Nationalism is an ideology and a political movement, which seeks to create a separate sovereign state for each nation, and accepts only these nation-states as legitimate. Nationalism holds that each nation has its own national homeland, and that it should form the territory of the nation-state. The state and its territory should be primarily inhabited by members of the nation, and its national culture and language should be dominant. Members of the nation would have a right to live there, others would not. Although no state is 100% inhabited by one nation, most modern states are generally referred to as nation-states. They claim to be the homeland of a specific nation or people, and claim legitimacy on this ground (even though the claim may be disputed). That was not always the case: most historians consider the nation-state to be a relatively recent innovation, which displaced other forms of state, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Nationalism intrudes on moral philosophy: the individual is expected to be loyal to a nation, and to identify with its culture. In case of conflict, the nation is expected to take precedence over family, friends, personal interests, religion, and ultimately the individual conscience. Nationalism sanctions violence in defence of the nation, and in the worst-case scenario, the individual may be expected to kill family or friends because they threaten the nation. As a social philosophy, nationalism sees the nation as the ultimate unit of social organisation. Where other forms of social or economic organisation threaten the national unity, they are expected to yield to the national interest.
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| American neo-nazis demonstrate in Washington: patriotism is never far from chauvinism and racism. CC image by Streyeder. |
All of the claims of nationalist ideology are disputed. The political and territorial claims of individual nationalist movements are also disputed, by states and by other nationalist movements. Nationalism tends to be a violent ideology, and most nationalist movements believed in the use of force, to achieve their aims. In the resulting conflicts, millions of people have died.
The nation
A nation is a long-term historical entity, extending over many generations. It is organic: it can not be created artificially. Membership is not voluntary: it is normally acquired along with the language and culture, by growing up among the members of the nation. Above all it is acquired by descent and ancestry, through the biological parents. A nation is a primarily ethnic entity, sometimes identical to an ethnic group.
Nationalism holds that each nation has an absolute right to existence. (The entitlement to a sovereign state is also seen as a necessary instrument, to guarantee this existence). The nation consists largely (for some nationalists, entirely) of the descendants of those who lived in the national homeland in past centuries. The claim to its territory is also derived from this habitation by the ancestors: it has become the national homeland, because the nation lived there historically. The homeland is not however a private transferable property: it is held to be semi-sacred, and (except for minor border corrections) nationalists reject the idea of its transfer to other states.
Similarly, the national culture is an inheritance from past generations of the nation. Nationalists see it as a duty to preserve this culture, and cultural conservatism is inevitably inherent in nationalism. Logically, every cultural innovation replaces part of the national cultural heritage. Complete replacement of all its elements would be equivalent to its destruction, and the bearers of the new culture would no longer be members of the same nation as their ancestors. Nationalism seeks to preserve not only the biological continuity of the nation, but also its cultural and linguistic continuity.
In the nationalist view, the planet is inhabited by nations. Every human being can be assigned, on the basis of defining criteria, to a specific nation. These criteria include native language (linguistic nationalism) and culture (cultural nationalism), and especially ancestry. Not only the population, but all human culture and history, are categorised in this way by nationalists. Every novel is part of one nations national literature, every painting is part of one nations national art. Each nation has its own symbols, mythology, and values.
Nationalists therefore believe, that the entire global population can be assigned to a fixed number of states, corresponding to the number of nations. In theory, every person will then live in a state, where their own language is spoken, where their culture is the standard culture, where their values determine social life, and where the government protects their specific group interests.
Nationalism claims that human society can be, and should be, organised in this way. That often conflicts with the demographic, cultural and linguistic realities. Nationalists have often tried to fit the population to their ideal - in the worst cases, by physically eliminating those who did match the desired arrangement. However, even if the global population did consist of homogenous national blocks, and they all agreed on their boundaries, that would not necessarily mean that nation-states are the only legitimate (or effective) form of state.
