Nations, Nationalism and

Nation-States
 Political Division
• Political division is key characteristics of
traditional global politics;
• Important source of this division –
Nationalism ;
• It is the sense of political self that make
feel patriotic about their country;
Indian First…….
 Nations
• People who share
demographic and
cultural similarities;
• Possess a feeling of
community; and
 Nations
• Nation is intangible; it
exists because its
members thing it does;
• A State is tangible , but
nation “a soul, a spiritual
quality”
• Indian are – a Nation
• Institutional vehicle of
their governance –
Republic of India
Demographic & Cultural similarities
• Language , race and
religion
• Common culture and
historical expression;
• - freedom struggle
• - cricket
• 26/11 attack
 Feeling of Community
• As a group feels like one;
• It is imagined because
the members of even the
smallest nation will never
know most of their fellow-
members, meet then , or
even hear of them, yet in
the minds of each lives
the image of their
communion ;
Desire to be Politically Separate
• What distinguishes a
nation from ethnic
group is that a nation,
unlike an ethnic
group, desires to be
self-governing or at
least autonomous;
 Nationalism
• It is an ideology, a
complex of related
ideas that establish
values about what is
good and bad, directs
adherents on how to
act (patriotism)
 Nationalism
• Connects individuals,
their sense of
community and their
political identity in
contradistinction to
other nations;
• Links are forged when
individuals
• (1) become sentimentally
attached to the homeland
• (2) gain a sense of
identity and self-esteem
through their national
identification
• (3) more motivated to
help their country
 Nation States
• Combination of the
idea of ‘nation’ and
‘state’;
• State – a sovereign
political organization
with characteristics
such as territory, a
population and a
government;
 Rise of Nationalism
• Relatively recent phenomena;
• Took an important turn in 1700s and
began to change into modern form, which
is based on the close association of the
people and the state;
• Popular sovereignty – people became
citizens who had a stake and were even
owners;
 Rise of Nationalism
• French and American revolutions were
instrumental in driving nationalism
 Patterns of Nation- state
• Nation and nationalism precede
Nation-State
• Nation-states precede
Nations and Nationalism
• Nations, nationalism and Nation- states
evolve together;
Nation and nationalism precede
Nation-State
• When a strong sense of cultural and
political identity exists among a people,
the formation of the nation often precedes
that of the state.
• In Europe , nations generally came
together first and only later formed into
states;
 Nation-states precede Nations and Nationalism

State –building nationalism

• Formation of the state happens first;
• In such cases , a critical task of the sate is to
promote internal loyalty and to create a process
whereby its diverse citizens gradually acquire
their nationalism through common historical
experience and the regular Socio-Eco-Political
interactions and cooperation that occur among
people living within the state;
 Nations, nationalism and Nation- states
evolve together;

• Frequently nation-building and

state-building are not locked in a strict
sequential interaction, when one fully
precedes the other;
• Sometimes they evolve together;
• Evolution of US
 Nationalism in Practice
• No ideal nation-state;
• Most states are not ethically unified and
many nations exist in more than one sate;
• Lack of ‘fit’ between nations and sate is
significant source of international tension
and conflict;
 One State – One Nation
• Ideal nation – but very rare;
• Only about 10% of all countries are both
nationally unified and also have 90% of
that nation living within its borders;
 One State – Multiple Nations
• More than one ‘nation’ lies within the state;
• 30% of states have no national majority;
• Most of these minority groups do not have
separatist tendencies, but many do or
could acquire them;
• English culture v French culture in Canada
 One Nation, Multiple States
• When a multi-state nation exists,
nationalist sentiments create strong
pressures to join the politically separate
nation within one state;
• This often creates conflict because the
process of uniting a divided nation
threatens the territorial integrity of one or
more of the involved states;
 One Nation, No state
• This occurs when a
national group is
minority in one or
more sates , does not
have a nation-state of
its own and wants
one;
Multiple states, Multiple nations
• Afghanistan,
countries around it,
and their
ethnonational groups
provide a prime
example of volatile
mix created by
overlapping borders
among nation and
states.
 Afghanistan
• Pashtuns – 38%
• Tajiks – 25%
• Hazara - 19%
• Uzbeks – 6%
 Soviet union
• Soviet Union were a
multiethnic empire
that dissolved in 1991
into Russia and 14
other States;
 Nationalism : Builder and Destroyer
• There are two • The other
nationalisms; nationalism
• “one was : an unhealthy involved “proper
form of nationalism love of one’s
which teaches contempt country.. and
for other nations or the respect
cultures.. and seeks to which is due to
advance the well being every other
of one’s country at the culture and every
expense of others” nation”
 Nationalism - Positives
• Nationalism promotes democracy
• Nationalism discourages imperialism
• Nationalism allows for economic
development
• Nationalism allows diversity and
experimentation
 Exceptionalism

80
74
70
60
50
East
40 37
33 3-D Column 2
30 3-D Column 3
20
10
0
India US France
 Nationalism - Negatives
• Lack of concern for others;
• Exceptionalism and xenophobia
• Oppression and Aggression
 Xenophobia
• Suspicion, dislike or
fear of other
nationalities;