Introduction to Nationalism - Social 20-1

Nations & Identity

Nation

• Nation: people with a sense of belonging together.

• Desires of a nation: to control their own destiny.

• Nations may not have official borders or government.

  Examples of a nation

  • Kurdish: an ethnic group comprised of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria

  • Basque: an ethnic group centered around culture and language, comprised of Spain & France

  • Tibetan: cultural and historical ethnic group, under China.

  • Roma: ethnic identity spread across countries such as Romania. Formerly known as Gypsies.

  • Samis: an indigenous ethnic nation within Scandinavia

  • Francophones: a French speaking nation within Canada.

Nation state/country

• Nation state: a geographic area, defined by official borders.

• Nation state status: must be recognized by other countries/governments.

• 190+ nation states worldwide.

• Examples of a nation state: Canada, France, Italy, Germany and China

Internationalism

• International: between countries and nation states.

• Countries may cooperate with oneanother to promote a variety of objectives:

  • peace/security, e.g. Afghanistan, War on Terror

  • trade (e.g. NAFTA, trade agreements)

  • healthcare abroad (e.g. COVID-19 vaccines)

  • protections of peoples & cultures (e.g. Saudi treatment of women)

Nationalism

Nationalism: the idea of striving for a country.

Aspects of Nationalism

• National identity: strong identification with a particular nation and its characteristics, e.g. language, traditions and history.

• National unity: unity amongst the people of the nation, therefore creating common purpose and destiny.

• Sovereignty: autonomy and self determination, both politically and culturally.

• Nationalistic movements: sought to achieve or defend independence and the interests of the nation.

Patriotism

• Patriotism: love and sense of loyalty towards country.

• Patriotism manifests in expressions of national pride and symbols,

  • Canada Day

  • Olympics

  • Military parades

  • Anthems/pledge of allegiance

  • Voting

Understandings of Nationalism

Language

• Language creates the mindset of a distinct nation.

• Common language leads to feelings of belonging.

• e.g. Quebec & Francophones

Ethnic nationalism

• Nations can be groups who share the same ethnic similarities: race, culture, linguistics.

• United and similar peoples together

• May lead to the loathing of other nations, e.g. the Yugoslavian civil war

Cultural understanding

• Culture: the way of life that people share.

• Cultural nationalism: unifying groups amongst the same way of life.

• Related to ethnicity (not always the case.)

Religion

• Important understanding of a nation.

• Religions may not have a defining nation.

• Religion often overrides cultural differences, such as language.

Geography

• Geography affects the development of nation, for instance, Tibet, who because of their isolation around mountains, developed separately.

• Regionalism: people pulled together based on geographic similarities or differences, e.g. Western Canada.

• The area which a group inhibits is not always directly related to geography.

• Blackfoot Nation: this nation has a spiritual relationship with the land.

Spirituality

• Land and peoples can be bound together by spirituality, e.g. sacred sites.

• Often, but not always, has a religious connection.

• Jerusalem: a holy site for the Jewish, for Christians and for Muslims, such as Temple Mount, the holiest Jewish site that is also important to Christians.

Social standing

• Social standing: one’s status within society, a relative ranking of people.

• e.g. lower/middle/high classes

• Impacts resource access, such as to wealth, property and privilege

• Social class also fosters unity, e.g. unions.

• e.g. the Indian Caste System

History

• History: common history, such as pain & suffering

• Shared struggle: sharing in pain together results in more empathy from members of the nation.

Economic

• Economic: how people trade and manufacture amongst themselves, developing common purpose.

• Interactions economically are based on wealth distribution and division, e.g. the wealth gap.

• Wealth gap: the difference between the wealth of the upper, middle and lower classes of Canada.

  • Canada attempts to equalize with progressive taxation in its mixed economy.

Political

• Self determination: the power to control one’s own affairs.

• Sovereignty: the political authority to control one’s own affairs

• Can a nation exist without self determination and sovereignty, to be able to act in it’s own interests?

Civic Nationalism

Civic nationalism: shared values and beliefs expressed in law.

Rule of Law

• Rule of Law: reflects the shared values of people

• Rule of Law in Canada: the Charter of Rights & Freedoms, the Constitution and the Criminal Code

• Constitution: the blueprint for a country’s functions. Effectively a rulebook.

• Enshrinement: rules and laws intentionally made difficult to change.

Sharing rules & laws creates a civic nation. No matter what, all Canadians have this in common.

Civic nationalism is the making of a civic nation.

Civic: refers to citizens.

Civic government: government run by citizens.

Involvement: citizen participation.

Civic Nationalism in Canada

Other differences can become secondary of the rule of law binds together a nation state.

Success can be based on acceptance of differences.

• accommodation of others: reasonable accommodation: any change to the rule of law that does not affect others negatively

  • e.g. Baltej Singh Dhillon

• When a group of people agree to live together and adapt common principles, a nation state is formed.

• Shared common values and laws fosters civic nationalism, e.g. the UK.

• Ethnic nationalism: when a group shares other characteristics other than rule of law.

  • creation of modern Germany in 1871.

Canadian Nationalism

• National identity: sense of belonging to a collective or community.

• Nationalism and identity are often related; some may define themselves with the culture they feel most closely connected to.

• Identity changes and grows as values/goals change, therefore national identity evolves.

Differing visions of Canada

• country of many identities versus none

  • Mike Myers: Canadians are not American

  • Canadians just “are”, shrugs off any explicit identity.

History

• Canadian history: generally stories about taming/surviving nature.

• Survival considered the “essence” of Canada, a vast land with a widely spread population and a unique climate.

• National myths: shared stories, ideas and beliefs. Develops national identity and a shared history.

  • Evolves with the country, e.g. igloos, maple syrup, always polite, always winter.