Conflict between nations
Often, the claims of nationalist movements conflict with each other. Nationalist movements claim populations, in the sense of allocating individuals to their nation. They claim territory, and two or more groups may claim the same territory. They claim that a specific language or dialect should be spoken there, and that a specific culture should predominate. They claim allegiance from the population, which might mean either conscription into the army, or a demand to support an armed insurrection. Individuals can be confronted with all these conflicting demands, and of course they can lead to violence.
After the formation of nation-states, unresolved conflicts of this kind can lead to war between nation-states. That includes secession by those who find themselves in the 'wrong' nation-state, and irredentism - attempts to seize claimed national territory located in another state. Where the national territory is partly inhabited by the 'wrong' population, then they might be expelled. The break-up of Yugoslavia is a recent example of 'post-independence' conflicts of this kind.
The nationalist claim to a state: Croatia and Ireland
Constitution of the Republic of Croatia: Historical Foundations
The millenary identity of the Croatia nation and the continuity of its statehood, confirmed by the course of its entire historical experience within different forms of states and by the preservation and growth of the idea of a national state, founded on the historical right of the Croatian nation to full sovereignty, manifested in:
-- the formation of Croatian principalities in the seventh century;
-- the independent mediaeval state of Croatia founded in the ninth century;
-- the Kingdom of Croats established in the tenth century;
-- the preservation of the identity of the Croatian state in the Croatian-Hungarian personal union;
-- the independent and sovereign decision of the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) of 1527 to elect a king from the Habsburg dynasty;
-- the independent and sovereign decision of the Croatian Parliament of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1712;
-- the conclusions of the Croatian Parliament of 1848 regarding the restoration of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia under the authority of the Banus grounded on the historical, national and natural right of the Croatian nation;
-- the Croatian-Hungarian Compromise of 1868 on the relations between the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia and the Kingdom of Hungary, grounded on the legal traditions of both states and the Pragmatic Sanction of 1712;
-- the decision of the Croatian Parliament of 29 October 1918 to dissolve state relations between Croatia and Austria-Hungary and the simultaneous affiliation of independent Croatia, invoking its historical and natural right as a nation, with the state of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, proclaimed on the former territory of the Habsburg Monarchy;
.... on the threshold of the historical changes, marked by the collapse of the communist system and changes in the European international order, the Croatian nation by its freely expressed will at the first democratic elections (1990) reaffirmed its millenniary statehood. By the new Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (1990) and the victory in the Homeland War (1991-1995), the Croatian nation demonstrated its will and determination to establish and defend the Republic of Croatia as a free, independent, sovereign and democratic state.
IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom. ... We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. ... Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations. The Irish Republic is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman and Irishwoman.
The nation-state
Nationalism advocates the creation of nation-states, one for each nation. Where they did not exist, nationalists advocated the replacement of existing states by nation-states. In Europe, they sought the break-up of the large multi-ethnic empires: Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire. In Africa, Asia, and the Americas, nationalists sought independence from the colonial empires of European powers.
Ruritania: the nation-state as nationalists would want it [4]
Ruritania traces its origins to the County of Ruritania, founded in 1155 by Count Rurit. Although it was later incorporated into the Danovian Empire, the Ruritanian people never lost their identity - as indicated by the Patriotic National Uprising of 1848. In 1918 Ruritania became independent, when the Danovian Empire collapsed.
Ruritania is inhabited by the Ruritanian people. Who is a Ruritanian? Ruritanians have a simple answer to that question: they are the descendants of previous generations of Ruritanians. Those who are not descended from Ruritanians are not Ruritanian. No other nations or peoples inhabit the country: there are no minorities in Ruritania. There are no Ruritanian minorities in the neighbouring states.
Ruritanians are proud of their land and its culture. Being Ruritanian means, for Ruritanians: feeling a bond with other Ruritanians, and with the dead generations of Ruritanians. Consequently, Ruritanians never emigrate, since they would not feel at home in another country. Ruritanians marry Ruritanians, choosing their partners from among their own people and culture. Consequently, they all have Ruritanian children. No non-Ruritanian children are ever born on Ruritanian territory, and since there is no immigration, no non-Ruritanian adults are permanently resident either. Every generation of pure Ruritanians is succeeded by another generation of pure Ruritanians.
