merely remnants of the past but rather modern expressions of politicized ethnicity, relevant for understanding the nationalizing tendencies of contemporary states emerging from the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.
Interwar Poland as a nationalizing state
- discusses the transformation of Poland after World War I into a nationalizing state, distinct from the old Polish Commonwealth, which had been characterized by ethnolinguistic diversity and a lack of national identity.
- The newly established Polish state aimed to promote the interests of the ethnocultural Polish core nation, which was perceived to be under threat and inadequately represented in political and social structures.
- This involved policies that sought to nationalize various aspects of life, including land, education, and cultural institutions, often at the expense of minority groups such as Belarusians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Jews.
- The Polish government implemented discriminatory measures to assert Polish dominance, reflecting a belief that the state should serve the core nation’s interests while attempting to rectify perceived historical injustices.
- The chapter emphasizes that these nationalizing efforts were not uniform and varied in intensity, leading to significant tensions and resistance from minority populations, which ultimately shaped the national identity and political landscape of interwar Poland.
Nationalizing the western borderlands
- discusses the Polish state’s efforts to nationalize its territory and economy after World War I, particularly targeting the ethnic German population in regions that had been under German rule.
-Ethnic Germans, who had previously held significant economic and political positions, faced displacement as Poland aimed to replace them with Poles and encourage German emigration. - The historical context of harsh German nationalizing policies in these regions provided a rationale for Polish nationalization, which was framed as a corrective measure to reverse the effects of Germanization.
- The Polish state viewed Germans as a potential threat due to their association with a powerful neighboring state, Germany, which had revisionist ambitions regarding Polish territory.
- Consequently, the Polish government implemented policies that not only aimed to assimilate but also to dissimilate, treating Germans differently and seeking to diminish their presence in key economic sectors, thereby exacerbating ethnic tensions and grievances in the borderlands.
Nationalizing the urban economy
- discusses the efforts of newly established nationalizing states to assert control over urban economic structures and resources as a means of promoting the interests of the core ethnocultural nation.
- It highlights how these states implemented policies aimed at redistributing economic power and opportunities to favor the dominant national group, often through state ownership or control of key industries and businesses. This process involved the nationalization of various economic sectors, which was justified as a necessary step to rectify historical injustices and ensure the economic welfare of the core nation.
Nationalizing the eastern borderlands
- The eastern borderlands of interwar Poland presented a complex national identity landscape, characterized by a significant presence of Belarusian and Ukrainian populations, who comprised over 20 percent of the state’s total population.
- Unlike the Germans and Jews, who faced exclusion and were encouraged to emigrate, the East Slavs were recognized as autochthonous and were not targeted for removal.
-The Polish state adopted a nationalizing approach that sought to assimilate these populations into a unitary Polish identity, reflecting the prevailing nationalistic vision of the rightist National Democrats. - This involved settling Polish soldiers and civilians in the eastern territories, which exacerbated local grievances and antagonized the Belarusian and Ukrainian peasants.
- The Polish government’s failure to implement radical land reforms further fueled discontent, as it protected Polish landlords while neglecting the needs of non-Polish peasants, ultimately complicating the national question in these borderlands and fostering a sense of national identity among the local populations that was contrary to Polish intentions.
state- seeking vs state based nationalism
- similar to schluze state seeking is east whereas state based is west
- he deals more with state based which is also located in the east
-they locate them geographically in different examples
Ethnicity as opposed to or constitutive of nationhood
-not just the state that can be formed in different trajectories but also the nationalism can be formed differently
seven characteristics of a nationalising state
1) Ukraine’s end of the cold war formed on basis of cultural and linguistic difference from Russia. not all of them see themselves and ethnically ukrainian
2) german empire strong state second riech no measures for minorities
3) formation of Poland vulnerable rightsneed to be asserted
4) Belgian promoting french and dutch prior to 1914 where dutch minority sub to french and Ireland again British influence
5) Ireland war of independence then civil war or Israel
6) Hungary eg uni functioning in Hungarian
7) Mussolini italy
italy as an example
schulze international relations and france was impotant for Italy as they had conflict austria
