Nationalism as a Positive Force in Global Politics - Essay Example

Can Nationalism be a positive force in global politics? and Section # of INTRODUCTION The term nationalism is a dilemma in itself because despite having a positive denotation in literal terminology; it does have many negative connotations attached to it, therefore the implications of this word is dependant on the perceptions and the mindset of the interpreter. It can be referred to as patriotism which aims at the advancement of one’s own nation and the attainment of independence, while at the same instance it can be regarded as excessive national spirit which leads to the assertions of one’s own national interests upon others (Dictionary 2010), thus modifying it into a more negative form, where it could convert into xenophobia or ethnocentrism. As the world evolves into a more interactive platform wherein different players from all around the globe are connected in one arena, the perceptions of each and every individual plays a crucial role in this interplay, therefore the underlying effects of nationalism attached with an individual gradually penetrate into the roots of global politics, hence raising the question that whether nationalism is positively justified in global politics or not? CIVIL AND ETHNIC NATIONALISM The interpretation of ‘nationalism’ differs in accordance with the context of the usage of this word, when referred to on a country level it is known as ‘civic or civil nationalism’ thus the organization is centered around political ideologies, however when the boundaries are demarcated around culture and ethnicity then it is called ‘ethnic nationalism’ (Tan, 2004, 89). Civic nationalism pertains to the concept of equal rights for the citizens, therefore matching in principle with the liberal ideologists, hence sometimes it is referred to as liberal nationalism, when considered in this context, nationalism does not challenge the global setup since it is based on the acceptance of its material preconditions, which entail that resources from the rich must be distributed amongst the poor to enable the latter to form civic nations for themselves, and thus survive in a global environment. The resource transfer process does not damage the nationalism of any individual herein, hence it is considered benign as well. However, the seeping in of societal culture of every nation is almost inevitable; therefore this distinction could most probably be misleading, or a theory without any practicality (Tan, 2004, 89-90). When nationalism is considered in context of social culture, issues arise, which can drastically affect the theoretically congenial atmosphere created by civil nationalism, and be one of the major factors contributing to the creation of a hostile atmosphere which would impact the smooth running of foreign relations, and therefore hamper the progress of globalization (Mansbach and Rafferty, 2008, 118). FACES OF NATIONALISM History is a witness to moments when nationalism, in the forms of religious nationalism, ethnic nationalism and cultural nationalism became the driving force behind the fight for freedom from racial discrimination such as the 1980s uprising in the struggle against apartheid (Louw, 2004, 131), the independence from oppression such as the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonizers which began in 1857 (The College of New Jersey, 2006), and the breakaway from slavery of the monarchs such as the famous French Revolution in 1789 (Doyle, 2001, 1). When people unite under one umbrella to achieve a common objective, based not on personal desires and whims, but rather on collective utility, then they are regarded as a nation imbrued with the spirit of nationalism to attain recognition for them. Thus nationalism in this regard is a positive force, however it can not be ignored that a freedom movement would be regarded as good by the subjects, but would be unacceptable for the colonizers/rulers, it could instill further hostility, bloodshed, brutal rebellions and massive killings in order to attain the desired outcome, hence questioning the very grounds of ethics in order to regard nationalism as positive. Furthermore, nationalism could be easily used as a tool by political leaders to amass support from their subjects, by motivating them emotionally to pursue a cause which might not essentially be in the interests of other nations of the world, therefore inseminating excessive patriotism which could turn into hostility, for instance during the World War 2, Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo relied on nationalism as a key to mobilize their forces to capture the world and expand their regions, while the other half of the world under Churchill, Roosevelt and King depended on nationalism in its positive context, as a defender of national unity and identity and for protection against the voraciously expanding enemies (Wheelwright, 2005).Some might even question the existence of the concept of nationalism, and regard it as unnecessary, however it must be clarified herein that in order for nationalism to be obsolete, the world must ensure the provision of justice for all inhabitants, survival for all ethnicities, hence it was acceptable for nationalism to not exist if every individual’s love for his/her own country was in balance and not excessive, if their patriotism does not overshadow the rights of the residents of other nations, and if the entire humanity lived in a global environment of love and harmony, where benevolence was a norm and