Schiller & Wimmer - Methodological nationalism, social sciences and migration

Question 1

What did Schiller and Wimmer publish

Answer 1

Methodological nationalism, social sciences and the study of migration

Question 2

According to Schiller and Wimmer, what is methodological nationalism

Answer 2

• naturalization of the nation-state by social sciences
• assumption that countries = natural unit for comparative studies
• society = nation-state
• conflating national interests with the purposes of social sciences
• reflects and reinforces the identification of many scholars with their nation state
• belief in “container model”

Question 3

According to Schiller and Wimmer, what are the 3 variants of methodological nationalism?

Answer 3

1. ignoring or disregarding importance of nationalism
2. naturalization: taking for granted boundaries the nation-state define the units of analysis
3. territorial limitation: confining the study of social processes to territory of the nation-state

Question 4

According to Schiller and Wimmer, why do social sciences ignore nationalism?

Answer 4

• Marx, Durkheim, Weber -> believed in power of modernization in reducing nationalism
• division of labour between disciplines, relegating nationalism to history
• leading to naturalization: belief in “container model” of society

Question 5

According to Schiller and Wimmer, what was phase I of nationalism

Answer 5

Prewar era

• 2 trends: nation-state building and intensive globalization
• imperialism
• emergence of racial notions of “the people” -> nationalism and racism
• long-distance nationalism
• grounded in scientific theories

Question 6

According to Schiller and Wimmer, what was phase II of nationalism

Answer 6

WWI - Cold War

• end of free movement of labour
• closing of borders, inability to migrant
• WWI created and exacerbated national sentiment
• more border policing
• social science:
  
  • > Chicago School, migration as assimilation
  • > migrant identities as security threat

Question 7

According to Schiller and Wimmer, what was phase III of nationalism

Answer 7

Cold War

• erasure of memory of transnationalism
• decolonization: growth of nationalism
• development of welfare capitalism
• tighter policing of borders and migration
• refugees and guest workers

Question 8

What are Schiller and Wimmer’s conclusion?

Answer 8

• we should recover the history of transnationalism
• we shouldn’t think of that nation-state = dead
• all theories highlight some aspects and hide others