All Ruritanians have a Ruritanian culture. Since Ruritania is inhabited entirely by Ruritanians, it is the culture of the entire national territory, and there are no non-Ruritanian cultural enclaves. It is recognised by the Ruritanian Constitution as the national culture. It includes Ruritanian folklore, Ruritanian national art, and Ruritanian national literature. That literature includes the national epic, written by the national poet Rurit Ruritovan in 1815, celebrating the deeds of Count Rurit. A first-edition copy of the book is on display in the Ruritanian National Library. Ruritanian culture is protected by the Ministry of National Culture, which also administers the National Museum in the capital Ruritograd. Ruritanians see Ruritanian culture as an inheritance from past generations of Ruritanians, which they must preserve: they tend to resist foreign cultural influences.
Ruritanians speak the Ruritanian language, and it is recognised in the constitution as the national language. It is only spoken by Ruritanians, and since they all live in Ruritania, it is only spoken there. Since the inhabitants are all Ruritanian, it is the only language: there are no linguistic minorities. Standard Ruritanian is codified by the Ruritanian National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy is also responsible for preparing the courses in Ruritanian national history and Ruritanian literature, which are compulsory in all Ruritanian schools.
Ruritanians are loyal to Ruritania. The Ruritanian national flag is flown on all public buildings, and on many private houses. The flag is also ceremonially raised every morning at schools, and the assembled children then sing the Ruritanian national anthem, "Great Count Rurit". On Independence Day, Ruritanians all celebrate the national holiday, and large crowds assemble in the squares to wave the national flag. Some are dressed in the national costume - it is now only worn on such ceremonial occasions. The celebrations are typically preceded by a feast at home, where family and friends gather to eat the national dish, Ruragna, drink the national drink, Ruraki (a plum brandy), and play the national sport Rurbol.
Life in Ruritania, in other words, is essentially, totally, and overwhelmingly Ruritanian.
Functions of the nation-state
The ideology of nationalism specifies certain duties and functions of the nation-state. It is not simply intended as a place of residence of the nation, but as guardian of the nation's existence. It should in the first instance protect its own sovereignty. It should ensure the continued survival of the nation, not simply as residents of its territory, but as a historical-cultural entity. It should ensure that the national territory is what it is supposed to be - the national homeland of one specific nation, with one specific national culture. This nationalist vision of the state, often resulted in state policies to homogenise the population, and impose a standard language and culture. Internally, the nation-state seeks ultimately to achieve a unity of land, people, and culture. Alltough individual nation-states vary in the degree of uniformity, all nation-states are inherently monocultural.
The nationalist view of the state has implications for immigration policy. If the state is intended for a specific group, then in principle others should not inhabit it. Mass immigration alters the composition of any state's population: in a nation-state, it conflicts with the very purpose of the state. The ideal of a centuries-old, low-migration, stable population block is incompatible with massive migration flows. In the nationalist view, the nation is the 'owner' of the national homeland, and the nation-state implements that relationship, and may legitimately exclude non-members. The zero-immigration policies advocated by some nationalist parties are the logical expression of this exclusive claim. Immigration also disrupts the national unity of land, people, and culture: it imports non-national populations and cultures. Cultural differences are a major source of friction, and nationalists in high-immigration states increasingly advocate restorationist monoculturalism.
Since the nation-state seeks national unity, it tends to oppose movements and ideologies which 'divide the nation' by emphasising social divisions and especially inequality. The general political alignment of nationalism on social issues is with the right: the presence of inequality is de-emphasised, and citizens are encouraged to identify with one another - in practice, to accept the inequalities.
The claim of nationalist ideology, that the nation-state is the only legitimate form of state, also conflicts with developing ideas about alternatives. That is especially apparent in Europe, where many nationalists see the European Union as a threat to national sovereignty. These eurosceptic nationalists fear the creation of a non-national superstate, or the break-up of existing nation-states into regional units, or a combination of both. The underlying ethical issue is whether 'the state' is in fact intended, to secure the continuous existence of historical-cultural ethnic communities. If it is - as nationalists claim - then indeed no alternative geopolitical structure would be legitimate. Nationalism has an underlying conservative and anti-utopian bias.
