Fiery Nationalism
12/12/12
NATIONALISM
For more than five centuries it has been, and remains, the world’s “most powerful idea”. Nationalism is a key characteristic of traditional global politics. Despite its strength however, nationalism is not as dominant a political identity as it once was. Nationalism had existed throughout human civilization; it became a major political movement, in large part because of centuries of imperialism. As countries expanded their borders through warfare and colonialism, the map of the world was completely redrawn. Geographic lines were shifted to create political entities based on the “winners” and “losers” of conflicts rather than based on ethnic lines of indigenous populations.
Nationalism is a doctrine invented in Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It pretends to supply a criterion for the determination of the unit of population proper to enjoy a government exclusively its own, for the legitimate exercise of power in the state, and for the right organization of a society of states. Briefly, the doctrine holds that humanity is naturally divided into nations, that nations are known by certain characteristics which can be ascertained, and that the only legitimate type of government is national self-government.
Another definitions of nationalism are: devotion and loyalty to one’s own nation; excessive patriotism; the desire for national advancement or independence; the policy or doctrine of asserting interest of one’s own nation, viewed as separate from the interest of other nations or the common interest of all nations.
Referring to the period 1900-1920, the positive part about nationalism as a political movement was that it allowed them to come together and overthrow imperialism. By the beginning of the twentieth century, nationalist movements threatened to tear apart the established empires and the world order the empires had created. On the other hand, the negative part was that it led to colonial wars for
NATIONALISM
For more than five centuries it has been, and remains, the world’s “most powerful idea”. Nationalism is a key characteristic of traditional global politics. Despite its strength however, nationalism is not as dominant a political identity as it once was. Nationalism had existed throughout human civilization; it became a major political movement, in large part because of centuries of imperialism. As countries expanded their borders through warfare and colonialism, the map of the world was completely redrawn. Geographic lines were shifted to create political entities based on the “winners” and “losers” of conflicts rather than based on ethnic lines of indigenous populations.
Nationalism is a doctrine invented in Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It pretends to supply a criterion for the determination of the unit of population proper to enjoy a government exclusively its own, for the legitimate exercise of power in the state, and for the right organization of a society of states. Briefly, the doctrine holds that humanity is naturally divided into nations, that nations are known by certain characteristics which can be ascertained, and that the only legitimate type of government is national self-government.
Another definitions of nationalism are: devotion and loyalty to one’s own nation; excessive patriotism; the desire for national advancement or independence; the policy or doctrine of asserting interest of one’s own nation, viewed as separate from the interest of other nations or the common interest of all nations.
Referring to the period 1900-1920, the positive part about nationalism as a political movement was that it allowed them to come together and overthrow imperialism. By the beginning of the twentieth century, nationalist movements threatened to tear apart the established empires and the world order the empires had created. On the other hand, the negative part was that it led to colonial wars for