Nationalism – 15 Mark Essay plans – Flashcards

- Nations are entitled to liberties like individuals such as the right to govern themselves. - Nations are equal in their right to self-determination they are opposed to one nation dominating another in any way. - A world of democratic, free nation states is the best way to international peace and harmony.

- Organic society - Social cohesion - Strengthens when national identity is under threat. - Defensive of culture and tradition, backwards looking.

- Chauvinism - Militarism - Pan-Nationalism

- Desire for national liberation - Often linked to socialism - Post-colonial are defensive of their liberty.

- A nation is a group of people with shared experiences such as culture, tradition or language and/or shared ideals. - A state is a sovereign entity which is self governing. - Most countries around the world are nation-states, which is often why the terms are confused because so often they go hand in hand. - The agenda of political nationalism has been to seek self-determination and this usually links the concepts of nation and state.

An overarching ideal, particularly for liberal nationalists, has been to construct a world of independent nation states. This is beneficial because... - International peace and harmony, it is difficult for nation-states to go to war if they respect the others sovereignty. - It is a vehicle for political freedom as sovereign states can decide there own destiny. - It promises stability with the nation-state, as politics and culture naturally overlap.

- Liberals believe the biggest threat to peace are militaristic, autocratic empires. - Respect for the idea of 'nation-states' makes it difficult for one country to enforce itself upon another because countries enjoying freedom are unlikely to take away the freedom of other nation-states. Furthermore the idea of liberal democracy means governments are accountable for the people that fight, who may be unwilling to fight those who share the democratic culture. Finally the dialogue between nation-states is stronger with the advent of internationalism, expansionism undermines the cohesion felt within these international communities.

Race is a biological connection between people. It is a term used to describe groups of people who are biologically similar to each other because of inherent characteristics. A Nation however is a cultural entity. The people within a nation share common cultural values such as language and tradition but no nation is homogeneous and nations can include many different racial backgrounds. The reason they are often confused is because often right wing or chauvinist nationalists conflate the two concepts by creating an exclusive outlook on 'nation' defined by race rather than shared values. This emphasises a need for cultural purity whereby the key determinant for national identity is genetic. Nazi Germany is the best example of this.

Political nationalism is the quest for the creation of nation-states by allowing nations to achieve self-determination and therefore national sovereignty. It is often seen as progressive and is generally an inclusive form of nationalism. It is also the oldest form of nationalism. Cultural nationalism by contrast is more defensive in nature, its goal is to preserve the nation as an important cultural entity by protecting traditional values and common culture. It is generally exclusive and driven by emotion rather than the rational basis of political nationalism.

Nationalism is the idea that the nation is the ideal or perhaps only legitimate method of political organisation. Political nationalists have sought to bring the boundaries of nations in line with state boundaries, creating a sense of harmony between democratic nation states. Nationalism in this sense is based upon a principled belief in national self-determination. However it is important to note that the doctrine of nationalism is broader than this narrow definition, but in a classical sense this is the quest of nationalism. Racialism by contrast is the idea that race and genetic differences should be the basis for political organisation. Racialist thinking is based on two assumptions: firstly that the world is divided into strict racial groupings and secondly, these differences influence and organically generate moral, physical and intellectual divide between races. The idea of a racial hierarchy leads to the subordination of peoples based on their genetic differences and subsequently can catalyse a doctrine of expansionism or military conquest.