National Identity in Europe - Book Report/Review Example

National identity (racism) Europe National identity (racism) Europe Introduction Today’s racism is hadto be understood by any individual in the current Europe without a critical analysis of what took place in the past in Europe. Any recollection of the past must go beyond what was happening during and after the Second World War and the commitment that has been taken since. The ingredients in the twentieth century that included political, economic and historical triggered the changes in racial discourse. After World War II, there was a rejection of biological racism using scientific means. Despite this, Europe did not break away completely from its tradition of building “otherness”. Cultural racism emerged from the 1980’s and has been developing for the past years up to today. In addition, race is no longer a consideration of reasons for racism and discrimination in the modern world. Today, more forms of discrimination are increasing in the contemporary society. National identity (racism) Europe For a long time, there has been nothing certain in the virulent expression of the hostilities directed towards immigrant and their descendants, which has been a significant feature when it comes to the new Europe. From the early days that took place in the post-war that the witness great migration, the immigrants had to face a lot of bitterness, anger and feeling of resentment from the indigenous people1. This happened particularly because of the competition that took place as a result of scarce resources that were available in the employment and housing spheres. However, in today’s xenophobia and racism, the campaigns towards anti-immigrants are legitimized by the presentation of the immigration as a threat to the integrity of the country. The problem that comes with immigration has undergone a transformation from a problem of the housing market and labor to a problem of identity. From current perspective, the entire immigration is seen as the principal causes of the origin of national identity that is now seen to be endemic to most societies in Europe. The argument that arises from the erosion of the term national identity and all the social, as well as political consequences associated to it is seen to be taking different forms and working at different analysis levels. At general level, the crisis is an expression of post-modern existence where certainties disappeared and everything shifts to a permanent flux state. There is an emphasis of the impact of globalization on the process of economic, culture and social that has been seen to transcend the boundaries of nations increasingly. It is worth noting that states are becoming less able to secure desirable policies with time. It hatches dissatisfaction in the end. In addition to this, there is creation of a crisis of legitimacy, leading to the development of threats that in turn undermines the national identity. In most European countries, an underlying national identity crisis that is being expressed in several forms of disappointment with fully established elites and institutions2. The claim is hard to substantiate. In theoretical perspective, it provides an insufficient understanding of the specific conditions and circumstances that may be engendering the identity panic in certain societies. It is important during the analysis to oversimplify the wide variety of racism and xenophobic attacks seen to be emerging across the European countries in recent years. For instance, Europeans countries have been experiencing a growth of hostility towards the minor ethnic communities that occurs in the form of racial harassment and violence. However, if what is believed be the meaning implied by the term “European racism” is the increasing level of hostility manifesting across all members of the European union in recent years towards those who are seeking for asylum. The most important thing is racism existence is far deeper. It appears to be more pervasive across the European countries. The suggestion comes along with the size and influence of the political groupings that are in far right. In reality, the idea of racism is complex, and this cannot be explained by the idea of European racism alone. There are several European different ideological assumptions that existed across Europe that concerned citizenship and national identity that are deeply embedded within common sense and political forms. The immigration regime of Europe provoked a wide range of different political disputes across Europe as the requirements put forth by these regimes had conflicted the ideas of national identity and nationhood in different countries of Europe. The debates resulting from political discussions on race, migration and ethnicity have been conducted using different ways across the European countries. This has generated not only euro-racism that is monolithic but also several forms of racism and discourse of racists in several countries of Europe. With the development of spirituality came racial biology, this came as a strong mystical impulse that forced itself to be felt in modern racism. The mystery that came with the race helps to put emphasis on the nature of racism that is irrational. From the western society where it developed, Racism was merely a prejudice, neither was it just a metaphor used for suppression; today, racism is rather a system that is fully blown of ideologies like liberalism, conversation or socialism with its strange mode and structure of discourse3. In Germany, the Nazis attempts to enforce the racism doctrines failed after they lost the Second World War. At the same time, racism had lost a lot of its power and aggression in most parts of Europe. Moreover, racism and imperialism were never identical. The two had a different relationship that was depend depending on time and place. Racism and imperialism represented a certain European image of India or Africa at a particular place and time that had a direct determination of imperial policies and attitudes. During the eighteenth century, the countries of Europe could entertain enlightened and even views of non-Europeans that were Utopia. The created image in Africa as a dark continent was just an invention of the nineteenth century as a symbol of ignorance of geography and what was thought to be the superiority of culture. In the beginning, when it was realized that there exists different races this did not lead to racism; instead it led to the human curiosity of the types of humans other than an individual’s own or simply the acceptance of them as a nature of facts. Races at that time were not used as stereotypes neither were they used to regard other human beings as lesser people compared to other races. As the nineteenth century was ending, several things had taken a different turn. The focus of racism shifted to religion, and the Jews were the point of concentration rather than being taken in the initial context of colored people and black people. In the examination of racism in Europe, it is seen that racism was to achieve its goals in Europe. The climax of racism was represented by the ex-termination of the people as a whole and not the rebellious or subjects who are unruly. The product of Jewish racist attacks was not a byproduct of policies that were mistaken. It is a program planned deliberately and executed efficiently with the use of modern state machinery to a devastating effect. The history that lies behind anti-Semitism is different from the one that lies behind racism, which was mainly concerned, with blacks and colored people. The two histories come to provide attitude of racists until it becomes difficult to distinguish between anti-Semitism and racism. The historical perspective of European racism cannot be taken into full consideration without noting anti-Semitism development4. In Europe, racism was viewed as a visual ideology that was mainly being based on stereotypes. This was one of the main strengths used to identify any racism incidence. Racism did classify and differentiate men from women: this form of racism gave a clarity and simplicity in the essential means of success. In addition, racism being an emotion that is laden with ideologies took advantage of the situation that happened against the enlightenment. In modern racism, several factors assembled in making the racism of today. Small pieces of acts of racism can be seen to have taken place throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the early days of racism where Jews were seen to be locked the aspect of racism needed secular bases like the modern nationalism or the enlightenment in order to get over the implications of the meaning of baptism according to the Christians. Racism is presumed to be a social cohesion that could be provided by either bourgeois society or nationalism. This was used to single out every individual who the society had rejected as being different. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clearly indicated that the race has used symbolically as an origin of the national identity for long. This is not to say that the two can be used interchangeably but rather; one is an absolute cause of the other. From the early days of racism and the modern days of racism, race has been used in the definition of identity. Unlike the olden day’s ways of racism, the modern racism takes a different course of blacks versus the colored people. This is a very new approach from the ancient racism where racism was used as a great moment and opportunity to identify and understand human differences. Several people had different arguments on what constituted racism, some believed that racism was just mere differences of skin color while others believed it was something fundamental that not only bases itself on color differences. The Nazis show this in the racism reaction against the Jews that took place during the Second World War that left several Jews being persecuted. References Chris Waters, "Dark Strangers in Our Midst: Discourses of Race and Nation in Britain, 1947- 1963," Journal of British Studies 36 (April 1997): 207-238. George L. Mosse toward the Final Solution: A History of European Racism, 1985, Madison: U. of Wisconsin Press Ian Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam: Liberal Europe, Islam, and the Limits of Tolerance, 2006, New York: Penguin Wendy Webster, Therell Always Be an England": Representations of Colonial Wars and Immigration, 1948-1968" Journal of British Studies 40 (Oct. 2001): 557-584. Read More