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NATIONALISM.
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Gives various definitions, its development in the U.S., political theories incl. Declaration of Independence, conflicts, problems.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Gives various definitions, its development in the U.S., political theories incl. Declaration of Independence, conflicts, problems.
Paper Introduction:
This research will examine the concept of nationalism, and then discuss how nationalism as a political theory can be applied to the United States. What must be understood first of all about the concept of nationalism is that it is not necessarily to be seen simply as the equivalent of a nation-state enclosed by fixed territorial boundaries, nor is it a simple concept per se. As Renan explains (41ff), nationalism seems to be a clear term but lends itself to dangerous misunderstandings. That is because it is complex in origin, implication, and application, a fact shown by historical example and by modern theory.
These factors make it difficult to define nationalism once and for all. As Smith points out (106-7), there is not universal agreement among experts about whether to conceive nationalism in political, social, or cultural terms. Smith's own definition of a natio
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That is because the sense of belonging may be more of a desirethan a fact of experience. Renan also discounts the idea thatnationalism is a matter of royal houses and conquests that imposeboundaries and provinces on the mass of people. This happened from the earliest colonialsettlements, and some would say it has continued to the present day. That isbecause it is complex in origin, implication, and application, a fact shownby historical example and by modern theory. Two equally famous problems of American nationalism can be seen fromthe history of the US. This can be seen from the evidence of theDeclaration of Independence, which made specifically American claimsagainst British rule: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Geoff Eley and Ronald Grigor Suny. Works CitedDuiker, William J. Ed. "What Is a Nation?" Becoming National: A Reader. But to form a definition of nationalism out of a definition of nationseems almost too easy an exercise. For example, the various Greek city-states foughtwith each other as well as with non-Greek peoples. However,political nationalism as an idea of social organization had a life of itsown. The English"ethnic core" became the basis on which the colonies united for the purposeof tearing down English authority and then "reconstructing" a new cultureand community as the USA. It may not be enclosed within a specificterritorial boundary, either. This research will examine the concept of nationalism, and thendiscuss how nationalism as a political theory can be applied to the UnitedStates. 1 6-13 . This latter choice is more or less what happened in the case of theUS, at least for the people who arrived from Europe. Smith gives the example of the Jews of theDiaspora (1 8), who kept their distinct identity for centuries even thoughuntil the twentieth century they had no nation of their own. 39-54.Smith, Anthony D. "The Origins of Nations. As Renan explains (41ff), nationalism seemsto be a clear term but lends itself to dangerous misunderstandings. Nationalism does notcome about only because of race, ethnic identity, language, religion, ormountains and rivers, even though these elements may have a role increating a sense of community. They are really the basis for it. That process is still going on in some places in Europe even to thisday, such as in the former Yugoslavia and in the former USSR. Declaration of Independence. Strong nationalist governments still competed for territorial oreconomic advantage, and "subject peoples" within empires governed bydominant peoples wanted national self-determination or recognition (Duiker12). Ed. Inparticular, they might say that the subject peoples of the US are notprotected but are suppressed by the government. It had to waitfor the rise of a romantic nationalism to build communities out of theseanother" (Smith 11 ). Additional writings would be the Articles ofConfederation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist Papers,and so on. That awareness became even more important than royaldynasties, as proved by the French Revolution. And of course the fact is that Smith,Renan, and others do a lot of explaining and discussing of the term as aconcept. He sees it as an "ideological movement for attaining and maintainingthe autonomy, unity, and identity of an existing or potential 'nation'"(1 8). That is why, indeed, he says that these various peoples"were hardly conscious of their membership in any community. But his logic is actually consistent with describing these manypeoples as tribes. Smith's own definition of a nation (1 7) is helpful inconstructing a definition of nationalism: "a named community of history andculture, possessing a settled territory, economy, mass education system andcommon legal rights." Nationalism, as a "back-formation" of thisdefinition, would be defined at its most basic as the sense of belonging,identity, or community held by those who can credibly claim access orentitlement to the rights, education, and economic system, while alsoclaiming physical protection within the boundaries of the territory. Ed. This idea of government takes in Smith's description of a nation, andthe Declaration has become central to the American myth. He does not use the word tribe to describe them; he uses the wordethnie. What Duiker (12) callscultural nationalism "evolved into political nationalism." The emergence of political nationalism did not really solve problemsin Europe. He says that ancientpeoples, even those who shared language and cultural myths, were verydiverse. As Smith points out (1 6-7), there is not universal agreement amongexperts about whether to conceive nationalism in political, social, orcultural terms. Smith argues that this happened in England afterthe Norman conquest. First, there was the problem of slavery, which wasnot cured until the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, andthe Fourteenth Amendment. