Is Nationalism a Latent Evil - Essay Example

Topic: Is nationalism a latent evil that must be discouraged in the interest of our common humanity Introduction Throughout human history people and their established social groups have been engaging in a seemingly endless cycle of a fight for recognition and approval against the backdrop of yet another set of social organizations seeking to maintain extreme dominance on the latter. This tendency therefore leans credence to the assertion of Aristotle the ace philosopher that man is inherently a social animal. The contemporary nation-state system is the product of a direct evolution of a poor reflection of the binding ties that crystallized these primitive social organizations; and of course with the resulting stream of nationalist waves blowing across all corners of the global landscape. It is against this background that the central premise of this essay is focused on conducting an exhaustive critique into the relevance or otherwise of nationalist sentiments in our day and age. This question clearly emanates from the recent trends of highly charged tensions generated in the global political landscape due to nationalism. The debate is even made more complex by the fact that in one breadth whilst nationalism is cited as a justifiable intervention in a bid to consolidate an existing heritage in the next breadth all the blame for the internecine conflicts that have engulfed some parts of the world with deplorable impacts have heaped on the doorsteps of nationalist sentiments. Nationalism remains one of the greatest issues in international politics that does not have a simple, straightforward answer1. Suffice to cite a few instances to buttress the forgoing points. The state of Bangladesh was carved out of Pakistan, fuelled mainly by the strong nationalist elements of the then Pakistani Bengali populace. In many respects the Bengali people shared common features with the mainland Pakistani people, with their Islamic religious creed serving as the most shining example. Yet nationalist yearning for sovereignty far exceeded the underlining factors-- a drive that eventually lead to the establishment of the independent state of Bangladesh. Irrespective of how this issue is looked at it served as a landmark victory for the Bengali nationalist. In sharp contrast, the same cannot be said about the Yugoslavian massacre that witnessed the mass killing of both ethnic Serbians and Albanians on a purely nationalist alter. Neither can the Nazi extremist execution of over six million Jews be used as a good example of the benefits of nationalist. To this end, the essay proceeds to pose prying questions as to what constitutes and when the middle line can be towed with regards to the question of nationalist sentiment. One truism is acknowledged in conducting this review. Nationalism is an inevitable human reality that can never be eliminated, whilst acknowledging this fact there is need to also state in terms of the need for complementary moderation to work within the framework of established state structures. To achieve the stated goals of this essay, there will be a conscientious attempt to conduct a theoretical assessment of all the contending issues on the nationalist debate as a way of orienting the reader before delving into the analytical scope of the essay. The essay extensively uses, historical and contemporary precedents to conduct a comparatively and inferential analysis that will eventually lead to a tentative conclusion to support the underlining thesis of the essay. Theoretical Basis There is a general consensus among anthropologists and sociologists that the human being has an inherent inclination to crave for affiliation with a recognized group within an environment that is socially supported2. Indeed, this serves as the graphic illustration of Aristotle's saying that man is a social animal. Group structures provide viable grounds for the provision of perceived or even real security besides the cardinal goal of presenting an identity. The group structure allows the individual to enjoy these benefits in exchange for the individual offering his or her loyalty. It is the sense of collectiveness or oneness that keeps the group spirit alive. There is a very good trend in individuals within the group setting to firmly hold on to the founding ideals of the group under the so-called togetherness concept. This togetherness becomes the basis for the realization of the resulting feeling of self esteem and group identification. Meanwhile it should also be noted that within the group setting vigorous communication of all sorts creates the fundamental binding units of the group. To this end, it can be deduced that the overall togetherness capacity is dependent on the efficiency and rapidity of the communication stream that is adopted and used in the group. In the most stable form, the communication process is transmitted through existing institutions such as religion, language and geographic locations. It is the basis upon the realization of togetherness within a social group is sustained right from the lowliest organization to the most sophisticated nation-states in modern times. Whilst it is acknowledged in this essay that the question of nationalism and its role in modern politics is as divisive as the subject