A2 Government and Politics - Nationalism Part Two

1. Nation used as a unifying force - Western ideas of political self determination initially influenced Anti-colonial nationalist ideas. Anti-Colonial liberation movements often had similar ideas to liberal nationalism of Wilson and Mazzini - the quest for self determination. Most independence leaders were western educated. Experiences of colonial rule helped to foster a particular national identity and desire for national liberation.

2. Response to Imperialism - Anti-Colonial movements are attracted to socialism for a number of reasons. Socialism embodies values of community and cooperation well established in traditional pre-industrial societies. Socialism/ Marxism provides an analysis of inequality through which the colonial experience can be understood and challenged.

3. Political and economic cooperation - Anti-colonial nationalism, unlike Liberal nationalism was linked to economic under development and subordination to more powerful Western economic powers. 'National liberation' was expressed in political and economic terms. Anti-Colonial movements were attracted to left wing socialist ideas.

1. Nation used as a unifying force - Frantz Fanon 'The Wretched of the Earth' - A Marxist analysis of the colonial situation in Africa and the racism implicit within it. Stressed that African nationalism should not follow the Western example.

2. Response to Imperialism - Che Guevara Cuba - 'On Guerilla Warfare' Believed that capitalism would be defeated by attacking it at its weakest point from the undeveloped world by violent guerilla tactics.

3. Political and economic cooperation - Ghandi/ Julius Nyerere - Ghandi was the pioneer of satyagraha, a philosophy that is largely concerned with truth and resistance to evil through active/ non violent resistance which led India to independence.

Internationalism - Internationalists believe that the common characteristics of the people of the world are stronger than the national boundaries that separate them. Nationalism, they believe, is responsible for war, genocide, ethnic cleansing, terrorism and nuclear arsenals amongst other things. The goal of internationalism is to build supranational structures that can command political allegiance of all the people of the world, a transnational view of political identity.

1. Economic Globalisation - Emergence of multinational capital where national governments have little control. As the world increasingly moves toward free trade, the existence of global rather than national markets has rendered international governments powerless to control economic forces. For example control of trade passed over to IMF.

2. Ecological Crises - Nation-states are self interested and damage the environment. Environmental issues do not respect national boundaries. The control of emissions, the health of the seas, the protection of endangered seas and so on are all international problems. Even separate cultural identities are now threatened by globalisation of culture.

3. Social and cultural globalisation - International tourism, communication has also led to homogenised culture. In cultural terms with the growth of air travel, foreign tourism, satellite televisions and the internet globalisation means the spread of a market driven society sometimes seen as the Mcdonaldisation of the world. Can nations anyn longer be regarded as meaningful entities when people in different parts of the world watch the same films and television. Surely the 21st century is going to witness the collapse of nationalism?

4. Threat of global conflict - Competition between rival nation states has the potential to result in conflict and create a state of international disorder and chaos. Partly because of the development of supranationalism there has been a huge increase in the power and influence of international organisations, notably the EU, WTO and World Bank.

Liberal Internationalism

Based on Individualism and Universal Rights - Liberals have sought to make the rights and liberties of the individual a universal concept in the belief that a common set of universal liberal values will lessen tension between nations and create a common international culture. This has led to the formation of international law based on a number of treaties and conventions.

Example: John Locke Natural Rights - Everyone has a natural right to defend his life, liberty and possessions.

Socialist Internationalism

Based on Socialist views of fraternity and common humanity - Socialists believe in a common humanity. Nationalism divides peoples, creates divisions, conflicts and enmities, and thus prevents the development of a common humanity. Socialists accept that it may be necessary for oppressed peoples to achieve national liberation and throw off the bourgeoisie and imperialism. However, ultimately only revolution will result in true liberation.

Example: John Donne 'No man is an island entire of itself... any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind'- Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others. This was shared by Christians and Muslims.

Fear of conflict - Competition between rival nation states has the potential to result in conflict and create a state of international disorder and chaos. Liberals seek to counter this in two ways: Free trade. Trade creates a sense of interdependence between nations, thus making it a force for peace. The material cost is so great warfare becomes unthinkable. Richard Cobden (19th century Manchester Liberal) - Free trade would breed international understanding and material prosperity.

