The nationalism furthered by Hamas is a direct salvo against oppression and occupation. Its foundation is premised on blame and hatred of the "other." Again, instability leads the uncertain from away from foreign and in the direction of the known, this being especially powerful, when meshed with the concrete assuagements of religion.
The efficacy of religion as an instrument of nationalist ideology can also be seen in the Islamist movement. While lacking a state, there is still clearly an Arab nation which coheres to a distaste of foreign influence. The Al-Qaeda organization seems to be premised on exactly this, with Osama Bin Laden's impetus being derived from a scorn of Western presence in Saudi Arabia, and moreover, the Muslim world. Religion, here, is used to offer succor. It is analogous to the comfort provided in pre-War Germany of through the idea of a superior kultur.
Muslim communities scattered about the Western world demonstrate why nationalism has such potency. The experienced will offer more comfort than the alien. In France, the U.K. And the United States, where Muslims are often not wholly integrated, individuals are likely to remain faithful to the traditions that are familiar. Furthermore, in more religious communities individualism is not as important as the whole, hence a sense of communion, of intertwined destiny, is more often to prevail and remain susceptible to nationalistic impulses that confer feelings of authenticity.
IV. Post-Soviet
Nationalism in Russia and the post-Soviet regions differs slightly from the imperialistic whims of Western Europe and the post-colonial/religious varieties of the Middle East. Yet, the ideas are imbued with many of the same causes and rationales. The collapse of the Soviet Union obviously brought uncertainty to what was previously a stable construct. There were of course the gradual departures of states that where nearer the Western sphere of influence, but the core of the Soviet Union remained remarkably durable.
One of the areas to first sever its Soviet ties was the former Yugoslavia. The disintegration of this political entity led to several nations seeking their own sovereignty and hence exhibiting various forms of nationalism. The most radical version of this occurred in Serbia. The Serbs, much like the Weimar Germans, built nationalism around a mythology, a great nation long repressed by foreign occupations and endeavors. The principal source of their outrage was against the Turks, who before World War I, had long occupied or interfered with Serbian affairs since the battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389.
Sundry images of this affair and Turkish aggression were conjured by Slobodan Milosevic as the Serbs committed untold atrocities in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the Balkan Crisis of the 1990s (Boose, 2002, p. 80). The Bosnians were portrayed as the other, as the Turk, with religion again involved, with the Bosnians largely Muslim and the Serbs primarily orthodox. The need for reprisals, couched in Serbian nationalism, also occurred against the Croats for the crimes committed during the Nazi-allied Ustashe regime of World War II
In states that remained within the Soviet Union until its collapse, nationalism was most often seen to flourish in less authoritarian regimes. Again, perceived stability was critical to the reaction to a new environment. In states like Belarus, control was firmly entrenched in the government. (Kuzio 2008, p. 101) In places like Georgia and the Ukraine the instability and lack of government coherence offered the people the opportunity to cultivate identities that had long been repressed. While corruption has plagued both countries and hindered the development of identities, geography has also played a large role in the success of the movements. The Ukraine with is Orange Revolution seems to have a greater ability to separate itself from the influence of Russia with the possibility of...
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