NATIONALISM

 Nationalism is a people’s sense of belong together as a nation. It also includes feelings such as loyalty to the nation, pride in its culture and history and – in many cases – a desire for national independence.

Since the late 1700s, nationalism has become an important force in international relations. Nationalistic feelings, particularly the desire of each country to govern itself, have helped change the map of Europe several times since the 1800s. Since the late 1940s, nationalism has also transformed Africa and Asia.

Nationalism is widespread today, but it once did not even exist. People have not always had a sense of nationhood. Early people felt that they belonged to cities or tribes. During the Middle Ages, people were loyal to a number of groups and rulers. For e.g., a French citizen might have owed loyalty to the Duke of Burgundy, the King of France, the Holy roman Emperor and the Pope.

The rise of nationalism occurred along with the development of a political unit called the nation-state.

A nation is a group of people who share a common culture, history or language and have a feeling of national unity.

A state is an area of land whose people have an independent government.

A Nation-state exists if a nation and a state have the same boundaries.

Nation-states began to develop during the late Middle Ages. Travel and communication improved and as a result, people became increasingly aware of the part of their country that lay outside their own community. Loyalty to local and religious leaders began to weaken, and allegiance to Kings grew stronger. By the 1700s, England, France, Spain and several other countries had become nation-states.

Other peoples developed a sense of nationhood by early 1800s. but most had not become nation-states. Many people believed that a national group had the right to form its own state. This belief, known as the doctrine of national self-determination, caused many nationalistic revolutions in Europe. For e.g., Greece won independence from Turkey in 1829, and Belgium became independent of Netherlands in 1830.

Different forms of Nationalism later developed in various parts of the world. In the United States, the spirit of nationalism expressed itself in rapid westward expansion during the 1800s. Many Americans became convinced that their nation had a manifest destiny – that is, a clear mission to take over all of North America.

In Western Europe, new feelings of nationalism united the Italians and then the Germans, both of whom were still divided into many states. Each of these peoples combined to form one country out of the states. The unification of Italy was completed in 1870 and Germany became a nation-state in 1871.

In Eastern Europe, on the other hand, national groups sought to create smaller states out of the huge Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian empires. These demands for national self-determination helped cause World War I (1914-1918) and broke oup the empires after the war.

During the 1930s two dictators- Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy – used nationalism in demanding extreme loyalty from their people. They promoted integral nationalism, the belief that a certain nationality was superior to all others. This idea also placed strict limits on who could claim that nationality. In support of integral nationalism, the Nazis killed millions of Jews and other people whom they considered inferior human beings. Germany and Italy also set out to conquer the world. Their actions helped bring on World War II (1939-1945).

After World War II, Nationalism led many African and Asian colonies to demand self-government. India and Pakistan won independence from Great Britain in 1947. The next year, a nationalistic movement called Zionism resulted in the establishment of Israel.

By the 1970’s more than 80 other nations had become newly independent. Many of them lacked the long history of shared experiences that had produced nationalism in Europe. But their leaders encouraged nationalism to help develop national unity.

Effects of nationalism can be both good and bad. Nationalism gives people a sense of belonging and pride, and a willingness to make sacrifices for their country. They also take a greater interest in their nation’s achievements in such fields as sports, literature and music.

But nationalism also produces rivalry and tension between nations. Desires for national glory and military conquest may lead to war. Extreme nationalism may result in racial hatred and in persecution of minority groups.