itself, common languages have also become a major determinant in establishing nationalist feelings in a group3. The case of Canada serves as yet another convincing illustration of language and its role in nationalism. For so many decades, the province of Quebec which is mainly inhabited by the French speaking Canadians have had a long standing history of playing separatist politics with the rest of the English speaking Canadian part. Understandably, the French felt alienated from the English part until there was a progressive shift in national integration policy which saw an increasing role assigned to French Canada and its people. All too well, Canada can always serve as a good reference point of how prudent management strategies can be used to redirect genuine nationalist concerns into pragmatic progressive forces for development. The danger has always been in overlooking or attempts to repress nationalist movements bearing in mind that no amount of suppression or oppression can cow a struggle people to submission. Having state these, it is prudent to then reconcile this to the question of nationalism and its place in our contemporary world. Group identification creates the platform for group members to purposefully carve themselves out of others who do not identify with their group. Depending on the content of the consciousness imparted upon members of the group, they are likely to assume a posture of perceived superiority or inferiority over others who are not within the subset of the group. In reality the case of the former rather than the latter has always been the case in our world especially when it comes to matters of nationalism. In the light of the foregoing, nationalism is therefore summed as the prevailing consciousness that binds group identifications within the political milieu either within or without a specific nation-state. The nation-state as we have it today is an embodiment of the above mentioned group identity consciousness; which may either by design or accident inspire nationalism in some cases as will be discussed as the essay progresses. Historically, there is evidence to prove that the earliest forms of nationalist sentiments were manifested in the form of national groups waging separatist actions as a means of detaching themselves from feudal empires; a trend that reached a crescendo by the Second World War, until recent times when it began to re-emerge. In a monumental study Russett and Starr gave a detailed account of the rapid reemergence of nationalism as a subject of contentious debate in the international political sphere citing vivid examples such as the Tamil nationalist insurgents in Sri Lanka that have engaged the government in Colombo in a bloody conflict that has claimed thousands of lives since the beginning of the conflict. In another instance, the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union resulted in a spontaneous spark in massive nationalist movements in places like the Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Ukrainian nationalist are leaving no stone unturned their bid to consolidate their independence gains through radical campaigns4. The 2004 Orange Revolution that swept the current nationalist president Victor Yuschenkoe to power was not just a sign of general discontent with the pseudo-democratic practices of the pro-Russian president Leonid Kuchma but a revolt against the institutionalization of Russian occupation of Ukraine through its leading agents in the Party of Regions lead by then President Kuchma5. Not all, the Yuschenkoe government came to power in a grand coalition lead by the so-called "Our Ukraine People's Defense Party." Ongoing demonstrations in the autonomous Republic of Crimea by ethnic Russian nationalist are seen as a direct counter to the populist campaign lead by the indigenous Ukrainian nationalist. The global international scene is no longer considered to be an environment where dog eats dog and survival of the fittest is the order of the day and is thus greatly revered. Recent events have proven that the when it comes to international politics the winner takes all game policy is no longer a feasible approach to conducting global affairs. History tells poignantly that, the policy of unilateral approach in dealing with global issues have brought dire consequences with the actions of Nazi Germany's unwarranted commitment to pursuing a solo path in its national interest serving as a living memory of the inherent weakness in acting individually based on self conceited nationalist motivations on the global platform. It is on this premise that in our day and age nation-states are more committed to working in a cooperative manner through international organizations than ever before. Among the leading international organizations actively working on the global platform are the United Nations and its numerous affiliate agencies; the European Union; the African Union; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; the World Trade Organization and a host of others. For instance, it is clearly understood that the advent of the United Nations was in direct response to the need to avoid the world slipping into needles carnage such as what happened in the Second World War. True to this objective, the United States and its arch rival the erstwhile Soviet Union