Life in a nation-state
The individual in a nation-state is subjected to constant pressure to conform to the national culture, and to emotionally identify with the nation. This pressure comes from the state, above all through the educational system. Even in primary schools children are encouraged to identify with the nation, and its national symbols such as the national flag. A national version of history is taught in the schools of all nation-states, and in some it is largely invented. It includes iconic national heroes, iconic events (decisive battles, massacres), and iconic documents such as a Declaration of Independence. In all cases it is partly mythical - intended to bind the members of the nation, rather than improve their understanding of history.
It is not only the state which pressurises the individual. Part of the the population, often the majority, is nationalist in the broad sense. There is social pressure to be patriotic, and to conform to national norms: the degree of pressure varies from nation to nation. Conformity, conservatism, and narrow-mindedness are to a certain extent pre-conditions for a nation: certainly if everyone tries to be different from their neighbours, then they will cease to have anything in common, and the nation will dissolve. In cases of conflict, the pressure can be extreme, especially when individual or a minority group are seen as traitors. Even if there is no state repression, they may be subjected to attacks, threats and ultimately murder.
Where the national identity is under real or perceived threat, nationalists typically seek to restrict personal freedom in such areas as culture, music, art, and lifestyle. Listening to foreign music, reading foreign books, watching foreign television, adopting foreign fashions in clothing, and speaking foreign languages, are all seen as hostile or treasonable acts in this context. In the nationalist philosophy, such 'foreign influences' will ultimately destroy the nation, or its freedom, and therefore personal choice must be limited, if necessary by legal prohibitions. The Dutch government, for instance, seriously considered a ban on speaking foreign languages in public. [6] In practice, chauvinistic legislation of this kind is difficult to enforce.
Typology of nationalism
The transition to nationalism
Nationalism as an explicit ideology became prominent in Europe at the end of the 18th century, and especially during the 19th century. Some theorists of nationalism see it as a 19-th century and 20-th century phenomenon, closely associated with the transition to 'modernity' - rising literacy, emerging mass media, urbanisation, migration and industrialisation. Some of the modernisation theorists see the creation of nation-states as part of the process of modernisation, and the national identity as a necessary fiction. A minority of nationalism theorists accept the premise of the nationalist movements, that they spoke for long-existing nations, which preceded the later nation-states.
In any case, the 19th century in Europe saw the emergence of national cultural movements and nationalist political movements, and occasional armed insurrections by nationalists. Beginning with the Ottoman Empire, the large empires began to lose territory to nation-states, and some nation-states coalesced from smaller entities. At the end of the First World War, the process accelerated, with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the loss of Russian imperial territories (Finland and the Baltic States). In the 35 years after the Second World War, the colonial empires also lost almost all of their former colonies in Africa and Asia. (South America is a special case: new states were formed by European and Creole elites, during and after the Napoleonic wars). Although some states still have 'overseas territories' (such as the French and Dutch Caribbean islands), most now correspond to the nationalist model of a contiguous national territory, located on the claimed national homeland.
The transition to nationalism, and the true age of nations, are major issues in nationalism theory. There is no consensus view. The majority of theorists emphasise the 19th century: most of the European nationalist movements were established by 1900, although the most new nation-states emerged in 1918. Some theorists accept that a national identity, and a de facto national sovereignty, existed in a few cases (France and England) by the end of the Middle Ages. The minority view (which tends to equate nations with ethnic groups), is that nations and national identity preceded the 19th-century use of such terms, and that such proto-nations could form sovereign states.
Effects of nationalism
If all nationalist claims to a sovereign states are effected, and all disputes over their territory are resolved, then the result is a fixed pattern of permanent states, each corresponding to one nation. Something approaching this pattern exists in western Europe, although there are substantial secessionist movements in Belgium and the United Kingdom. If a global transition to this stable pattern is completed, then all innovation in state formation will be terminated.
