Nationalism and Its Importance in the Development of Nations in the 1900s
Nationalism is considered as the proliferation of a homogenous political identity to a community that is bounded by a territory through various means of communication. In some cases, nationalism is described as the feeling of patriotic zeal for an individual's country. Nationalism was a common factor in the development of nations in the 1900s that also contributed to the First World War. This concept played a crucial role in the development of nations in the 1900s by developing a sentiment that bounded large groups of people on the idea that they have certain things in common such as religion, culture, and ethnicity. However, the modern concept of nationalism is based on a sense of common national identity. Given the patriotic fervor it generates, nationalism played a significant role in the development of nations in the 1900s.
The Concept of Nationalism
Nationalism can be regarded as one of the most powerful concept of political legitimacy in the contemporary world. The potency of this concept ascertains that the nation should be freely and collectively expressed through institutional means and ruled by co-nationals. Moreover, nationalist movements have emerged as powerful groups with the ability to shake states and empires (O'Leary, p.191). The strength of nationalism has contributed to its emergence as a major principle of political legitimacy in the modern society. Consequently, nationalism is an essential element of modernity and the most significant or relevant principle of political legitimacy.
As previously mentioned, nationalism can be defined as a sense of political fervor for an individual's country. This political zeal is a sentiment that influences the development of nations through binding together large groups of people. The large groups of people are bound together based on the idea that they share certain things in common such as ethnicity, culture, and religion. There are two different manifestations of nationalism i.e. divisive nationalism and unifying nationalism. Divisive nationalism refers to a form of political fervor that takes place when a larger country disintegrates into several nation-states while unifying nationalism takes place when members of politically different or unincorporated nations join to form a single nation or country (Lewis par, 2).
These differences in manifestation imply that nationalism is not necessarily an arousing of nations to self-consciousness but invention of nations where they are inexistent but through the use of pre-existing differentiating factors. Actually, nationalism requires positive and negative social foundations in order to occur and contribute to the development of nations. Positive social foundations refer to economies of scale in generating literate citizens through educational systems sponsored by the state whereas negative social foundations refers to a shared culture, which is more important in developing and maintaining social cohesion.
The concept of nationalism has attracted different views and opinions that have contributed to some controversies. The controversies are mainly attributed to the fact that some arguments regarding nationalism have disturbed conservatives and secular rationalists. Some of the reasons for these controversies include the belief that nationalism demotes religion to a secondary, unimportant, principle of a firm and legitimate political order, which challenges conventional conservatism. Secondly, nationalism generates controversies by presupposing that reason, material gain, law, social justice, and utility are secondary principles in the development and maintenance of steady and legal political order. This suggestion has attracted constant disapproval from rationalist liberals and socialists for a prolonged period of time i.e. 200 years (O'Leary, p.192).
Role of Nationalism in the Development of Nations in the 1900s
The development of nations in the 1900s was partly influenced by nationalism, which was an important factor in the development of Europe as a continent. Nationalism was a vital component in Europe's development following the emergence of romantic nationalism that became a common characteristic of the European continent and transformed its countries in the 19th Century. Countries like Romania, Italy, and Germany, which some of the newly formed nations in Europe during the 19th Century were developed through amalgamating regional states with a shared national identity. In contrast, other countries like Bulgaria, Poland, and Greece were developed through gaining independence. Nationalism not only defined but acted as a unifying factor in both scenarios i.e. joining states with a mutual national identity and gaining independence, especially in relation to a sense of nationality. The significance of nationalism in the development of nations in the 1900s is evident in various ways including
Mobilization
One of the roles of nationalism in the development of nations in the 1900s is mobilization of people with shared national identity and other important factors like ethnicity, religion, and culture. In the early phases, nationalism...
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