Nationalism Flashcards

Liberal Nationalism

• Rationalism and Natural Rights:

  • Liberal nationalists believe individuals are rational and make decisions based on reason, not emotion or tradition.
  • They support Locke's view of natural rights.
  • Thus, they advocate for a nation-state to protect and promote individual rights.

• Enlightenment Theory:

  • Rousseau's 'general will' theory posits that a nation's individuals are best suited to choose and hold their government accountable.
  • Mazzini applied this, arguing Italians were more qualified to govern Italy than foreign emperors or the Pope.
  • He thought shared Italian culture and heritage enabled a mature democracy, leading to Italy's unification in 1871.

• 20th Century:

  • Despite Italy and Germany unifying in 1871, empires like Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian still ruled much of Germany.
  • These empires ended after World War I.
  • US President Woodrow Wilson, a liberal nationalist, said replacing these empires with self-determined nation-states would ensure peace in Europe.
  • His belief in peace through countries recognizing each other's sovereignty, while flawed, showed a forward-looking and democratic nationalism.

• 21st Century:

  • Examples include the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Catalan nationalists.
  • The SNP claims an independent Scotland would better represent Scottish interests than the UK Parliament.
  • The 2014 independence referendum exemplified self-determination and democratic nationalism.
  • Catalan nationalists in Spain advocate for an independent Catalonia, though independence votes have not been approved by the Spanish government.

• Liberal Internationalism:

  • This form encourages nation-states to cooperate on issues like trade and defense based on shared human rights beliefs.
  • The European Union is an example, with 27 nation-states pooling sovereignty to grant citizens equal rights and liberties, like freedom of movement.

Conservative Nationalism

• Pride in the Nation:

  • Conservatism emerged in opposition to Enlightenment thinking.
  • Conservative Nationalism differs from Liberal Nationalism, which views the nation as a tool for individual rights.
  • Thinkers like Herder viewed the Volksgeist (shared culture, history, and language) as what unified nations.
  • Conservative leaders in Europe have used patriotism and national pride to deter socialism and revolution.
  • Bismarck aimed to foster German loyalty by introducing universal male suffrage and welfare reforms.
  • Conservatives promote pride in the nation by emphasizing past glories, such as Britain's embrace of World War II, the monarchy, and a positive view of the Empire.

• National Chauvinism:

  • Conservative Nationalism's emphasis on national pride over individual rights has sometimes led to National Chauvinism, an irrational belief in national superiority.
  • Liberal nationalists like Woodrow Wilson argued excessive national pride caused World War I.
  • Events like the Scramble for Africa increased tensions as European powers competed for land.
  • Vladimir Putin's belief in Russia's need to be a great power, like during the Soviet Union, was used to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

• Conservative Nationalism Today:

  • There is debate on whether Conservative Nationalism promotes unity or stability.
  • More recently, it has been used for populism, where leaders divide people by claiming to be true patriots and dismissing critics as unpatriotic.
  • Examples include Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ campaign and the Brexit referendum in the UK.

Integral & Chauvinistic Nationalism

• Integral Nationalism:

  • Advocated by Charles Maurras.
  • It requires citizens to prioritize the nation's needs above all else.
  • It is a regressive form of nationalism, as Maurras supported restoring anti-democratic institutions like the monarchy and the Catholic Church.
  • Maurras advocated for excluding ethnic and cultural groups like Jewish people and Protestants, deeming them 'foreigners' who could not be loyal to France.
  • Integral Nationalism is thus regressive, undemocratic, racist, and exclusionary.

• Chauvinistic Nationalism:

  • Involves an irrational belief in the superiority of one's own nation.
  • Maurras' belief in integral nationalism encourages chauvinistic nationalism and war to prove it.
  • Maurras founded Action Francaise, which campaigned for the return of Alsace-Lorraine, lost to Germany in 1871.
  • They advocated for war if necessary to reclaim it, known as revanchism (revenge!).

Far-Right Nationalism

• Fascism & Nazism:

  • Even more backward-looking, undemocratic, and racist than Maurras’ integral-chauvinistic version.
  • Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany arose after national humiliation after World War I.
  • Benito Mussolini justified the invasion of Ethiopia as building a new Roman Empire.
  • Hitler claimed his Nazi Third Reich followed the First German Reich of the medieval period and the Second Reich under the Kaisers from 1871-1918.
  • Nazism’s racism and antisemitism was based on the belief that the Aryan German race was racially superior the Eastern European Slavs and Jews.
  • This justified German invasions of Eastern Europe and the Holocaust.

• Leadership Cults:

  • Fascist and Nazi nationalism had no place for democracy or free will.
  • Their version of the ‘Volksgeist’ was embodied in the dictator.
  • Citizens were expected to be totally loyal and trust their leader's judgment.
  • Mussolini in Italy was worshipped as ‘Il Duce’ and Hitler in Germany as ‘Der Fuhrer’, both meaning ‘leader’.

Black Nationalism

• Black Nationalism:
  • Garvey’s perspective was rooted in the belief that the white population of the USA was irredeemably racist.
  • Therefore, the only way that black Americans could achieve any form of self-determination was to create their own separate nation.
  • Garvey advocated for a Pan-African nation and set up the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) as well as ventures such as the Black Star Line to reunite black people.
  • Garvey inspired other black nationalists such as Malcolm X, who criticized the integration beliefs of Martin Luther King.
  • Black nationalism has been criticized for being divisive, encouraging violence rather than peace and regressive.
  • It has also been praised for promoting democracy and a force for unity.

Anti- & Post Colonial Nationalism

• Anti-Colonial Nationalism:

  • Refers to the first time that a group of people who had previously been treated as not part of a nation began to see themselves as equal members of a community.
  • This usually manifests into an independence or secession movements.
  • Mahatma Gandhi advocated for non-violent campaign methods to achieve independence known as ‘Satyagarah’ which tried to remove hate against opponents. Gandhi said “My nationalism is not so narrow that I should not feel for ….[Englishmen’s] distress or gloat over it. I do not want my country’s happiness at the sacrifice of other country’s happiness.”
  • However, there are instances of anti-colonial nationalism being achieved through violent means such as Frantz Fanon.

• Post-Colonial Nationalism:

  • Post-colonial nationalism occurs after a country has achieved its independence and how they establish themselves as a nation.
  • They are attracted to values of cooperation and community which represented their pre-colonial ways of life.
  • Fidel Castro identified as a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist ideologically.

Questions on Nationalism

• Is Nationalism a democratic ideology?
  • YES / NO
• Is Nationalism a regressive ideology?
  • YES / NO
• Is Nationalism a peaceful ideology?
  • YES / NO
• Is Nationalism an exclusive ideology?
  • YES / NO
• Is Nationalism a liberal ideology?
  • YES / NO
• Does Nationalism promote freedom and individual rights?
  • YES / NO
• Is Nationalism an ideology mostly based on race and ethnicity?
  • YES / NO
• Is Nationalism a single and coherent ideology?
  • YES / NO
• Does Nationalism as an ideology have a consistent view of the state?
  • YES / NO

Key Figures

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Johann Gottfried von Herder
• Giuseppe Mazzini
• Charles Maurras
• Marcus Garvey