Specifically, nationalism blocks the creation of non-national states. This is an implicit goal of nationalist ideology, since it does not recognise such states as legitimate. The disputed legitimacy was initially that of the existing kingdoms and empires, but the nationalist rejection of non-national states extends to all future alternatives. Nationalist ethics includes an anti-utopianism which it shares with liberalism, and extends it into the geopolitical sphere.
Internally, an established nation-state results in a homogeneous society, especially in cultural and linguistic terms. Government policy is not the only source of cultural homogeneity, but most homogenising policies of modern states have been driven by nationalist ideology. It pre-supposes a unitary society which deserves the loyalty of its members - and in practice often had to create the unit, and enforce the loyalty.
In combination with the historical orientation of the nation-states, which exist to preserve a centuries-old transgenerational community, internal homogeneity limits cultural innovation. Within a nation, only the past generations can serve as a cultural reference. No-one knows where their future descendants will live, or what culture they will have. But they do know about their ancestors, their ancestral homeland, and and their ancestral culture - even if only a mythological version. By default, the past culture becomes the national culture. If it is the only culture within a state, then almost by definition innovation will be obstructed. In the worst case, the nationalist obsession with the past would result in a museum-state, and a museum society.
The homogeneity of the population, which nationalism also prescribes as an ideal, also limits migration. Although restrictive immigration policies are not inherently limited to nation-states, their justification as a 'defence of national identity' is. Low (or zero) immigration has become a typical demand of nationalist parties, as immigration rises to demographically significant levels. The opposition is mainly directed against economic migration from low-income states, which is ultimately driven by sharp wage differentials. However, the relatively low migration between the older EU member states suggests, that many will choose to live among their own people, within stable constellations of nation-states. Although migration is not a moral obligation in itself, a closed population in a culturally homogeneous and backward-looking society will not improve it either.
Death toll
The huge death toll is the historically most prominent effect of nationalism as an ideology and historical phenomenon. The deaths can be categorised by the immediate causes of conflict and violence.- violence preceding state formation, between nationalist movements and states, and among competing nationalist movements;
- wars between nation-states over claimed national territory (border wars and irredentism);
- violence against non-national groups and minorities within the territory of a nation-state, by states and by groups with nationalist motives, intended to achieve the desired composition of the national population and the national culture.
Online resources
Theoretical literature in English
There is a very extensive scientific literature about nationalism. Notable theoretical works in English include:
- Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition. Verso, 2006. ISBN: 978-1844670864
- Barth, Frederik. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries. Waveland Press, 1998. ISBN: 978-0881339796
- Billig, Michael. Banal Nationalism. Sage, 1995. ISBN: 978-0803975248
- Breuilly, John. Nationalism and the State. University Of Chicago Press, 1994. ISBN: 978-0226074146
- Gellner, Ernest. Nations and Nationalism. 2nd edition. Cornell University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0801475009
- Greenfeld, Liah. Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity. Harvard University Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0674603196
- Hobsbawm, Eric J. Nations and Nationalism Since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, 1992. ISBN: 978-0521439619
- Hobsbawm, Eric (Editor) and Terence Ranger. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge University Press, 1992. ISBN: 978-0521437738
- Kohn, Hans. The Idea of Nationalism: A Study in Its Origins and Background. Transaction Publishers, 2005. ISBN: 978-1412804769
- Smith, Anthony D. The Ethnic Origins of Nations. Wiley-Blackwell, 1991. ISBN: 978-0631161691
- Smith, Anthony D. Nationalism. Polity, 2002. ISBN: 978-0745626598
- Weber, Eugen. Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914. Stanford University Press, 1976. ISBN: 978-0804710138
References
- Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia
- The opening sentence of the first edition of 'Nations and Nationalism' (1983, current edition is by Cornell University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0801475009).
- Department of the Taoiseach: Proclamation of Independence
- Ernest Gellner used the fictional country to illustrate a prototypical Central European nationalism in 'Nations and Nationalism'.
- Bosnian War estimated deaths 97 000 to 107 000
- http://www.nrc.nl/bi
nnenland/article1649 595.ece/Verdonk_spre ek_Nederlands_op_str aat
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