In 2010, a 26 year old fruit vender sparked a series of revolutions that reverberated in over 17 countries and territories. The vender, Mohammed Bouazizi, was selling fruits and vegetables in the rural town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. After having his cart disposed by police for not having a permit, Bouazizi lit himself on fire in front of a Tunisian government building. In many countries the resulting four years of turmoil produced death, ethnic strife and political overhauls. Some contend that the Arab Spring was simply a result of poor governments and the fall of authoritarian regimes. To many political scientists, widespread revolution highlighted a much more complex phenomenon of nationalist movements. The Arab Spring highlighted new threats to state control and components of revolt in the 21st century.
The Arab Spring showcased the impact of nationalist movements. Each movement originated from various causes and resulted in unique outcomes. Despite the varied nature of each country, each state produced a revolt. In this paper, I will explore the genesis of nationalist movements and seek to answer the question “What causes nationalist movements?” Nationalist theories have often failed to accurately encompass many cases of nationalism. The reason lies in the very subjective nature of nationalism due to the constantly varied agency of the actors involved. Because of this, the study of nationalism has no true definitions; instead, it is filled with loose theories. As Hugh Seton-Watson, author of Nations and States: an Enquiry into the Origins of Nations and the Politics of Nationalism (1977), writes, “I am driven to the conclusion that no ‘scientific definition’ of the nation can be devised; yet the phenomenon has existed and e...
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Nationalism has been a potent force for change since the development of human civilization. However, opinion about the extent to which nationalism may be appropriately pursued is highly diverse, a factor that has led to immense tragedy and suffering in countless regions worldwide. While it is both appropriate and sometimes encouraged to take pride in being part of a nation, it is of the utmost importance that it is done without harming or subjugating people of another. Uniting a people by force and potentially eliminating or destroying those who may oppose it or not belong to it is unacceptable ethically, morally, and socially.
Throughout the years, humans have constructed many unique civilizations; all which follow a distinct social, economic, and political structure. Even so, there is one characteristic that prevails among these societies, the concept of nationalism. In short, nationalism refers to the feelings people have when identifying with their nation. This simple notion possesses the ability to divide or unite collective groups, and has played an important role in many historical events.
All over the world and in history, countries and nations have expressed pride towards their nations through spirit and have unified together as one. Nationalism is the force behind the unification, strength, and cooperation of these nations. First, nationalism is a powerful force that helps to unite all different people into a single nation. It is also important for nations to use nationalism to claim justified independence from one another. Finally, nationalism can be taken too far if it is used unjustly or incorrectly. Nationalism is important and necessary for beneficial political changes, but can become harmful and unproductive when used for a country’s personal agenda and lust for power.
One example of this is the Treaty of Versailles in the days of Adolf Hitler. The same way that the Treaty of Versailles prepared the mind frame of the people of Germany, is the same way suffering, oppression, and defeat reaps ultra-nationalism in other nations. This point proves that even before anyone can proceed in fueling the peoples mind frame, the people themselves must already be in a state in which they feel they must achieve superiority. This being the main difference in opinion between myself and the source. To put it this way, the people must be willing to hear the lies given to them, before the lies are viable in their
Davidson, J. (Ed.). (2002). Nation of nations: A concise narrative of the American republic (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
The rise of European nationalism in the 19th Century brought with it an overabundance amount of change that would definitively modify the course of history. The rise of nationalism in one country would rouse greater nationalism in another, which would in turn, motivate even greater nationalism in the first, progressively intensifying the cycle that eventually concluded in a World War. Nationalism as an ideology produced international competition which inspired absolute allegiance to an individual’s nation state. The ideology was fueled by industrial commerce and imperialistic developments which led to nation-states pursuits of outcompeting rival nations.
Nationalism has a long history although most scholarly research on Nationalism only began in the mid-twentieth century. Some scholars point to the French Revolution of 1789 as the birth of Nationalism. The French Revolution is seen...
Davidson, J. W., Delay, B., et al. (2005). Nation of nations: a narrative history of the American Republic (6th ed., Vol. 2). Boston: McGraw Hill.
Nationalism at its core is the support of a country. The goal of a country is to have some sort of resonance within the individuals that reside there that call themselves citizens. If the citizens don’t feel any connection with their country, they may move to find one that they feel closer too. Once found, they may support the country over others, defend it within conversations of politics or just find groups that have the same ideals they do about the country. This papers purpose is to illustrate the pros of nationalism as well as its cons.
The changes that we have recently experienced at the global level, this new era of globalization, has made the entire peoples relive the feelings of nationalism, unfortunately in a wrong way. Because of leaders with the coveted power, these feelings of nationalism have been conducted through the anger, hatred, intolerance, and violence.
These horrors caused by nationalism seem to be at the opposite end of the spectrum from the promising ideal of democracy. As Ghia Nodia pointed out, many analysts view nationalism as “fundamentally antidemocratic” (3). What these anti-nationalists fail to realize is that nationalism has also called force heroism and even sacrifice throughout history. Numerous people have risked their lives to restore democracy and civil rights in their nations, when they could easily have chosen comfortable exile elsewhere. Indeed, nationalism is the very basis of democratic government because it unites the citizens as “we the people”, supports the common political destiny, and nurtures trust toward the government.
Nationalism is the idea that a people who have much in common, such as language, culture and geographic proximity ought to organize in such a way that it creates a stable and enduring state. Nationalism is tied to patriotism, and it is the driving force behind the identity of a culture. Nationalism had many effects in Europe from 1815, The Congress of Vienna and beyond. In the following essay I will describe many of the consequences of nationalism on European identity, as well as some of the conflicts that it created.
What is often called “the spark that started it all,” occurred on December 17, 2011 in Tunisia. A street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest the corruption of the government. (Arab Spring, 2013) The 26 year old Bouazizi sold vegetables on the streets of Tunisia to make a living. His self-immolation was brought on when his cart of vegetables was confiscated by a policewoman. (Abouzeid, 2011) Bouazizi then went to the provincial headquarters to complain to officials about his situation. However, they refused to see him. Angered at the way he was being treated, Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest. (Abouzeid, 2011) He was taken to the hospital and stayed there until his death on January 4, 2011. Bouazizi’s self-immolation caused such an uproar that even Tunisia’s dictator, President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, visited him in the hospital. Bouazizi’s mother, Mannoubia, said, “Mohamed did what he did for the sake of his dignity. He lives on, his name lives on. I am proud of what happened in Tunis, I am proud that he is known throughout the Arab World.” (Abouzeid, 2011) Bouazizi’s self-immolation had such a huge impact on Tunisia that Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14.
“The existing nationalism literature is a conceptual labyrinth characterized by questionable instruments, lack of empirical data, and poor explanatory power”