Nationalism and the Rise of the Nation State

Defining Nationalism and the Nation State

• General Definition of Nationalism: Nationalism is defined as a political doctrine that emerged in the $18^{th}$ century. It represents a significant change in how individuals view themselves and their relationship with the state in which they live.

• The Nation State: In a nation state, people live under an elected government and consider themselves equal citizens of the state. This is a shift from previous centuries where kingdoms and religious governments may have had nationalistic characteristics but were not technically nation states.

• Philosophical Foundations: Nationalism is rooted in the principles of the French Revolution: "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity."

• Defining Factors of a Nation: Common citizenship encourages a sense of similarity among individuals. While a nation is often unified by specific elements, it can exist without some of them. These factors include:

  • Common language.

  • Related culture.

  • Shared origins.

  • Religious beliefs.

• Autonomy and Sovereignty: Beyond cultural factors, a nation is defined by its independence from other countries. It opposes foreign interference and control and insists on the right to self-government.

Historical Comparisons: Monarchy vs. Religious Community vs. Nation State

• Who Rules?

  • Monarchy: The King.

  • Religious Community: Religious leader.

  • Nation State: The government, which has been elected by its citizens.

• Source of Authority (How?):

  • Monarchy: By divine right.

  • Religious Community: By the authority of the church.

  • Nation State: Through democratic elections.

• Who are Ruled?

  • Monarchy: Large communities of people and entire countries.

  • Religious Community: People living specifically within religious communities.

  • Nation State: The citizens of the state.

• Rights and Privileges:

  • Monarchy: The nobility are granted privileges by the king; serfs and peasants possess no rights.

  • Religious Community: People have limited rights.

  • Nation State: Citizens have several rights, including the ability to elect the governments that represent and rule them.

• View of the Individual:

  • Monarchy: Individuals are viewed as subjects who must obey the monarch.

  • Religious Community: Individuals are seen as believers who must obey God and their religious leaders.

  • Nation State: Individuals are viewed as citizens with inherent rights.

The Origins and Evolution of European Nationalism

• Emergence of the Nation State: While common today, the nation state did not exist until roughly $250$ years ago. The first ones included the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic governments, as well as the later unification of Germany and Italy.

• The French Influence: Nationalism began with the French revolutionaries but eventually became corrupted. The original aim was to spread liberalism by granting all people equal rights, rather than just establishing a nationalist system.

• Jacobin Rule: During the early stages of the French Revolution, Jacobin rule asserted the concept of "people's sovereignty."

  • This includes the right to establish a government and control its behavior.

  • All citizens were to hold this right equally.

  • Jacobin rule proved that a government could strongly assert nationalism while simultaneously abandoning democracy.

• The Timeline of European Revolution:

  • $1820$: A series of nationalistic uprisings took place across several European states.

  • $1830$: Revolutions occurred in Belgium, France, Italy, regions of Germany, Poland, and Switzerland.

  • $1848$: Significant revolutions started in Germany and Italy. Revolutionaries aimed to establish unified nationalist states through mass action and republican institutions in parliaments.

• The Result of Uprisings: In both Germany and Italy, revolutionary efforts led to war. Nationhood was ultimately granted by monarchs who created nations to avoid prolonged warfare. Consequently, while revolutionaries gained their nation, they did not receive the liberalism they expected because the monarchies remained intact.

• Post-$1871$ Development: After $1871$, both Germany and Italy became democratic and achieved complete national independence as constitutional monarchies.

Nationalism and the Industrial Revolution

• Urbanization and Labor: The Industrial Revolution in Europe ($1750$ to $1850$) created a demand for mass working-class labor and skilled laborers, leading to the rapid growth of urban populations.

• Communication: The printing press revolutionized communication through the mass distribution of printed information.

• Industrial Culture Characteristics:

  1. Standardized and mechanized production.

  2. Uniform and repetitive labor types.

  3. The establishment of new occupations and skills required for industrialization.

• State-Based Education: To equip citizens for new industrial roles, governments founded standardized education systems. This resulted in a large-scale literate and urban population, shifting how people viewed their role in society and their relationship to the government.

• Class Formation and Inequality:

  • Government education systems generally did not prepare people for higher education; that remained the domain of the elite.

  • Industrial wage labor did not require higher education, leading to social and economic inequalities.

  • This shift in production led to the formation of the middle and working classes. People began to identify themselves based on class perspective (lower class, middle class, and upper-middle class).

Theoretical Perspectives on Nationalism

• The "Imagined Community": Developed by British social anthropologist Benedict Anderson in $1983$.

  • He defines nationalism as an "imagined political community."

  • Anderson believes nationalism arose from shifts in perception during the early colonial period, specifically regarding economic wealth from colonies and the influence of colonial people living apart from the European motherland.

  • He views nationalism as a "cultural artifact" and notes that modern definitions often ignore the cultural systems that preceded it.

