So denotes Hobsbawm in considering the era of revolutionary independence. Here, Hobsbawm asserts that nationalism "aimed to extend the scale of human social, political and cultural units: to unify and expand rather than to restrict and separate. This is one reason why Third-world national liberation movements found the 19th century traditions, both liberal and revolutionary-democratic, so congenial. Anti-colonial nationalists dismissed, or at least subordinated, 'tribalism', 'communalism' or other sectional and regional identities as anti-national, and serving the well-known imperialist interests of 'divide and rule'." (Hobsbawm, p. 2)
This indicates that nationalism is not the imperative driving independence so much as the assertion of its existence is an instrument for helping to justify entitlement to this independence. In many ways, this concept of nationalism is countered in the exhaustive text by Smith (2010), which instead concedes to defining nationalism according to the traits superficially attributed thereto. For instance, Smith indicates that "the term nationalism, therefore, will be understood here as referring to one or more of the last three usages: a language and symbolism, a sociopolitical movement and an ideology of the nation." (p. 6)
Smith goes on to contend that these forces promote a sense of connection which helps to create an active 'national feeling.' However, Hobsbawm's text...
" (Githens-Mazer, 2007) 2. Use of Figures Labeled Martyrs in the Contemporary Discourse Regarding the Nationalist Movement The concepts of nationalism and the effects of Nationalism on language are stated to be based on Joshua Fishman's essays entitled: "The Nature of Nationalism" and "the Impact of Nationalism on Language Learning and Language Planning." (Sharon, 1995) Sharon states that Nationalism is defined by Fishman (1972) as "the organizationally heightened and elaborated beliefs, attitudes,
They offer a very insightful and at the same time entertaining view on nations and nationalisms as each of them tend to argue a different point-of-view. Ernest Gellner is considered to be a theorist of the modern comprehension of the idea of nationalism. In this sense, one of the most important aspects of his theory revolves around the discussion of several time periods. More precisely, he advocated the belief that
Nations and Nationalism Exist: Comparison of the Work of Laitin, Geertz, Hobsbawn, and Anderson The objective of this study is to compare the work of Laitin, Geertz, Hobsbawn, and Anderson and to answer as to which argument is the most persuasive for why nations and nationalism exist. Definition of 'Nation' Anderson (1991) defines the concept of nation to be such that results in theorists of nationalism being perplexed by three specific paradoxes
Italian Unification Process Compared to German Unification Throughout the course of history, Italy and Germany were often considered to be pawns of the major European powers. This is because both regions were effectively divided into a series of city states. Each one had spheres of influence that impacted who were the most dominant. At the same time, countries such as: Britain, France, Spain and Austria Hungary were aggressively controlling territory inside
Both Herzl and Pinsker argue that the "Jewish Question" remained a serious issue in terms of social inequality, an issue that was only worsened throughout Europe by political turmoil before and after the First World War. J. Theoder Herzl uses Hobsbawm's proto-nationalistic characteristics in his book The Jews' State and in his essay "Dr. Gudemann's National-Judentum" to propose a prospective Jewish nation; however, he concludes that race is not
Marxism Historiography The Historiography of Marxist Thought The study of Karl Marx and his philosophies has fascinated political, social and economic historians for most of the past century. Hundreds, if not thousands, of scholars have dedicated their professional life to understanding Marx and Marxism. Over the years, there have been periods of continuity and periods of discontinuity, peaks and valleys of interest and hundreds of viewpoints as to the meaning and importance
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