Example: Founding of the European Union. Underlines Federalists beliefs in the EU designed to prevent a repeat of the two world wars. Liberals see globalisation as an opportunity to restore the importance of regional and local government.

International free trade - Supranational organisations such as the United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organisation amongst others and a host of treaties and agreements will create a sense of international law and order. Free trade agreements are seen as having a positive impact on economic growth, especially for the smaller countries in the agreement. Trading blocs are groups of countries that have reached a common agreement to lower trade barriers throughout the group. Free trade agreements create the opportunity for countries to focus on what they do best, and a deterrent to monopolistic countries.

Theorist: Richard Cobden

19th Century Manchester Liberal who argued free trade would break down the likelihood of war and create international understanding and material prosperity.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The intergovernmental organisation that oversees the global financial system with an impact on the exchange rate and the balance of payments.

Universal individualism - Liberals have sought to make the rights and liberties of the individual a universal concept in the belief that a common set of universal liberal values will lessen tensions between nations and create a common international culture. This has led to the formation of International Organisations based on a number of treaties and conventions. However Conservatives maintain that nations are distinctive and cannot share universal values.

Example: Universal Declaration on Human Rights - Universal Rights Declarations such as UN declaration of human rights 1948 and European Convention of Human Rights 1950. However, anti-imperialists see this as an attempt to impose Western values on all the peoples of the world.

Class solidarity - Many socialists like Marxists believe that the 'working class has no country'. Their true interests like with the international working class solidarity. Social class is more important than nationality. Socialists accepted that it may be necessary for oppressed peoples to achieve national liberation and throw off the bourgeoisie and imperialism.

Example: Socialist internationalism has found its expression in modern times with the growth of the anti-capitalist movement and partially with the ideas expressed by Italian Marxist Antonio Negri in his book 'Empire'.

Overthrow of the bourgeoisie - Marx believed that the working class has no country. Their true interests lie with international working class solidarity. Social class is more important than nationality. Marx believed that the emergence of world markets has turned capitalism into a global system that can only be challenged by an international movement. Marx: 'the proletariat of each country must first settle matters with its own bourgeoisie'.

Example: 'The Communist Manifesto 1848 - The working men have no country. We cannot take from them what they have not got. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries unite!

Anti-Capitalist Movement

Socialist internationalism has found its expression in modern times with the growth of the Anti-Capitalist movement and particularly with the ideas expressed by Italian Marxist Antonio Negri in his book Empire. This has led to anti-capitalist campaigns against neo-liberal economics.

Antonio Negri 'Empire'

Negri believes that we are entering a new imperialist stage where the world is governed over by a new empire, made up of neo-liberal economic institutions.

Rational - A belief ermeging from the enlightenment period around the French Revolution that the world can be understood and explained through the exercising of human reason. Rationalism is normally associated with ideologies such as Liberalism and Socialism. Therefore nationalist movements tend to be considered rational when national consciousness is being used as an instrument to create a rationally desirable situation. The nation-state has a purpose eg. creation of popular sovereignty.

Irrational - A belief that the capacity of human reason is flawed and that humans are essentially limited creatures. Therefore emotional, cultural, familial and ethnic ties are more important guides to political action than pure reason. Nationalist movements are therefore seen to be irrational when they stress the importance of cultural and ethnic ties. Some political theorists argue nationalism results from deep seated sentiments and emotions that are virtually immutable.

Liberal Nationalism - Nations base their beliefs around individualism which are applied to the nation as they believe in self determination and use this as a basis for international peace. Implementation of free trade creates interdependence between the two nations thus making it a force for peace. Universal liberal values lessen tensions between nation-states which has led to the formation of supranational institutions.

Example: John Locke Natural Rights - Everyone has the right to defend his life, liberty, health and possessions. Founding of the EU, Richard Cobden, IMF, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Anti-Colonial Nationalism - Anti-colonial nationalism evolved into anti-economic imperialism and this was linked to the belief in national sovereignty. This resulted in the national movement of Saygid Qutb who criticised Western society as 'decadent, immoral and destructive'. The nation can be used as a unifying force as a response to Imperialism to achieve political and economic liberation from underdevelopment and subordination.

