Nationalism

1
Nationalism
2
What is a nation?
"I am driven to the conclusion that no
'scientific definition' of a nation can be
devised yet the phenomenon has existed and
exists. " Hugh Seton-Watson
3
A Nation is NOT a State.
"...States can exist without a nation, or with
several nations, among their subjects and a
nation can be coterminous with the population of
one state, or be included together with other
nations within one state, or be divided between
several states. . . . A state is a legal and
political organisation, with the power to require
obedience and loyalty from its citizens. A nation
is a community of people, whose members are bound
together by a sense of solidarity, a common
culture, a national consciousness.
4
What holds a Nation together?

• Common language
• Shared suffering or historical past
• Common religion
• Shared vision of the future
• Common ethnicity
• Geography

5
Where does Nationalism come from?
1. Its natural.
2. Its unnatural.
3. Its a by-product of modernization.
6
Good Nationalism
Los Angeles Times, "PERSPECTIVE ON ERITREA,
Putting Nationalism in a Good Light,"
03/19/95 The Eritrean government is actively
promoting a positive, multi-ethnic, religiously
tolerant, secular nationalism . . . embracing the
mechanisms of liberal nationalism, such as
universal education and universal national
service. . . .The former guerrilla fighters who
organized this effort know that to ensure peace
and prosperity, there must be equal educational
opportunities and shared sacrifice toward the
common good, particularly in a country so
fragmented by ethnicity, religion and geography.
7
Bad Nationalism
Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the
measles of mankind. Albert Einstein