  • He identifies the printing press as a vital milestone in creating these communities.

• The Social Contract: Thomas Hobbes' $1651$ text Leviathan is relevant to nationalist theory despite Hobbes himself not being a nationalist. It deals with Plato's "social contract," focusing on the mutual responsibilities between the individual and the government.

Case Study: African Nationalism in South Africa

• Rise of African Nationalism: Emerged largely after World War II ($WWII$). Unlike European nationalism, which sought to merge regions with shared history or language, African nationalism was a struggle for independence from European colonial governments that had divided areas into countries regardless of common traditions.

• Colonial Foundation: Colonizers imposed their own legal, language, and cultural systems. These systems irony became the foundation for African nationalism. The Gold Coast was the first colony to become a nation state, renamed Ghana.

• The African People’s Organization (APO): Founded in $1902$ and led for $35$ years by Dr. Abdullah Abdurahman.

  • Established to oppose Afrikaner nationalism and British colonialism.

  • Aimed to extend the limited rights of Black and Coloured people.

  • Opposed the $1910$ Union of South Africa because it excluded Black participation and did not extend equal rights.

• The South African Natives National Congress (SANNC):

  • Formed in $1912$ by Africans educated in the West or mission schools.

  • Renamed the African National Congress (ANC) in $1923$.

  • This occurred the same year Hertzog's Pact government won the elections.

Racial Legislation and Early Resistance

• Bedrock Legislation: From $1910$ to $1924$, the South African Party (SAP) implemented racial segregation laws primarily dealing with labor.

• The Colour Bar Act ($1911$): Prevented Black people from holding well-paid positions.

• The Natives’ Land Act of $1913$:

  • The first law to segregate people in South Africa, remaining until the $1990s$.

  • Ruled that only $7\%$ of the land could be owned by Black South Africans, despite them making up $83\%$ of the population.

• SANNC Response to the Land Act: In $1914$, a delegation was sent to England to appeal to the British government to reverse the act. The delegation included:

  1. Thomas Mapike.

  2. Rev. Walter Rubusana.

  3. Rev. John Dube (President of SANNC).

  4. Saul Musane.

  5. Sol Plaatje (Secretary-General of SANNC).

  • The appeal, and a previous $1909$ multi-racial appeal for the Cape Franchise (a non-racial system from the $1853$ Constitution), were ultimately unsuccessful.

The Impact of World War II on South African Nationalism

• Urbanization: World War II established South Africa as an industrialized nation and led to a growth in the urbanized Black population.

• The Atlantic Charter ($1941$): Drafted by Roosevelt and Churchill on August $14$, $1941$. It stated post-war goals, including the call for European governments to give up their empires.

• African Claims ($1943$): The ANC, led by Dr. Alfred Xuma, drafted this document to assess how the Atlantic Charter could support the ANC's nationalistic ideals for South Africa. Xuma correctly predicted that the South African government would not obey the Charter.

• Returning Soldiers:

  • Black and Coloured men served in the Non-European Army Services (NEAS) and Native Military Corps (NMC).

  • During the war, they filled semi-skilled roles (plumbing, electronics, mechanics) vacated by troops abroad.

  • Post-war, they were barred from practicing these trades and forced back into unskilled labor.

  • Inequality in aid: White soldiers received housing subsidies and education grants; Black/"non-white" soldiers received a suit of clothes, a bicycle (if living more than $3\,km$ from home), and small grants/loans only if disabled.

• The Torch Commando: A group of white ex-servicemen outraged by these imbalances. It grew into a multi-racial force promoting liberal democracy and African nationalism among both white and Black South Africans.

Internal Divisions and Ideologies in the ANC

• ANC Youth League (ANCYL): Founded in December $1943$ at the Bloemfontein annual conference. Key members included Anton Lembede, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, and Nelson Mandela.

  • Founded on the ideology of exclusive African nationalism rather than the ANC's class focus.

  • Rejected the moderate approach of Dr. Xuma and advocated for mass struggle, boycotts, and civil disobedience to establish Black majority rule.

• The Freedom Charter ($1955$): Drafted at the "Congress of the People" near Kliptown in June $1955$. Inspired by Professor ZK Matthews, it aimed for a future democracy based on liberal principles.

• Ideological Splits ($1959$):

  • Charterists vs. Africanists: The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) split from the ANC, believing the ANC had abandoned Africanist principles.

  • Nationhood Definitions:

    1. ANCYL: Africanist but not communist.

    2. PAC: Both Africanist and communist (influenced by Russia and Ghana).

    3. ANC: Moderately Africanist but not communist.

The Path to Democracy

• Unbanning and Release: The ANC was a banned organization until February $2$, $1990$. Nelson Mandela was released on February $11$, $1990$, after $27$ years as a political prisoner.

• Elections: Multi-party negotiations led to South Africa's first democratic elections in $1994$, where all race groups cast equal votes. This ushered in an era of "national reconciliation" and "nation building."