Nationalism lecture

28/02/2011 23:03:00

Key terms: 1. Nationalism 2. Self determination 3. Nation State or nation should have specific definitions Nation not = state Nation cultural identity, community which we belong to Residents of a particular region Members of a religious organization Language, dialect Definition of nation = imagined group of people, who claim a right to self governance, usually in the form of statehood Dimensions of nation Collectivity group of ppl, share a sort of identity (based on language, race, shared history, religion, politics) o sth cultural to it, differs from places o flexibility in cultural basis Imagined large group of ppl, not everyone knows each other o Some sense of self consciousness

o Different from other kinds of units eg. Family, neighbourhood group Claims: self-determination o Political claim o Separates nations from cultural identities o People have the right to self governance o Context to which term first emerged just after WW1 Major empires dissolving (austro-hungarian, ottoman empire) Hungary, Serbia, Balkan states, Syria, turkey Wilsons idea: Let them becomes states, argued for the right for self determination Every nation has the right to govern itself as a state People have the right to govern themselves Idealistic, normative terms Strategic, practical reasons, reduce the chances of war If new territories become their own states, then the likelihood of war should decrease Hence the formation of League of Nations o Ambiguity with nation who gets to be ppl? Which groups of ppl are considered nations? Eg: tamils in Singapore. Are they considered a nation? No political demands. Have a cultural identity. Not a group which expresses a demand for self governance Eg: tamil speaking ppl in Sri Lanka. They constitute the nation. Some of them thought they did thus war in past decades. Conflicts developed in particular historical context, language policies can fuel nationalist conflict. Eg: Japan. Nation has the right to govern itself. Eg: India. Many kinds of cultural identities. Internal conflict. Culture left behind from the British. Can we articulate an idea abt an Indian nation. India is diverse but longer history. Eg: Singapore. What makes the Singapore nation hold together? Its diverse, short history.

Common experience more relevant to post 65ers HDB Hawker centres Food Merlion Interaction singlish? Self consciousness as a nation? Education helpful to nation building and nationalism. People from different backgrounds. Wide range of people from all walks of life. Different types of ppl in one place National Service not selective, forces you to be with ppl from different backgrounds. Can imagine intensive experiences with ppl drawn randomly, common experience impt in building a common identity

Political dimension in nation

What is the Chinese nation? 1. All residents of PRC, state represents the ppl 2. Chinese HAN majority of chinese a. How abt the minority groups? Claim to have separate state 3. Official view China is a multiethnic nation Overseas Chinese have no political agenda, if you have no self claim to governance, you cannot be a nation Chinese immigrants may not have related to their ethnicity when they left China, may have identified themselves as speakers of particular dialects, natives of a community

 State Nation

es y

Boundari Space Communit

Held together by Organization , force Myths, ideas

Claims

Monopoly over rules Right to statehood

Nations defined by groups of ppl and not so much by space Nations are more fluid groups of ppl State: Set of institutions Organizations which holds the state together

United States of America political founding myth (rebellion, declaring independence, writing the constitution) help us to understand the obsession with reference to the constitution Arbitrary myths

Nation claims the right to statehood Egypt proud that they have the pyramids but they have chosen to emphasize the Egyptian nation that was based on an Arab identity Could articulate the idea about ancient Egypt Arab national identity has been emphasized tensions

Nations Nationalism and legitimacy Belief in the nation and its political aspirations Nationalism -> neutral (PS doesnt really use patriotism) Nation should be principle for state State should serve the nation Legitimating state power Makes the idea for nation and nationalism appealing to political leaders Good strategy to unify ppl, to emphasize what we are doing as agents of the state is for the good of the nation BUT can be used the other way o Policies which govt is taking is not aligned with national interest o Can be at once to legitimate power or to challenge use of the power o What is good for the nation? o Eg: Use the flag to protest in China o What is being done is going against national interest and I believe that the govt wants to align policies with national interest o Nationalism as a vocabulary for debating govt policy illegitimate coz not serving the nation Nation state who leads the nation? Symbol makers, ppl who develop the symbols which is crucial for national identity writers, poets (ppl who write and imagine and share with others, influential in shaping vision for the nation)

Nation state = state Do nations create states or do states create nations? Indonesia or new states states came before nations Language policy taking the Malay language and creating it to become Indonesian Western Europe idea of nation seemed more organic State played a large role in creating the nation

Nationalism invents nations where they do not exist Ernest Gellner Eg: France many local identities, languages, couldnt communicate coz no transport networks Engineered, deliberate process of creating ideas of nations Greater interaction, assimilation of traditions with better transport networks Govt standardizing language Setting up monuments, identifying particular historical episodes and emphasizing in public places Education writing history in a certain way Museums good for articulating one view of national history Romanticizing history Nation is a modern invention Yet nations claim to have long traditions Rise of modern state helped to facilitate rise of nationalism

Political uses of nationalism Can a communist who is a internationalist be a patriot? Mao distinguishes the nationalism of the great powers vs the nationalism of the victims of great powers Aggressive nationalism is bad hurting other ppl (eg Germany) In China, nationalism is not bad not using nationalism to take over ppl, using it to defend ourselves Cannot help the proletariat if you are suppressed by greater powers Being nationalist now will be better internationalist in the long run

Nationalism is very useful because if u defeat the aggressive nationalist, gives you credibility at home

28/02/2011 23:03:00

28/02/2011 23:03:00