Nationalism in The New World

Nationalism in the new world
By Connor Hughes
Despite many claims by academics that ‘nationalism’ is less important in a globalizing world of
international organizations, transnational corporations and multiculturalism, the desire to bring culture
and territory together is actually increasing.
Nationalism is said to have risen during the 16th Century as the period of Reformation and
Enlightenment along with capitalism and the decreased power of religion over people’s lives allowed it
to flourish. The invention of the printing press allowed for the distribution of cheap daily newspapers
which helped formulate a shared sense of cultural identity among populations with the same language.
National anthems reinforced the sense of togetherness that transcended class, gender and racial
differences. These were all very important in the art of building ‘imagines communities’ (Johnson, 2002).
Nation building involves creating an ‘imaginative discourse’ (Johnson, 2002) which takes forms such as
history, folk culture and traditions (poems, fairytales, songs, anthems, dances) and symbolic landscapes.
The practice of nation building is carried out in the state’s education system, parenting (usually by the
mother), singing national anthems, national sports and the use of symbolic iconography such as national
monuments, flags, and landscapes. These creations serve to promote the idea that the ‘imagined
community’ is more important than the individual or individual’s family, despite the fact that the
individual may have not any real connections with others in the imagined community. It is like a modern
religion where the ritual of reading the daily newspaper serves to reinforce the imagined community
(reference?). However, the process of nation building is not always easy. Since the fall of the Soviet
Union many eastern European countries are having difficulties consolidating nation states and the same
is true for many parts of Africa after the pull out of colonial powers.
Language also brings a sense of shared identity that reinforces nationalisms. In some cases, language has
been deliberately created to eliminate differences among a population, such as in Indonesia, with the
creation of ‘Bahasa Indonesia’ as the official language overriding all other dialects in media and
government. But language is equally used to emphasize the politics of difference. In Belgium for
example, local politicians in the southern part of the Flemish region are concerned about immigration of
Francophone Belgians diluting or marginalizing the Flemish speaking population. In Ireland during British
rule, speaking Gaelic was prohibited and offenders were punished by death. Consequently, the symbolic
renaming of streets back into the original Gaelic language after the British pulled out strengthened the
sense of shared identity among the Irish population. It also served as marking the limits of the state, as
crossing into Northern Ireland, still under British rule, the streets names are still in English.
Nationalism has both spatial and temporal dimensions. Heroic events in the past, linked to specific
locations within the claimed territory are recorded and celebrated and represented through story‐
telling, monuments, songs and the education system. The removal of such temporal and spatial
element can represent both the freedom of nation or conversely, their repression. The knocking of the
Statue of Sadam Husain by the Americans brought both of these feelings, depending on which religion
one was affiliated to.
Nationalism needs a defined territory, a container of the culture that has taken place over the years and
for the monuments, language and religion that the nation shares. This desire for territory to contain a
homogeneous culture has been, and continues to be, a major cause of bloody conflict. The breakup of
the former Yugoslavia is a case in point as the Serbian desire for hegemony led to the extermination of
the Muslim population. Ethnic cleaning is still taking place in Congo today, under the hungry eyes of the
world fed by mass media. The denial of the Palestinian population’s right to their own nation state is
fundamental cause of the terrible conflict that is roaring in the middle east at the moment (January,
2009)
The gendering of nationalism as ‘female’ reveals the masculine forces behind it. A nations territory is
personified as female so that it is easier for male power to love and perhaps die for. This can be seen in
references to countries as ‘she’ – Britain is often referred to as ‘Britannia’, the Statue of Liberty is
female, representing the values of liberty and equality that bonds the nation. Yet females are often
denied the same freedoms as their male counterparts.
To sum up, the nation state is being challenged by the globalization of the economy, the increasing
number of transnational corporations and international organizations, but certainly not to the extent
that ‘nationalism’ is in decline. As outlined above, nationalist imagining – language, culture, traditions,
symbolic landscapes, songs and anthems – are still profoundly important. Sadly, the conflicts today that
are tearing apart people’s lives are also evidence of the continuing importance of ‘nationalism’.
References:
Johnson, Nuala C. 2002. The Renaissance of Nationalism, in Geographies of Global Change 2nd Ed.
Blackwell Publishing, UK.

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