Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict Nationalism and the Modern Nation State: Two Critical Readings

In Umut Ozkirimli's work, entitled Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction, the author attempts to come to grips with the idea of how ethnicity functions in the construction of modern nation states. In early, primordial history, nationality and nationhood could be taken as virtually synonymous. However, with the increasingly complex global and geo-political reality, ethnicity has become one of the most complex yet core claim of any particular new nation's defense of its right to exist. Ozkirimli discusses the importance of "ethno-symbolism," suggesting that ethnicity is often of an equally symbolic importance as it is of practical importance in creating a functional nation. (167)

In his chapter on the subject, Ozkirimli quotes the theorist John Armstrong, who suggests that the idea that particular group people inherently form an ethnic unit should not necessarily be taken as an historical fact. Modern racial and ethnic categories are often socially constructed in a particular moment of history. A group of people that can be traced back to a 'perfect past' -- for instance, the idea of 'the Slavs' or 'the Arabs' or 'The Serbs' or 'The British' -- encompass within an ideological framework, many national and religious groups...

(170) Even the British were once torn apart by divisions between Anglos and Saxons a thousand years ago. Although, because of geography, existing nations may indeed appear ethnic "origins" or contain similarities within their borders relating to ethnic customs and concerns, this does not mean that ethnicity can be easily equated with a pre-existing national identity.
The concept of "ethno-symbolism" in creating a nation is particular vexed in recent years, given that an individual, such as a terrorist, may identify him or herself as part of a particular ethnic movement to construct a nation, such as a Palestinian state, but in fact bear the national passport of another nation, or identify him or herself with a larger cause of Islamic liberation that extends far beyond that of establishing any particular nation's borders. Even the notion of a Palestinian as a Muslim or a Christian makes competing claims to a theological framework that extends to the entire Arab world, or one might say, to issues pertaining to the Judeo-Christian world as a whole. What does a Christian Palestinian reared in Europe have in common, ethnically, with a Palestinian on the West Bank? This pairing of polar existences challenges the notion of ethnicity,…