Political Theory Chapter 7 Nationalism

A nation is to a great extent an ‘imagined community’, held together by the collective beliefs, aspirations and imaginations of its members. It is based on certain assumptions which people make about the collective whole with which they identify.

The assumptions are:

(i)Shared beliefs

(ii)History

(iii)Territory

(iv)Shared political ideals

(v)Common Political Identity

A nation is constituted by belief:  

Nations are not like mountains, rivers or buildings which we can see and feel. They are not things which exist independent of the beliefs that people have about them. To speak of a people as a nation is not to make a comment about their physical characteristics or behaviour. Rather, it is to refer to the collective identity and vision for the future of a group which aspires to have an independent political existence. To this extent, nations can be compared with a team.

When we speak of a team, we mean a set of people who work or play together and, more importantly, conceive of themselves as a collective group. If they did not think of themselves in this way they would cease to be a team and be simply different individuals playing a game or undertaking a task. A nation exists when its members believe that they belong together.

People who see themselves as a nation also embody a sense of continuing historical identity. That is, nations perceive themselves as stretching back into the past as well as reaching into the future. They articulate for themselves a sense of their own history by drawing on collective memories, legends, historical records, to outline the continuing identity of the nation.

Thus nationalists in India invoked its ancient civilisation and cultural heritage and other achievements to claim that India has had a long and continuing history as a civilisation and that this civilisational continuity and unity is the basis of the Indian nation.

Jawaharlal Nehru, for instance, wrote in his book The Discovery of India, “Though outwardly there was diversity and infinite variety among the people, everywhere there was that tremendous impress of oneness, which held all of us together in ages past, whatever political fate or misfortune had befallen us”.

Nations identify with a particular territory:

Sharing a common past and living together on a particular territory over a long period of time gives people a sense of their collective identity. It helps them to imagine themselves as one people. It is therefore not surprising that people who see themselves as a nation speak of a homeland. The territory they occupied and the land on which they have lived has a special significance for them, and they claim it as their own. Nations however characterise the homeland in different ways, for instance as motherland, or fatherland, or holy land.

The Jewish people for instance, in spite of being dispersed and scattered in different parts of the world always claimed that their original homeland was in Palestine, the ‘promised land’. The Indian nation identifies with the rivers, mountains and regions of the Indian subcontinent.

It is a shared vision of the future and the collective aspiration to have an independent political existence that distinguishes groups from nations.

Members of a nation share a vision of the kind of state they want to build. They affirm among other things a set of values and principles such as democracy, secularism and liberalism. These ideals represent the terms under which they come together and are willing to live together. It represents, in other words, their political identity as a nation.

In a democracy, it is shared commitment to a set of political values and ideals that is the most desirable basis of a political community or a nation-state. Within it, members of political community are bound by a set of obligations. These obligations arise from the recognition of the rights of each other as citizens.

A nation is strengthened when its people acknowledge and accept their obligations to their fellow members. We might even say that recognition of this framework of obligations is the strongest test of loyalty to the nation.

Basque is a hilly and prosperous region in Spain.

(i)This region is recognised by the Spanish government as an ‘autonomous’ region within the Spanish federation. But the leaders of Basque Nationalist Movement are not satisfied with this autonomy. They want this region to become a separate country. Supporters of this movement have used constitutional and, till recently, violent means to press for this demand.

(ii)Basque Nationalists say that their culture is very different from the Spanish culture. They have their own language that does not resemble Spanish at all. Only one-third of the people in Basque understand that language today.

(iii)The hilly terrain makes the Basque region geographically distinct from the rest of the Spain. Ever since the Roman days, the Basque region never surrendered its autonomy to the Spanish rulers. Its systems of justice, administration and finance were governed by its own unique arrangements.

(iv)The modern Basque Nationalist Movement started when, around the end of nineteenth century, the Spanish rulers tried to abolish this unique politicaladministrative arrangement.

(v)In the twentieth century, the Spanish dictator Franco further cut down this autonomy. He went as far as to ban the use of Basque language in public places and even homes.

