Pro’s and Con’s of Nationalism Nationalism was coined back in the 1770’s it has a major role in the shaping many nations throughout the world. Nationalism has many positive and negative aspects to it. Nationalism has the strength to unify people despite their classes. It also has the ability to united people to lead movements against oppressive governments. There is a downside Nationalism can as method to evoke fear. The biggest negative is that most nationalism movement’s inevitably led to some form of conflict. Nationalism is a dangerous movement that can lead to oppression of opposition groups and lead to conflicts. Nationalism is a sense of strong pride and loyalty of ones nation over other nations. This is different from past beliefs that pride and loyalty rests in religion. Its biggest strength was to cut across the social classes and motivate large groups of people. Stavrianos, 1999) Nationalism developed in the 1770’s gaining major support throughout Europe. The earliest signs of nationalism were found in England during the puritan revolution. England during the time of the revolution was becoming a leading nation scientifically and economically which they thought would change they viewed freedom. John Milton a major writer at the time defined this change in freedom as “celebrated for endless ages as a soil most genial to the growth of liberty.” (Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2011) The French revolution had a major influence on the development of nationalism. French enlightenment thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau helped spread nationalism throughout Europe through his works about popular sovereignty where people would give their consent to be governed. (Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2011) This was the starting point fo... ... middle of paper ... ... unite a group of people by using evoking fear of another group. The biggest weakness of nationalism is the large amounts of conflicts that are created by nationalism movements. It seems like nearly all nationalism movement lead to some form of conflict. Even the examples that were considered positive example of Nationalism have led to conflict. The inevitability of conflict along with groups being persecuted for not being part of nationalistic movement makes nationalism more dangerous than good. Works Cited 1. "nationalism." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. 2. Halsall, Paul. "Nationalism." FORDHAM.EDU. 22 Sept. 1997. 3. Stavrianos, Leften S. A Global History. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1999. 4. Norton, James H.K. India and South Asia. 9th ed. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2010.
“Nationalism(n.) - loyalty or devotion to a nation, especially an attitude, feeling, or belief characterize by a sense of national consciousness” (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). Nationalism was a crucial part of America’s success during the War of 1812; nationalism was reflected in the post-war period through increased national pride, emphasis on national issues, increase in power and scope of the national government, and a growing sense of American identity (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). The first to arise which was the driving force behind American victories against the British was nationalism. This nationalism was expressed in four ways; patriotism, political, economical and cultural. American patriotism
There are two kinds of nationalism. There were the early forms of nationalism, where people of a similar race and nationality wanted a nation to themselves.
Nationalism is great for a country ("Nationalism”). It provides a confidence and sense of togetherness that ever country should have. Nationalism is defined as having patriotic feelings toward their country (“Nationalism). People are able to show their love for their country by reciting their national anthems, pledge of allegiance, and spreading positive thoughts of their country ("Nationalism”). There are extreme nationalists as well, which can cause serious problems ("Nationalism). Sometimes nationalists take their pride to far and it turns into an evil downwards spiral. Take Adolf Hitler for example, he ended up killing six million Jews and was at the center of the foundation of Nazism. Extreme nationalists can end up hurting innocent people because they might not believe in the same things or for absolutely no reason at all. The other end of extreme nationalists would be the people that are harmed because of being huge nationalists for their country. There are groups of people whose jobs are to go after nationalists from other countries because they may potentially cause a threat to their own country. In general nationalism is a great trait for a country to possess, but certain situations and people can cause nationalism to become a deadly weapon. Although nationalism has its benefits with international pride, in extreme cases it could lead to the downfall of a country or strip innocents of their safety.
Many basic descriptions of what nationalism is exist, and defining precisely what nationalism means is not an easy task. This is in large part because the causes and effects of nationalism greatly varies from social context to social context, as the concrete social reality determines the specific shape and character that the nationalism idea takes when it comes to hold a large part of the consciousness of a society (I say the ‘nationalism idea’ for I feel that nationalism is, primarily, in the realm of the ideological). Put more succinctly “Nationalism can be, and has been, democratic and authoritarian, forward-looking or backward-looking, socialist or reactionary” (Kamenka 1976: 3).
