Nations and Nationalism Flashcards
What is a nation in objective terms?
Cultural entities
(Groups of people who speak the same language, have the same religion, bound by the same history, etc.)
What is a nation in subjective terms?
Psycho-political constructs
(Members regard themselves as a nation)
According to Johann Gottfried Herder, the innate character of a national group is based on
- Natural Environment
- Climate
- Physical Geography
The organic identity of a people reflected in their culture, every nation has this
Volksgeist
Who said “nationalism is linked to modernization, particularly industrialization”?
Ernest Gellner
He highlighted the degree to which nations are ‘invented traditions’
He said nationalism creates nations, not the other way around.
Eric Hobsbawn
He portrayed the modern nation as an ‘artifact’, an imagined community
Said that nations exist more as mental images than genuine communities
Benedict Anderson
Nations that are characterized by a high level of ethnic homogeneity.
They are bound together by a powerful and historical sense of national unity.
‘Cultural’ nations
A nation in which citizenship has a greater political significance than ethnic identity.
These nations were commonly founded upon a voluntary acceptance of a common set of principles.
‘Political Nation’
What are the four varieties of nationalism
(Principal Political Manifestation of Nationalism)
- Liberal Nationalism
- Conservative Nationalism
- Expansionist Nationalism
- Anticolonial Nationalism
- Central Theme: A commitment to the principle of national self-determination
- Ultimate Goal: The construction of a world of a sovereign nation-state
- Commits to individualism and subscribes to universalism
Liberal nationalism
- Focuses on social cohesion and public order
- Traditionalism, maintenance of cultural purity
- Inward-looking and insular
Conservative Nationalism
- Has aggressive, militaristic, and expansionist character
- “The nation is everything the individual is nothing,” Charles Maurras
- This form of nationalism is articulated through doctrines of ethnic or racial superiority, thereby fusing nationalism and racialism
Expansionist Nationalism
An exclusive ethnic community, bound together by primordial loyalties
‘Integral’ nation
Chauvinism
An irrational belief in the superiority or
dominance of one’s own group or people
- Found mostly in the developing world
- Shaped by the desire for ‘national liberation’
Anticolonial Nationalism
The theory or practice of establishing control over
foreign territory and turning it into a ‘colony’. It is a
particular form of imperialism.
Colonialism
A term referring to prejudice or hatred specifically towards Jews.
Semitism
A style of nationalism dedicated to unifying a disparate people through either expansionism or political solidarity.
Pan-nationalism
A mood of public enthusiasm and celebration provoked by military expansion or imperial conquest.
Jingoism
Opposition to further European integration,
usually not extending to the drive to withdraw from the EU.
Euroscepticism (anti-Europeanism)
The forcible expulsion or extermination of ‘alien’
peoples; often used as a euphemism for genocide.
Ethnic cleansing
A sentiment, a psychological attachment to one’s nation (a ‘love of one’s country’)
Patriotism
The theory that there is a common core to human
identity shared by people everywhere.
Universalism
Rights to which people are entitled by virtue of being human; universal and fundamental rights
Human rights
The principle that the nation is a sovereign entity; it implies both national independence and democratic rule.
National self-determination
A fear or hatred of foreigners; pathological
ethnocentrism.
Xenophobia
Group behaviour characterized by insularity and exclusivity, typically fuelled by hostility towards rival groups.
Tribalism
Refers to any belief or doctrine that draws political or social conclusions from the idea that humankind is divided into biologically distinct races (a notion that has no, or little, scientific basis).
Racialism
Whereas ______________ is ‘rational’, and usually principled, _______________ is ‘mystical’, in that it is based on a romantic belief in the nation as a unique, historical and organic whole, animated by its own ‘spirit’.
Political nationalism
Cultural nationalism
The belief that human beings are culturally defined
creatures, culture being the universal basis for personal and social identity.
Culturalism
A group of people who share a common cultural and
historical identity, typically linked to a belief in common descent.
Ethnic group
Culturally speaking, what is a nation?
Culturally, a nation is a group of people bound together by a common language, religion, history, and traditions, although nations exhibit various levels of cultural heterogeneity.
Politically , what is a nation?
Politically, a nation is a group of people who regard themselves as a natural political community, classically expressed through the quest for a sovereign statehood.
Psychologically, what is a nation?
Psychologically, a nation is a group of people distinguished by a shared loyalty or affection in the form of patriotism.
