Nationalism & Ethnic Politics on reading - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The point of existence of nationalism is a nation characterized by shared language, culture and values. The academic theory on nationalism shows that national identity is usually contested and may reflected in the differences in class, gender, dialect, region and language. Origin of nationality. The first studies relating to nationalism were mostly historically accounted by the nationalist movements. Towards the end of the 19th century, the followers of Marx and other socialists showed an analysis that was very critical of the movements of the nationalists. This gives rise to the sociological theories of nationalism which date back to the period after the second world war. Some of these theories discuss issues relating to the identity of the people of a particular nation which are of major impact to nationalists (Smith, 2010). Anthony D. Smith, shows the origin of nationalism and creates a synthesis of primordialist and modernist views, which are now commonly referred to as an ethno-symbolist approach. According to Smith, the conditions prior to the formation of a nation include: -A homeland that is fixed(current or historical) -High degree of autonomy -Hostile environments -Memories of battles -Sacred areas and centres -Languages -Special norms and practices -Historical records and way of thought Smith also postulates that the nation came into existence as a result of joining the whole population and not just the elite in the society, the introduction of legal and political institution , ideas from the nationalists, international popularity and the segregation of land by border formation. Research seeks to find out which among the nation or nationalism came first. According to the primordialist theory of nationalism nations are presented to be dating back or at least ethnic groups, as a social reality dating back twenty thousand years as a social reality. However, contrasting this speculation is the modernist theories which to a great extend show that until around 1800, there were no nations. The ideas of a national identity was first introduced by the European states for purposes of modernization and control of the economy and the society.The people behind the modernist theory of nationalism view capitalism and printing press as important factors in nationalism. The Approaches to Nationalism The modernist Approach. The modernist approach borrows from the marxist‘s traditions and as postulated by Smith, as much as nationalism is a modern concept, he insists that nations too have a pre-modern origin. Modernism, largely borrows from Marxist traditions and rejects both the primordialist and perennialist assumptions that nations existed since the beginning of human civilization and instead views nationalism purely as a result of modernization with special attention being made to the role the elites. These elites utilize various means of communication, cultural norms and symbols in manufacturing a national identity that was constructed for the express purpose of benefiting those elites who could not challenge the state on their own. The postmodern school of thought holds that nationalism reached its peak around World War I and the collapse of the Soviet Union will probably be the last one of the nation-state formation for quite some time. Instead, postmodernists would argue, the 21st century witnessed a ...Download file to see next pagesRead More