Example: Lenin, Frantz Fanon, Che Guevara, Ghandi

Conservative Nationalism - Based on Conservative beliefs of human nature viewed as a philosophy of human imperfection. Believe nationalism is useful only as a tool for maintaining social stability, Also adopt a view that the nation is an organic community being more than a sum of its individual parts. Conservatives want to maintain homogeneity and defend the nation from a perceived threat.

Examples: Hobbes (founder of materialism), Disraeli, Enoch Powell, UKIP

Chauvanistic Nationalism - Very irrational as expansion is justified by racial superiority. They believe individuals will blindly follow the nation. Thus it is based on a form of integral nationalism, and the belief that some nations possess characteristics or qualities that make them superior to others. Also often linked with racialism fuelled by negative integration, breeding a clear distinction between them and us.

Example: Charles Maurras, Nazi theory of lebensraum, Nazi racial theory, British Empire, Scramble for Africa.

'Men don't allow themselves to be killed for their interests; they allow themselves to be killed for their passions'. To phrase it differently: people do not voluntarily die for things that are rational. Different nationalist movements within a country may exhibit different types of nationalism- English nationalism can be represented by the progressive, rational, inclusive values of people like Billy Bragg or the largely regressive, exclusive, irrational and racialist BNP. Some forms of nationalism are rationally progressive but there is an extent that all forms of nationalism are built on irrational ties, cultural ties tend to underpin most forms of nationalism. Yet arguably they all blend reactionary themes with progressive ones. For example it could be argued a racists idea of world domination is progressive, clearly it is a subjective issue.

Progressive - An act or belief is deemed to be progressive if it aims towards a goal in the interests of progress - to progress to a new state of affairs. Although it is highly subjective a nationalist movement is therefore deemed to be progressive if it is not seeking to defend or protect a particular way of life. This is supported by a general view of human progress based upon the belief that human history is marked by the advance of knowledge. Liberals and Socialists usually have a strong belief in progress.

Reactionary - Reactionary generally refers to movements which are resistant to change or a desire to return to a former stage, based upon the belief that human history is not marked by progress, on the contrary, human history is marked by descent or decay. Nationalist movements are said to be regressive or reactionary when they attempt to protect the current status quo or even return to a more 'golden age' of historical glory or national or cultural identity. These ideas are usually associated with right wing ideologies such as Conservatism.

Liberal Nationalism - Nationalism is viewed as a liberating and progressive force that opposes all forms of foreign domination and oppression whether by multi-national empires or colonial powers. Supranational organisations have been formed which have brought nations together, it is progressive in that it is orientated around projects of political change and has created laws. For example: The founding of the European Union underlines federalists belief in the EU designed to prevent a repeat of the two World Wars. Liberals see global isolation as an opportunity.

Anti-Colonial Nationalism - Is a response to Imperialism as it embodies the spirit of community and cooperation well established in pre traditional societies. Anti-colonial nationalism sought to prevent economic under-development and subordination to more powerful empires. For example: Che Guevara believed capitalism would be defeated by attacking it using guerrilla tactics. Ghandi was the pioneer of satyagraha.

Some forms of chauvinistic nationalism - Nation, glory and rebirth: Individuals and groups lose their identity and submerge totally within the all powerful nation. The individual as a separate, rational being is swept away on a tide of patriotic emotion expressed in the desire for aggression, expansion and war. Individuals are expected to be loyal to the nation over themselves in the name of progression.

For example: Mussolini's New Roman Empire: The Italian Colonial Empire was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers and was not initially racialist until it was forced by Hitler.

Conservative nationalism - Conservatives initially and arguably still do see nationalism as a way of maintaining social order and tradition. Patriotism and nationalism, although not completely synonymous give a sense of identity, an expression of universal will and spirit, where a threat or obstacle is always perceived. For example: Thomas Hobbes 'Leviathan', Disraeli appealing to the nationalist instincts of the people. Enoch Powell - Anti-multiculturalism UKIP against the EU.