(vi)These repressive measures have now been withdrawn. But the leaders of Basque movement continue to be suspicious of the motives of the Spanish government and fearful of the entry of ‘outsiders’ in their region. 

Rabindranath Tagore's critique of Nationalism:

(i)Rabindranath Tagore had preferred humanity over the patriotism.  He was against colonial rule and asserted India’s right to independence. He felt that in the British administration of the colonies, there was no place for ‘upholding of dignity of human relationships,’ an idea which was otherwise cherished in the British civilisation.

(ii)Tagore made a distinction between opposing western imperialism and rejecting western civilisation. While Indians should be rooted in their own culture and heritage, they should not resist learning freely and profitably from abroad. A critique of what he called ‘patriotism’ is a persistent theme in his writings.

(iii)He was very critical of the narrow expressions of nationalism that he found at work in parts of our independence movement. In particular, he was afraid that a rejection of the west in favour of what looked like Indian traditions was not only limiting in itself; it could easily turn into hostility to other influences from abroad, including Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Islam which have been present in our 108 country.

Rabindranath Tagore was against colonial rule and asserted India's right to independence. He realised that in the British administration of the colonies, there was no place for ‘upholding of dignity of human relationship,’ an idea which was otherwise cherished in the British civilization.

Rabindranath Tagore made a distinction between opposing western imperialism and rejecting western civilization while Indians should be rooted in their own culture and heritage they should not resist learning freely and profitably from abroad.

The four elements of the State are mentioned below:

(i)Population

(ii)Territory 

(iii)Government 

(iv)Sovereignty 

A nation is not any casual collection of people. At the same time it is also different from other groups or communities found in human society.

(i)It is different from the family which is based on face-to-face relationships with each member having direct personal knowledge of the identity and character of others.

(ii)It is also different from tribes and clans and other kinship groups in which ties of marriage and descent link members to each other so that even if we do not personally know all the members we can, if need be, trace the links that bind them to us.

(iii)But as a member of a nation we may never come face to face with most of our fellow nationals nor need we share ties of descent with them. Yet nations exist, are lived in and valued by their members.

Nations, unlike other social groups, seek the right to govern themselves and determine their future development. They seek, in other words, the right to self-determination. In making this claim a nation seeks recognition and acceptance by the international community of its status as a distinct political entity or state. Most often these claims come from people who have lived together on a given land for a long period of time and who have a sense of common identity. In some cases such claims to self-determination are linked also to the desire to form a state in which the culture of the group is protected if not privileged.

(i)The right to national self-determination has also asserted by national liberation movements in Asia and Africa when they were struggling against colonial domination. Nationalist movements maintained that political independence would provide dignity and recognition to the colonised people and also help them to protect the collective interests of their people.

(ii0Most national liberation movements were inspired by the goal of bringing justice and rights and prosperity to the nation. However, here also, it proved almost impossible to ensure that each cultural group, some of whom claimed to be distinct nations, could achieve political independence and statehood.

(iii)As a result, migration of populations, border wars, and violence have continued to plague many countries in the region. Thus we have the paradoxical situation of nation-states which themselves had achieved independence through struggle now acting against minorities within their own territories who claim the right to national self- determination.

The Factors which led to the Emergence of a Nationalist feelings are :

(i)Shared Beliefs - A nation is constituted by belief. Nations are not like mountains, rivers or buildings which we can see and feel. They are not things which exist independent of the beliefs that people have about them. To speak of a people as a nation is not to make a comment about their physical characteristics or behaviour. Rather, it is to refer to the collective identity and vision for the future of a group which aspires to have an independent political existence.

(II)History-People who see themselves as a nation also embody a sense of continuing historical identity. That is, nations perceive themselves as stretching back into the past as well as reaching into the future. They articulate for themselves a sense of their own history by drawing on collective memories, legends, historical records, to outline the continuing identity of the nation.

(iii)Territory- Nations identify with a particular territory. Sharing a common past and living together on a particular territory over a long period of time gives people a sense of their collective identity. It helps them to imagine themselves as one people.

