Chapter 6: Nationalism - Discussion Questions
(F) Day of the week: Tuesday Class: IS301 Created Time: February 16, 2021 4:48 PM Database: Class Notes Database Date: February 16, 2021 4:48 PM Days Till Date: Passed Last Edited Time: June 9, 2021 10:38 AM
1. Do nations develop “naturally”, or are they, in some sense, invented?
Nation is in some sense invented because nation is socially constructed by people who think that they are belonged together base on religion, ethnic identity, language, cultural practice and so on. The population can change overtime, people who belong to one nation does not have to live in the same area. Moreover, nation can me thought of as “imagined communities”.
2. Why have nations and states often been confused?
Nations and states often been confused:
- We get confused between nations and states because of the term nation-state, which is a sovereign political association within which citizenship and nationality overlap; one nation within a single state. Therefore, we could make a mistake by thinking that nation is the same as state. However, this two term are completely different from one another.
- Nation: nation is a collection of people bound together by shared values and traditions, a common language, religion and history, and usually occupying the same geographical area.
- State: A states has clearly defined boundary, recognition from other states, population, sovereign government.
3. Is any group of people entitled to define itself as a “nation”?
No, because in order for a group of people to be define itself as a “nation”, they have to see themselves as a cohesive and coherent unit based have to share components of nation which are:
- Language
- Religion
- Ethnicity
- History
- Tradition
- Future expectation
4. How does nationalism differ from racism?
Nationalism is an idea that promote the interest and support of one nation, and the belief that one nation should be free to rule themselve.
However, racism is the belief that different groups of human possess distinct characteristic, ability and quality and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another.
5. To what extent is nationalism compatible with ethnic and cultural diversity?
6. In what sense is liberal nationalism principled?
7. Why have liberals viewed nationalism as the antidote to war?
8. Are all conservatives nationalists? if so why?
9. Why has nationalism so often been associated with expansionism, conquest and war?
10. To what extent is nationalism a backward-looking ideology?
Nationalism is a backward-looking ideology because they are constructed based on history and tradition. These can be seen in conservative nationalists and expansionist nationalism.
- Conservative nationalist: national identity is associated with tradition. They thinks that society is organic: they believe that nations emerge naturally from the desire of human beings to live with others who possess the same views, habit and appearance as themselves.
- Expansionist nationalism: view nationalism based on past national glory
11. Why and how has developing-world nationalism differed from nationalism in the developed world?
12. Has globalization made nationalism irrelevant?
The globalization has made nationalism relevant rather than irrelevant because
- Increased national self-assertion has become a strategy of growing significance for powerful states. For example. China’s economic revival has been accompanied by rising nationalism
- from the 1990s on ward, forms of cultural, and particularly ethnic nationalism have flourish. For example, war in Yugoslavia featured program of “ethnic cleaning”
- Nationalism is as reaction against globalization.