There are two countries that flourish due to Nationalism, Germany and Italy. The creation of Germany was possible through nationalism. Nationalism brought German community to unify and create a nation. On the other hand, the rivalry of the great powers to control other territories grew more as countries were wanting to influence past their borders. “The great powers had come into conflict over spheres of influence in China and over territories in Africa, and the Eastern Question, created by the decline of the Ottoman Empire, had produced several disturbing controversies.”(“World War I” 2015) Militarism was another aspect of these ideologies where countries would increase military spending to get new weapons and increase the military size. This gave people the idea that war was the only solution to their problems and also intensified nationalism because it increased their confidence in the military, thinking their country could win any battle against any foe. “Imperialist and nationalist, resulted in a hardening of alliance systems in the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente and in a general armaments race.(“World War I”
One reason why nationalism is harmful is that it encourages simplistic thinking. In Notes on Nationalism, George Orwell called nationalism “the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labeled ‘good’ or ‘bad’” (1). As Orwell said, nationalism puts things in black and white terms of “good” and “bad.” One’s own nation, or way of life in general, is viewed as the “good,” while anything different is viewed as “bad.” This is a leading cause of discrimination and bigotry, as will be discussed later, and is therefore harmful to a world consisting largely of diverse religions, races, ethnicities, beliefs, and
Nationalism has been within society since the dawn of time, with all nations doing what they can in order to prevent their nation from undergoing tyranny. While nationalism generally pertains to the origin of birth, it does not always apply. Numerous immigrants who seek new opportunities within other countries will soon express a form of nationalistic pride much stronger than those naturally born there. Pride for nationalism can also be taken as a form of protest in that not every aspect of every country we live in is perfect. Nationalistic beliefs are commonly thought to be the positive aspects of your country. Citizens who challenge and fight for a change within the landscape for the country are often considered unfaithful to their nation. Nationalism should be instead considered as a way to challenge for the betterment of the country through forms of protest, peaceful or otherwise.
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...
Nationalism, the love and support of one's country, has always existed. In this era, however, it was to take part in the creation of one of the most famous wars in history. Since so much pride was devoted to countries, it made the possibilities of peace between past rivals less probable. It also meant that most nations, especially the great powers, would rather fight a war than back down from a rival's diplomatic provocation. In effect, nationalism was also a contributing factor to the alliance system. No country feels comfortable being in a war alone, and with the growing militaries in almost every country, allies provided much comfort.
Nationalism is way of thinking both political and socially to create a community united by: history, ethnicity, religions, common culture, and language. Numerous effects occurred while establishing a Nationalist community, some effects were a long term impact on Nationalism, and other was short term impacts on Nationalism.
Nationalism is a type of ism, which is associated with the French and German. It all started in the later 19th century. The people were starting to become more aware of the heritage and identities as being part of a nation. Stravinsky is a composer of nationalism. In following the genre he composed folk songs based on national understanding and pride.
Patriotism, as defined by sociology, is the “love and commitment to one’s country. The sociological definition for nationalism, however, is “a sense of superiority over others” (Kemmelmeier 859). Compared to nationalism, patriotism is benign in definition. With nationalism, there is “them” and then there is “us”; in essence, it creates a strong schism between nations. Radical nationalism is a severe issue as it has high potential in causing conflicts between nations. One of the most notorious examples from history is World War II. Following World War I, Germany was in shambles; the economic and political state of Germany left it vulnerable to the rise of Adolf Hitler. The bitter resentment resulting from the conclusion of World War I in combination with a new, jingoist dictator led to the creation of radical nationalism within Germany. This nationalism led to the willingness to kill indiscriminately for the country under the belief that Germany was a far superior nation and all other nations needed to be eradicated, thus leading to global
...powerful forces in binding people together, nationalism is a powerful force capable of inducing people to act collectively, share burdens, and even make sacrifices for the nation’s common good. As a result, it promotes the stability of democracies.
- Nationalism is perhaps derived in part from biological racism, which is using science (specifically biology) to support or justify beliefs in racism, racial inferiority, racial superiority, or the classifying of individuals into races. Nationalism doesn’t necessarily divide individuals based on race, but divides by nationality (what nation you are from/live in)
Nationalism is self identification with one’s country. Nationalism is similar to religion in that it gives a person their self worth and sense of community. One source describe nationalism as as a bond and “awareness shared by a group” who feel “attached to not only the land, but also the culture, language, and history the people share (Brown). Nationalism is accompanied by loyalty and devotion of the people to a nation. Nationalist find great gratification in their history and traditions. With this sometimes comes the feeling that their nation is special and set apart from other nations, creating an atmosphere of superiority. Furthermore, through out history, the idea of nationalism has been the driving force behind those wanting to overthrow governments that are thought to be oppressive