(iv)Shared Political Ideals- While territory and shared historical identity play an important role in creating a sense of oneness, it is a shared vision of the future and the collective aspiration to have an independent political existence that distinguishes groups from nations.

(v)Common Political Identity- Many people believe that a shared political vision about the state and society we wish to create is not enough to bind individuals together as a nation. They seek instead a shared cultural identity, such as a common language, or common descent.

Nationalism has inspired intense loyalities as well as deep hatreds. It has united people as well as divided them helped to liberate them from oppressive rule as well as has been the cause of conflict and bitterness and wars.

(i) Nationalism has been a factor in the break up of empires and states.

(ii) Nationalist struggles have contributed to the drawing and redrawing of the boundaries of states and empires.

(iii) At present a large part of the world is divided into different nation-states although the process of re-ordering of state boundaries has not come to an end and separatist struggles within existing states are common.

(iv) Nationalism has passed through several passes. For example, in the nineteenth century Europe, it led to the unification of a number of small kingdom into larger nation states. The present day Germany and Italy were formed United Nation-states after a long struggle or process of unification and consolidation.

(v) A large number of new states were also founded in Latin (or South) America.

(vi) Along with the consolidation of state boundaries, local dialects (or languages) and local loyalties were also gradually consolidated into state loyalities and common languages.

The reasons are explained below:

(i)A democratic government is more effective than an authoritarian government as it respects the opinion of people and provides opportunity and rights to every cultural group to flourish.

(ii)All cultural groups including those in minorities have the opportunity to be represented at the highest levels of decision making in a democratic set up. Thus, it provides a structure for all groups to express their aspirations.

 (iii)In a democracy, it is shared commitment to a set of political values and ideals that is the most desirable basis of a political community or a nation–state. Within it, members of political community are bound by a set of obligations. These obligations arise from the recognition of the rights of each other as citizens.

(iv)A nation is strengthened when its people acknowledge and accept their obligations to their fellow members. It is more easily possible in a democracy than in an authoritarian government. We might even say that recognisation of democratic framework of government provide enough chances and more favourable atmosphere that in an authoritarian government. Mutual respect and cooperation is the strongest test of loyalty to the nation.

 It is very difficult for us to arrive as a precise and widely accepted definition of the term nationalism.

(i)Territory is an essential factor for creating nation and the feeling of the nationalism among the inhabitants of the particular definite area. At present a large part of the world is divided into different nation–states although the process of re–ordering of state boundaries has not come to an end separatist struggles within existing states are common.

(ii)Nationalism has passed through many phases. For example, in the nineteenth century Europe, it led to the unification of a number of small kingdoms into larger nation–states. The present day German and Italian states were formed through such a process of unification and consolidation. A large number of new states were also founded in Latin (or South America).

(iii)Along with the consolidation of state boundaries, local dialects and loyalties were also gradually consolidated into state loyalties and common languages.

The people of the new states acquired a new political identity which was based on membership of the nation state. We have seen a similar process of consolidation taking place in our own country in the last century or more.

(iv) But nationalism also accompanied at contributed to the break up of large empires such as Austro–Hungarian and Russian empires in the early twentieth century in Europe as well as the break of the British French, Dutch and Protuguese empires in Asia and Africa.

The struggle for freedom from colonial rule by India and other former colonies were nationalist struggles, inspired by the desire to establish nation states which would be independent of foreign control.

(v)The process of drawing state boundaries continue to take place since 1960, even apparently stable nation states have been confronted by nationalist demands put forward by groups or regions and these may include demands for separate statehood.

(vi)Today, in several parts of the world we witness nationalist struggles that threaten to divide existing states. Such separatist movements have developed among the Quebecots in Canada, the Basques in northern Spain. The Kurds in Turkey and Iraq, and the Tamils in Sri Lanka among others.

(vii) The language of nationalism is also used by some groups in India. Arab nationalism today may hope to unite Arab countries in a Pan-Arab Union but separatist movements like the Basques or Kurds struggle to divide existing states.

Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism

Culturally