Some chauvanistic forms of nationalism - Chauvanism, a belief that some nations possess characteristics or qualities which make them superior to others. Racialism, often fuelled by negative integration the portrayal of another race or nation as a threat. Security - this form of nationalism appeals to the isolated, powerless and emotionally insecure. For example: the Nazi's adopted the pan-German expansionism justifying it on the need for lebensraum due to biological superiority of the German/Aryan race against Jews.

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Nationalism is progressive to the extent that it is orientated around projects of political change, aimed at liberating nations from subordination or oppression. However, nationalism is reactionary in that its often based on historical images and symbols, on the foundation of an idealised past.

Inclusive - Inclusive nationalism is open to everyone to join who have civic membership of the nation-state. The nation is therefore defined politically. It does not exclude on the basis of race, religion, language or other ethnic distractions. It is therefore referred to as a civic form of nationalist identity. This is normally associated with Liberal and Socialist backgrounds.

Exclusive - Exclusive nationalism excludes certain people and groups from membership of the nation. The nation is therefore defined on racial or cultural grounds. Groups of people therefore may be members of the state but are not considered part of the nation. This is normally associated with more right wing ideologies.

Liberal nationalism - free trade agreements between nations create the opportunity for countries to do what they do best, and is a deterrent to monopolistic activities. Supranational organisations such as the United Nations create a sense of interdependence between nations helping smaller nations to prosper. Liberals have also sought to make the rights and liberties of the individual a universal concept and will create a common international culture based on a number of treaties and organisations. Example: John Locke 'Natural Rights Everyone has the natural right to defend his life, health, liberty and possessions. Founding of the IMF and EU after World War Two.

Anti-colonial nationalism - Nation used as a unifying force - western ideas of political self determination. Experiences of colonial rule helped to foster a particular national identity and desire for national liberation. Anti-colonial movements were attracted to socialism which embodied values of community and cooperation through which the colonial experience could be challenged. Example: Frantz Fanon 'The Wretched of the Earthed' - A Marxist analysis of the colonial situation in Africa and the racism within it. Che Guevara - Cuba - Capitalism could be defeated through Guerilla Warfare.

Some forms of chauvinistic nationalism - Extreme nationalism often results in militarism and expansionism. Militarism - the achievement of ends by military means or even the extension of military ideas, values and practices to the whole of society. This was advocated in Hitlers policy of lebensraum where he advocated extending territorial boundaries 'without consideration of tradition and prejudices, Germany must find the courage to gather our people and their strength'.

Example: Benito Mussolini - The Doctrine of Fascism 1933. The Fascists accept life and loves it, knowing nothing of and despising suicide. He rather conceives of life as duty and struggle and conquest, those who are at hand and those who are far distant.

Conservative Nationalism - Maintaining unity through homogeneity in society, Conservatives feel threatened by pluralism and diversity as it threatens the cohesion of society and risks social conflict. Strong nationalism preserves a common culture which will preserve the social order and unify society. Defensive - protecting the nation from a perceived threat - Hold a belief in a special nationality which is being eroded by another, this has been applied to the issue of Europe.

Example: Enoch Powell Rivers of Blood Speech, anti multiculturalism within Conservatism highlighting dangers of immigration. UKIP erodes the independence and dictates policies the British would never vote for in an election.

Some forms of Chauanistic Nationalism - Racialism often fuelled by negative integration, the portrayal of another nation or race as a threat or enemy. In the face of an enemy the nation draws together and the sense of its identity and importance is increased. Breeds a clear distinction between 'them' and 'us'. Security - offers self respect and pride to an exclusive people especially the poor sections of society which would otherwise feel powerless and apathetic. Example: Social Darwinism - the Nazi's applied Social Darwinism to the intermingling of races. Their line of reasoning was that intermingling degenerates the Aryan race. The Nazi's also adopted the Jewish threat.

It can be argued that since nationalism draws attention to divisions within humankind it embodies a potential for expansionism and exclusivity. Critics of nationalism often argue that its chief defect is that it highlights the differences between and amongst the people of the world. Cultural ties tend to underpin most forms of nationalism, indicated in Benedict Andersons 'Imagined Communities' - also all forms of nationalism are inherently exclusive.