were successfully restrained by the United Nations during the heat of the Cold War that threatened to plunge the world into another destructive open violent conflict. In modern times, international organizations have assumed such prime prominence in the formulation and implementation of all forms of policies despite the numerous acrimony and disagreements that have often characterized these deliberations. It has lead others to sharply criticize the efficacy of international organizations such as the United Nations in managing conflicts without the devastating effects they have brought on humanity with the genocides in Yugoslavia and Rwanda serving as living memories in this debate. That notwithstanding, there is still much wisdom to prove that situations could have definitely spilled into unimaginable chaos but for the intervention of the United Nations however little these interventions may have been. International organizations are especially very instrumental in the area of conflict prevention and resolution on diverse positions. States are always engaging in self-seeking policies even at the expense of other states, which inevitably is a good recipe for disaster, hence international organizations some of which are intergovernmental and others transnational have served to bring the conflicting interests of sovereign states to the negotiation tables thus creating enough latitude for convincing dialogues and compromises to be made as a means of averting open violent conflicts (Abott, 1998). International organizations have also served as a means of safeguarding the global international legal regime in other words there are times international organizations are seen as global police forces that check the conduct of both state and non-state actors alike. Another case in point is the state of Libya and its clandestine nuclear programs that caught international attention in the early 1990s. It was at the time that the Libyan nationalist revolutionary fire was at its boiling point given it enough motivation to dare into contraband areas. Despite international pressure for Libya to discontinue its dangerous nuclear armament, Tripoli remained defiant until global states acting through the United Nations meted out political and economic sanctions on her before things could be reversed to normalcy (Downs et all, 1996). Clearly, though the opportunities for states to continue to collaborate through international organizations presents a clear alternative to pursuing the path of unilateralism, the challenges still remain very daunting. It creates the platform to seek viable alternatives to address concerns about areas of failure in the past as we seek to chart a new global arena of corporation and friendly neighborliness despite the often divergent economic, political and security policies (Barnett et al 1999). Conclusion To sum it up, it is worth stating that the whole concept behind nationalism is the feeling of togetherness and identification within a given social group. A major challenge in analyzing the nationalism question is that there is no direct factor in accounting for the issues that initiates and consolidates the psychological feeling of togetherness within a given group. Arguably, the psychological motivations of nationalism are generically connected to the force of loyalty needed by governments of nation-states to effectively carry out the task of ruling. There is no doubt that nationalism sentiments have caused nations to engage in bloody conflicts as to whether to separate or remain a united single entity. The extreme case happens where nationalist sentiments are not appropriately managed through the right institutions resulting in destructive spillovers. There are examples of best practices that have proven successful in cases where leaders of state and intergovernmental organizations have been able to redirect negative nationalist feelings into constructive forces of progress. Reference List Abbot, Kenneth W. and Duncan Snidal. 1998. Why States Act through Formal International Organizations." Journal of Conflict Resolution 42:3. Barnett, Michael N. and Martha Finnemore. 1999. The Politics, Power and Pathologies of International Organizations." International Organization 53:699. Blaydes, Lisa. 2004. Rewarding Impatience: A Bargaining and Enforcement Model of OPEC." International Organization 58:213 Deutsh, Karl. 1953. Nationalism and Social Communication. Cambridge, Mass,: MIT Press. Downs, George W. 2000. Constructing Eective Environmental Regimes." Annual Review of Political Science 3:25. Downs, George W., David M. Rocke and Peter N. Barsoom. 1996. Is the Good News about Compliance Good News about Cooperation" International Organization 50:379. Fearon, James D. 1998. Bargaining, Enforcement and International Cooperation." International Organization 52:269. Fortna, Virginia Page. 2004. Does Peacekeeping Keep Peace International Intervention and the Duration of Peace after Civil War." International Studies Quarterly 48:269. Harold, Isaacs. 1975. Idols of the Tribe: Group Identity and Political Change. New York: Harper & Row. Hobsbawm, J. E. 1990. Nations and Nationalism since 1780. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Russet Bruce and Harvey Starr. 1996. World Politics: the Menu for Choice. Freeman and Company. Read More