Nationalism and national identity in China

1
Nationalism and national identity in China

• M.Soc.Sc. Elina Sinkkonen
• Renvall Institute
• 16.4.2009

2
Lecture outline

• What is nationalism theoretical perspectives and
  debates
• Context Contemporary functions of nationalism in
  China
• Evolvement of nationalism
• Patriotic education campaign
• Popular nationalism
• Zhaos typology of Chinese nationalism
• Chinese national identity

3
Many faces of nationalism (e.g. Fred Halliday
2001)

• Nationalism and globalization
• Why nations in globalized world?
• What is it about modern politics that make
  nationalism so important?
• Nationalism as an ideology
• Andersson (1991, 5) It would make things easier
  if one treated (nationalism) as if it belonged
  with kinship or religion, rather than with
  liberalism or fascism
• Nationalism as a movement

4
Typology of theories of nationalism (Özkirimli
2000)
5
Issues under discussion

• What are nations and nationalisms?
• Nationalism as ideological movement or political
  principle?
• What are the origins of nations and nationalisms?
• Role of ethnicity?
• Role of elite in nation building
• Role of education system and mass media in
  creating a sense of belonging to the nation
• Are nations something natural (primordialism)
  or something the ruling elite has created as a
  tool (modernism)
• Different types of nationalism?

6
Civilization or state?

• Lucien Pye China is not a nation, but a
  civilization pretending to be a state
• When did China become a nation, is China now a
  nation?
• Chinese national identity?
• It is necessary to understand how identity
  depends on shared norms but also on the exclusion
  of difference (Callahan 2008 ethnographic
  approach)
• The Great Wall is not just to keep the barbarians
  out, but to keep the Chinese in.

7
Chinese Nationalism and Western Theories

• Chinese nationalism and national identity often
  neglected in theoretical discussion on
  nationalism
• - Eurocentric definitions of nationalism define
  it often either ethnic or civic
• - in non-European world nationalism is usually
  linked to anticolonialism
• - dominant Chinese nationalism does not fit into
  Eurocentric categories

8
Placing Chinese Nationalism into Context (1)

• Keeping China united via
• Economic performance
• Stability
• Nationalism
• State nationalism has dominated official doctrine
  and Chinas political behaviour since 1949
  (Townsend 1992)
• Nationalism as the metanarrative to guide China?

9
Placing Chinese Nationalism into Context (3)

• China threat discussion rising nationalism
  often seen as a threat
• The three ifs
• What would happen to the legitimation of the
  Communist Party in case of economic recession?
• What if China is unable to tackle the problem of
  increasing inequalities between rural and urban
  areas?
• What if the security environment in Asia changes
  (e.g. crisis in North Korea/ Burma)
• ? will nationalist rhetoric became the tool to
  keep China unified?

10
Nationalism in China (1)

• From Culturalism-to-Nationalism Thesis (e.g.
  Townsend 1996)
• - Chinese culture held the empire together no
  identification to the state
• - foreign rulers were accepted as long as they
  followed Chinese cultural norms (Yuan dynasty
  1276-1368, Qing dynasty 1644-1911)
• Chineseness is unique but not exclusive
  conversion possible

11
Nationalism in China (2)

• - elites cultural identification through
  standardized schooling (becoming a civil servant
  required passing examinations, which tested
  knowledge of classical Confucian texts)
• - periodization culturalist dominance (imperial
  China), transition to nationalism (c. 1860-1919),
  nationalist dominance (post-1919)
• Fung (2000, 146) Chinese nationalism evolved
  from primitive anti-foreignism through
  anti-Manchuism in the nineteenth century to
  organized anti-imperialism in the twentieth
• Nationalism was brought to China by Chinese elite
  who wanted to defend the country against foreign
  imperialists

12
Nationalism in China (3)

• Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860), in 1895
  defeat in the war against Japan ? increasing
  anti-foreign attitudes
• Sun Yat-sens teachings sanminzhuyi
  (nationalism, democracy, socialism)
• - Mao in 1938 Can a Communist, who is an
  internationalist, at the same time be a patriot?
  We hold that he not only can but also must be.

13
Nationalism in China (4)

• Patriotic education in post-Tiananmen China
• - Action Plan for Patriotic Education in 1994
  patriotism is essentially identical to
  socialism
• - Action Plan for Civic Morality in 2001 five
  loves (love for the motherland, the people,
  labor, science and socialism) are the legal
  obligation and moral responsibility of every
  citizen

14
Patriotic education campaign (1)

• 1989 opened CCPs eyes lost legitimacy had to be
  gained back
• Main aim to link Chinas long history,
  achievements and love for the country to CCPs
  rule
• Identifying CCP with the nation ? criticism of
  the party unpatriotic
• Chinese history and culture are security issues
• Schools and universities have a legal obligation
  to transmit socio-political values to students
  (Law 2006, 609)

15
Patriotic education campaign (2)

• 1993 Program for Chinas Education Reform and
  Development (the State Education Commission)
• 1994 Outline for Conducting Patriotic Education
  (the Central Committee)
• 1994 I am Chinese program for university
  students
• 2001 National Defence Education Law Compulsory
  military training from senior middle schools to
  universities (already in use before)
• Compulsory courses in history, Marxism and Mao
  Zedong Thought