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed (Jefferson 173). Duiker first notes that thearistocracy and the entrepreneurial classes of the Industrial Revolution,especially in England, fused into one upper class, while middle classes ofprofessionals, technicians, shopkeepers, and finally the lower workingclasses of clerks and laborers, all found a social role because ofindustrialization and urbanization (9). In that regard, Smith cites the "alien"feeling of peoples who are enclosed in one nation but do not feel a part ofit; he gives the example of the Jews' alienation from the nation of Franceat the time of the Dreyfus treason affair. In reference to ancient peoples such as the Greeks and Persians,which could be considered nationalistic, he notes that the community tieswere social and cultural but not mainly political, or at least notpolitically organized. In this regard, Smith says that the state could respond by repressingall subject peoples, "the usual case." Another method of maintainingpolitical stability happened when "the state represented interestspartially outside its core ethnie" (117). Partly, it seems, because ofexpanding literacy, nationalism "arose out of an awareness of being part ofa community that had common institutions, traditions, language, andcustoms" (Duiker 12). According to Renan, the individual who is nationalistic feelssignificant because of the inheritance of community feeling of solidarity.Also important about nationalism is what it is not. Through Jefferson, theintelligentsia of America was writing the cultural myth around which toorganize a nation. But the ethnies alone arenot the same as nationalism. LikeRenan, he discounts the power of language, ethnicity, and so on as the solefeatures of nationalism, even though there may be an "ethnic core" (Smith1 9) around which layers of community that end up as a nationalist idea canbe built. This would be connected tothe conquest of territories throughout history, which mainly involve socialelites such as armies, clergy, and royal dynasties. The way toprove that, according to Renan, is to look at all the disputes betweenpeoples over the same territories. Second, there was the problem of the "subjectpeoples" of the US, namely the Indians, who were basically pushed out ofthe way as more Europeans arrived. The lateral ethnies refer to the distribution of acultural or community idea across a wide area. Basically what that means is thatthe nation-state could use its power to distribute political and socialbenefits through its bureaucracy, while the intellectuals of the nation-state could construct a rationale for political nationalism there. Thus the nation comes about because of the "interpenetration, of thesecultural or 'ethnic' elements with the political, territorial, educationaland economic ones" (113) According to Smith, lateral ethnies have the potential to bring aboutthe nation if they are successful at "bureaucratic incorporation' (114).Basically that refers to the process in which the conqueror seizes theimagination of the people, giving them a stake in the outcome of theprojects of government. Becoming National: A Reader. At the earliest stageof settlement in the New World, the people of the British colonies werepretty much united by English language and history, although theirreligious beliefs were vastly different from colony to colony. Smith explains how nationalism arises by referring first to "lateral"and "vertical" ethnies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965.Renan, Ernest. Smith develops the view that nationalism is a modern phenomenon. Further organization of these ideas results in the creation of anorganizational or government apparatus or bureaucracy with a life of itsown. But such conquest "never really reached far down thesocial scale" (111), and one aspect of modern nationalism that Smithemphasizes is the fact that it reaches across all social levels, from themost aristocratic to the most humble. It is well knownthat economic reasons were in the background of the Revolution, for examplein the famous phrase "taxation without representation." Also, it could besaid that the whole purpose of the Declaration was to educate the peopleand lay the groundwork for an economy to come. Theexamples here include the Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Irish, Basques, Serbs,which "are as stratified as any other, but the strata all share in a commonheritage and culture, and in the common defense. Geoff Eley and Ronald Grigor Suny. Belmont, Calif.: West/Wadsworth, 1999.Jefferson, Thomas. Although he does not comment on nationalism as a principle or concept,Duiker (7) sees the process of nationalism at work in the global economiccompetition between nation-states during the Industrial Revolution.Connected to this was the fact that so many different social classes seemedto have a stake in economic outcomes. Thus whenSmith defines nationalism as such, he focuses on it as a concept, not as afact. The intellectuals would create a specific,written history and explanation of the nationalistic community in a waythat would fuse the ethnic core with the shared culture, language, and soon. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Smith explains the conflicts of nationalism when lateral ethnies tryto expand into territories where vertical ethnie identity is very strong,which "has occurred, not only in Eastern Europe, but in the Middle East,southeast Asia and parts of Africa," where there have been "ready-madebases for political movements of autonomy" (113). American Literature. Hence the ethnic bond ismore exclusive and intensive" (Smith 112). The ideology factor is very important, and it is a part of thedefinition of nationalism by Renan, who describes the idea of a nation interms of concepts -- as a spiritual principle, a feeling, a community witha rich legacy of shared memories and a history and heritage that arerecognized as important, to which present-day individuals can relate. What does survive, however,is the general success of the bureaucratic administration of the US and ageneral tendency toward a shared sense of community, history, and politicalrights and obligations. Also, the sense ofcommunity and culture are not necessarily enclosed inside territorialboundaries or shared by all people who are inside that boundary. Twentieth-Century World History. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Smith cites the Normanconquest of France and England, plus the Persian conquest of Asia, asexamples (111-112). Somewould also point to ongoing racism and discrimination as evidence of lackof identification by minorities with national American consciousness. These factors make it difficult to define nationalism once and forall. This leads to discussion of verticalethnies, which do reach into all social levels, even though the actualcontrol of territory and a community of rights may not be very big. Mark Schorer, Arno Jewett, Walter Havighurst, and Allen Kirschner. Modernnationalism, according to Smith, was built or "reconstructed (but not'invented') out of pre-existing social networks and cultural elements,often by intellectuals" (113). What must be understood first of all about the concept ofnationalism is that it is not necessarily to be seen simply as theequivalent of a nation-state enclosed by fixed territorial boundaries, noris it a simple concept per se.
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