the survival of one was the duty of all (Boixeda, 2002, 2), wherein the transfer of resources was from rich to poor and not vice versa which exploits the third world countries today. In such a world where every individual in particular is considered worthy of respect, honor and love, then only can it be rightly stated that nationalism is not needed. However, in a world full of predators waiting for a chance to rob another off their assets, it is not safe to let go of the thread of nationalism, hence even in the existence of global arena and global politics, the emergence of social cultures and human greed has rendered sheer mutual collaboration invalid, and despite nationalism being a negative for global politics, it would exist (Boixeda, 2002, 3). PROTECTIONISM It is incumbent upon the Government of a nation to protect its economy from deteriorating due to the practices of other countries, despite growing recognition of free trade and a market economic system, there still exists the need of the public sector to control the economic agents from harming the domestic industries, for the benefit of the citizens of that particular country. Therefore, the State employs protectionist policies of tax, quota, embargoes and bans on other nations to manipulate the global politics of economics and protect their own nation’s economy. This measure is justified when considered from the point of view of a citizen of a third world country, the economy is in a crisis, foreign direct investments are flowing out, literate people leave the country for jobs in the first world and thus lead to brain drain in the home country, and therefore the domestic industry in unable to cope up with foreign pressure, intervention from Government becomes a necessity, and therefore, as the practice of protection and advancement of one’s own nation is referred to as nationalism as well, this nationalism in the economic sphere has spillover effects in the political arena. This form of nationalism is positive for the nation but negative when considered in a broader perspective, and since it has the potential to induce other nations to retaliate and thus break the condition of free trade, hence it is a step back from global interaction, which translates into politics as well when the relations between two nations go through a downturn owing to a rivalry in trade grounds, thereby substantiating the claim that protectionist politics are a negative for the global politics (Ould-Mey, 1996, 24-25). CONCLUSION It must be considered that smooth running of global politics demands the nations and states to be extricated from any feelings of hostility, hatred, brutality, exploitation and oppressiveness towards other nations. It is necessary for all nations to live in peace and harmony in order to make global politics convert the entire world into one big global village, this however in practicality is not possible as there are numerous groups of differing values and norms which collide with each other and thus create friction, thus making the existence of nationalism inevitable. Nationalism when considered from the viewpoint of the subject is a positive, however is nevertheless negative for the group facing the rebellion from a nation, hence it would eventually spell failure in case of global politics which demands that every nation should be molded in the same structure and have same values, norms, and practices, therefore nationalism is not a positive force on global politics. Nationalism instigates people to see others in accordance with their differences with themselves and not similarities if it is excessive, therefore those who do not fall in line with particular community’s norms are not associated with that particular ‘nation’, and hence they are termed as ‘others’. If nationalism is excessive it might imbue the feeling of ethnocentrism, wherein an individual starts considering one’s self as superior to others on the basis of their cultural identity, and therefore when interaction occurs in the global arena, they are highly likely to undergo cultural shock, and be unable to adjust to another culture’s norms and traditions, hence making nationalism a negative force in global politics (Docena, 2008). References Boixeda. R M (2002) Notes on Nationalism- 1st Edition. Barcelona. Action Publishing Technology Ltd. Dictionary (2010) Nationalism. Available from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nationalism Accessed June 26th 2010 Docena. H (2008) Good Nationalism vs. Bad Nationalism. Available from http://focusweb.org/philippines/content/view/228/37/ Accessed June 26th 2010 Doyle. W (2001) The French Revolution: A very short introduction- 1st Edition. United States of America. Oxford University Press Luow. P E (2004) The Rise, Fall and Legacy of Apartheid- 1st Edition. United States of America. Praeger Publishers Mansbach. R W and Rafferty. K L (2008) Introduction to Global Politics- 1st Edition. United States of America. Routledge Publications Ould-Mey. M (1996) Global Restructuring and Peripheral States- 1st Edition. United States of America. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Tan. K (2004) Justice without Borders- 1st Edition. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press The College of New Jersey (2006) Indian Independence Movement. Available from http://www.tcnj.edu/~borland/2006-indianindependence/ Accessed June 26th 2010 Wheelwright. J (2005) Nationalism. Available from http://www.unitednorthamerica.org/nationalism.htm Accessed June 26th 2010 Read More