Mass Nationalism in 1848
Mass Nationalism in 1848-1914
The concept of nationalism is crucial for the understanding of country’s history and its quest for identity, and this essay I will be answering the following question:
To what extent was mass nationalism a creation of the (German) state government?
However, before answering this particular question, it is important to give a solid definition for a nation and what nationalism is principally.
The Nation and the Nationalism
It is hard to define the concept of the nation, as the core of its meaning is quite abstract in a sense. Nevertheless, Benedict Anderson, a British historian and social researcher, effectively defines a nation as an “imagined political community”. Meaning that the people of a nation will share a mutual bond, a responsibility that will in result also difference them from others.
Nationalism, in effect, can be described by the equation “people=nation=state” where the nation is held in the highest regard, and as the only possible form of state. Moreover, the state and its actions shall reflect the will of the people.
In the period of 1848-1914, people had started to define themselves in terms of their own nationality. Even though the revolutions of 1848 failed, politics now started to operate in the context of national aspirations. The people were loyal to their states; as a result, they differentiated themselves from the other nations, which made the birth of a right-wing nationalism possible. In Germany, the people were supposed to think that they were a chosen people, the ideal bearers of civilization and pureness of blood.
Mass Nationalism
Mass nationalism is the idea of spreading the spirit of nationalism of a particular country to the masses, in contrast to how it was in the past in some countries (e.g. Germany), when nationalism was only popular in the circles of the elite, the literate. In many countries, the government understood the power nationalism had on the masses, and how this concept could be used
The concept of nationalism is crucial for the understanding of country’s history and its quest for identity, and this essay I will be answering the following question:
To what extent was mass nationalism a creation of the (German) state government?
However, before answering this particular question, it is important to give a solid definition for a nation and what nationalism is principally.
The Nation and the Nationalism
It is hard to define the concept of the nation, as the core of its meaning is quite abstract in a sense. Nevertheless, Benedict Anderson, a British historian and social researcher, effectively defines a nation as an “imagined political community”. Meaning that the people of a nation will share a mutual bond, a responsibility that will in result also difference them from others.
Nationalism, in effect, can be described by the equation “people=nation=state” where the nation is held in the highest regard, and as the only possible form of state. Moreover, the state and its actions shall reflect the will of the people.
In the period of 1848-1914, people had started to define themselves in terms of their own nationality. Even though the revolutions of 1848 failed, politics now started to operate in the context of national aspirations. The people were loyal to their states; as a result, they differentiated themselves from the other nations, which made the birth of a right-wing nationalism possible. In Germany, the people were supposed to think that they were a chosen people, the ideal bearers of civilization and pureness of blood.
Mass Nationalism
Mass nationalism is the idea of spreading the spirit of nationalism of a particular country to the masses, in contrast to how it was in the past in some countries (e.g. Germany), when nationalism was only popular in the circles of the elite, the literate. In many countries, the government understood the power nationalism had on the masses, and how this concept could be used