16
(No Transcript)
17
Nationalism in China (5)

• Nationalism can be decomposed into official and
  popular ones
• Two waves of popular nationalism in the 1990s
• 1) intelligentsia-dominated first wave with
  say no-books
• 2) Internet-nationalism with petitions and
  anti-Japanese demonstrations

18
Popular anti-Japanese protests in China (1)

• High-Speed Rail Line
• Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Hangzhou
• The Japanese companies were gaining support from
  the Chinese selectors ? Alliance of Patriots
  (Aiguo tongmeng wang) started online petition in
  2003 We refuse the use of Japanese products for
  the Beijing-Shanghai train
• In July 2003 the organizers submitted more than
  82000 signatures to the Ministry of Railroads

19
Popular anti-Japanese protests in China (2)

• In 2004 the decisions of the bids came out the
  Japanese received contracts to build 80
  high-speed trains (French 60, Canadians 20
  trains) ? within a single day the Patriot
  Alliance Web collected 68733 signatures to a
  petition to reverse the Ministrys decision

20
Popular anti-Japanese protests in China (3)

• In 2005 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a
  report on UN reform, which called for increased
  involvement in decision making by those countries
  that contribute most to the budget ? the Chinese
  started to fear Japan will get a seat in the
  Security Council ? Chinese petitions collected
  2.5 million signatures within a week
• Anti-Japanese demonstrations in many Chinese
  cities
• Distroying property of Japanese companies etc.

21
Typology of Chinese nationalism (Zhao S. 2000)

• 1. Nativism restoration of traditional
  Confucianist values and avoidance of foreign
  influences
• Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Cultural Revolution in
  late 1960s
• 2. Antitraditionalism abandoning traditional
  culture and adopting foreign development models
• the May Fourth Movement in 1919

22
Typology of Chinese nationalism (3)

• Pragmatism societal modernization but not
  uncritical adoption of foreign models
• Reform and opening up as of 1978
• Students demonstrating in the name of nationalism
  e.g. in 1919 (the May Fourth Movement), 1989
  (Tiananmen), 1999 (anti-Americanism after
  Belgrade embassy bombing), 2005 (anti-Japanese
  movement)
• In the 1980s pair of identity crisis national
  identity crisis (socialist world breaking down)
  and party identity crisis (weakening public
  support)

23
National identity and foreign relations

• The the self is defined by the other the
  other is an epistemological and ontological
  necessity
• Multiple identities, interaction of different
  types of identities
• Individual s identity and group identity (
  micro/macro problem)

24
Constructivism (1)

• Human interaction is shaped primarily by
  ideational factors
• The most important ideational factors are widely
  shared intersubjective beliefs
• These shared beliefs construct the interests and
  identities of purposive actors
• (Finnemore Sikkink 2001, 392-393)

25
Constructivism (2)

• National identites are constructed through
  interaction between micro and macro levels,
  local, national and international levels
• Othering
• Wendts (1999) example teacher is not a teacher
  without the student (identity is relative)
• Chinese national identity is formed by comparing
  China with other countries
• the other used to be inside China (class war) ?
  psychological need to see China united

26
Constructivism (3)

• Identity directs action
• Interests presuppose identities because an actor
  cannot know what it wants until it knows who it
  is (Wildawsky 1994)
• Idea ? international structure ? identity ?
  interest ? policy
• Chinese national identity ? Chinese policy?

27
Constructivism (4)

• National interests (George Keohane 1980, Wendt
  1999)
• Physical survival
• Autonomy (the ability of a state-society complex
  to exercise control over its allocation of
  resources and choice of government)
• Economic well-being (maintenance of production
  and states resource base)
• Collective self-esteem (groups need to feel good
  about itself, respect from others, status)
• limits on state foreign policy
• - BUT self-interest is about motivation, not
  behavior

28
Dimensional Model of National Identity

• Montserrat Guibernau 2007 the Identity of
  Nations ( Cambridge Polity Press ) 11-25
• National identity is a semi-fluid construction of
  narrative nature, which is formed through
  individuals psychological stance in regards of
  nations history, territory, culture and
  politics.

29
Dimensional Model of National Identity

• Five dimensions
• History, especially what comes to defining
  national history and the parts of history that
  are highlighted in the narrative about nation.
  Identities are always constituted by narratives
  (Ringmar 1996), and the present identity
  necessarily takes some stance in regards the
  past. The common myths mentioned by Anthony
  Smith fall within this dimension.
• Territory, though a part of the population might
  have only a vague idea of some parts of their
  nation and gain knowledge on territorial issues
  only through media and education (see. Guibernau
  2007, 21).

30
Dimensional Model of National Identity

• Culture, which includes aspects such as language,
  religion, dominant values, national symbols,
  rituals and ceremonies.
• Politics, specifically the rights and duties of
  citizens, and education in all its forms,
  especially when its purpose is to socialize
  people to behave in a certain way in regards to
  national institutions.

31
Dimensional Model of National Identity

• Psychological dimension defines how the
  combination looks Each persons experiences and
  psychodynamics define the construction of her/his
  national identity

32
Ending remarks on national identity

• Bipolarism in identity negative national
  humiliation narrative positive great China
  narrative
• History remains a critical issue for Chinese
  self-understanding
• Chinese national identity hard cover soft core?
• Borders of identity can never be well-defined