Ethnic Cleansing - Essay Example

Ethnic Cleansing In Europe, the twentieth century was characterized by nationalism and ethnic cleansing. The two phenomenons are considered the mostoutstanding themes that characterized the entire European community after the end of World War I. It has been argued that the two phenomenons were post war reactions among the European societies that were intended to protect the interest of particular societies. Nationalism is an ideology whereby people believe that a leader can only be effective if he comes from the same ethnic group as the subject.

On the other hand, ethnic cleansing is the elimination of a particular group of people based on their race, ethnicity or political affiliation. The ideology assumes that a leader who does not belong to a similar ethnic group as his subject is inappropriate. Nazism and the Balkan war are some examples of national cleansing that may have resulted directly from nationalism. Although nationalism is not directly related to ethnic cleansing, the two phenomenons occur simultaneously. This essay explores the two phenomenons with respect to post world war I Europe.

Nationalism is believed to be the basis of ethnic cleansing although the reverse argument holds. Although the founders of nationalism had good intentions for European communities, the phenomenon ended up becoming a subject to misinterpretation. Nationalism developed from the needs of communities to protect their, military, industrial and geographical interests before it was narrowed down to ethnicity. This implies that ethnic cleansing was inevitable in a society that valued nationalism. Societies that valued nationalism could only maintain their values and interests by imposing ethnic cleansing.

The French ideology of assimilation is a good example of ethnic cleansing that was imposed to protect the national interest of French citizens. The relationship between westernization, world war, modernity and ethnic cleansing cannot be overlooked. This is because the three terms are considered as the foundations of state formation. According to Holocaust scholar Leon Poliakov, most Nazi supporters considered the ideology as a major step of western civilization. This was in relation to racial superiority among European societies.

Expanding the geographical boundary of a particular country was among the methods that different societies used to protect their interests (Glenny 120). During such expansions, acts of violence that could results in genocide were inevitable. The need to expand political boundaries was the main factor that inspired the Balkan war. After the fall of the ottoman empire of Turkey, the resultant states needed to expand their geographical influence by incorporating members of their ethnic communities that remained under Ottoman Empire.

The Balkan league included countries such as Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia initiated the war by carrying out attacks on Turkey. To strengthen their nationalism, countries under the Balkan league needed to unite members of their ethnic groups in order to stand against their rivals. The process involved elimination of minority communities who were considered as a threat to national security (Glenny 120). Nationalism is a collective term that can have a wide implication. The idea of westernization can also be considered as form of nationalism.

The westernization ideology originated from America and its affiliates with the intention of uniting the world under one common rule. Westernization can therefore, be considered as a form of nationalism that avoids national cleansing as their sole means of promoting the interests of a particular society. Westernization and Americanization uses softer approach to eliminate undesirable society or force certain communities to join the mainstream societies. Assimilation is one of the main strategies that are used in westernization.

Other than assimilation, westernization pioneers rely on collective power of nations. Organizations such as NATO and UN are some of the machinery used to propagate westernization. NATO’s involvement in Kosovo in 1992 was not only meant to protect the European interest from Russia and Islamic factions, but also to promote nationalism. In this case, racial cleansing was executed in the disguise of promoting democracy and European unity (Glenny 120). This proves that although racial cleansing is an essential aspect of nationalism, the two aspects have no specific order of occurrence.

Thus, nationalism can be followed by ethnic cleansing or the reverse process can take place. In Serbia for example, nationalism was followed by ethnic cleansing while the reverse process took place in Kosovo. In conclusion, nationalism and ethnic cleansing are two closely related aspects. However, the two aspects lack a definite order of occurrence. The French assimilation principal and Nazism are some examples of national cleansing that were inspired by nationalism. Nationalism was believed to be essential in enhancing national stability in post World War Europe.

To promote nationalism, ethnic cleansing was considered as a basic strategy. Works Cited Glenny, Misha. The fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War, Third Revised Edition. London: Penguin, 1996. Print.