Nationalism and the Rise of the Nation State

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the historical development of nationalism in Europe and Africa, key political theories, major legislation in South Africa, and the organizations involved in the struggle for independence and civil rights.

Nationalism

A political doctrine that emerged in the $18th$ century, representing a change in how people view themselves and their relationship with the state.

State

A community of people living under an elected government who consider themselves as equal citizens.

Monarchy

A system of government where a king rules by divine right, viewing the population as subjects who must obey.

Nation State

A form of government elected by its citizens, emerging around $250$ years ago, with early examples including the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic governments.

Jacobin Rule

An early stage of the French Revolution that asserted people's sovereignty and the equal right of citizens to establish and control their government.

Constitutional Monarchies

The political status both Germany and Italy achieved after $1871$ before becoming completely democratic.

Standardised Education

Government-based systems founded during the Industrial Revolution (roughly $1750$ to $1850$) to equip people with uniform roles for mechanised production.

Imagined Political Community

A theory of nationalism developed in $1983$ by British social anthropologist Benedict Anderson.

Cultural Artefact

Benedict Anderson's view of nationalism, which he argues is often defined by modern ideas that ignore the cultural systems preceding it.

Social Contract

A theory originally from the philosopher Plato, explored in Thomas Hobbes's $1651$ text Leviathan, regarding the reciprocal responsibilities between individuals and their government.

African Nationalism

A movement that arose after $WWII$ focusing on obtaining independence from European colonial states and asserting common identity and self-government.

Ghana

The first African colony to become established as a nation state, formerly known as the Gold Coast.

African People’s Organisation (APO)

A political body founded in $1902$ and led by Dr. Abdullah Abdurahman for $35$ years, aiming to extend the rights of black and coloured people in South Africa.

South African Natives National Congress (SANNC)

A black nationalist movement established in $1912$ by Western-educated Africans; it was renamed the African National Congress (ANC) in $1923$.

Natives’ Land Act of 1913

A segregatory law ruling that only $7\%$ of land could be owned by black South Africans, who comprised $83\%$ of the population at the time.

Cape Franchise

A non-racial system of rights for males with certain property, implemented in the $1853$ Constitution of the Cape Colony.

Atlantic Charter

A document drafted on $14$ August $1941$ by Roosevelt and Churchill that laid out Allied goals for the post-war world and sparked nationalist movements in South Africa.

African Claims

A document drafted by the ANC in $1943$ under Dr. Alfred Xuma as a response to the Atlantic Charter to support nationalist ideals.

The Torch Commando

A multi-racial force of white ex-servicemen that promoted liberal democracy and equal treatment for "non-white" ex-servicemen after $WWII$.

ANC Youth League (ANCYL)

A radical wing of the ANC formed in $1944$ by figures including Anton Lembede, Nelson Mandela, and Oliver Tambo, believing in exclusive African Nationalism.

The Freedom Charter

A guidelines document for a future democracy drafted in $1955$ at the Congress of the People in Kliptown.

Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)

A group that split from the ANC by $1959$, advocating for a form of black nationalism inspired by Ghana and influenced by Russian communism.