Role of Nationalism in Contemporary Politics
Role of Nationalism in Contemporary Politics
Nationalism plays a major role in world politics today. Nationalism is a concept that can be viewed as positive and negative. Nationalism has changed since the 19th century.
September 11, 2001 will be a day that no one will ever forget. It was a day that has changed lives forever, creating distress throughout the world. The terrorist attacks on the United States affected more than America; it was an attack on all Nations that are allied with the United States. That is an example of how nationalism plays a major role in world politics today. Nationalism has caused and causes governments extreme amounts of work including: negotiating and signing treaties. The United States, and the Philippines, and Taiwan are other examples of the world aspects and its affects on politics. However, nationalism does not always have to result in negative outcomes. For example, a positive result was the separation of Yugoslavia into five states. The separation of the Soviet Empire was a basis of nationalism and was rather serene. (1)
Nationalism has been going on for centuries; this is not a new idea. Throughout time however, the concept has changed. Nationalism came about during the 19th Century at the time Romanticism there were two different forms: liberal nationalism and integral nationalism. In the age of Romanticism and the Enlightenment emphasized were societies and the link holding people collectively as a group or common people and the distinction between groups of people. From this idea away from the center of the individual, one can see how nationalisms arose. Liberal nationalism was seen as traditions, myths, dialects, and places. This was the more rational of the two; most liberal nationalist, did not think that the growth of one custom or inhabitants meant an eradication of another. An example would be the formation of Germany and Italy. The Germans wanted a Germany and the Italians wanted an Italy. Another type of nationalism was Integral Nationalism, which came about from the Prussian War. This was the irrational form and idea that “one nation became at the expense of another.” This idea of power over one nation over another created problems and which resulted in World War I and World War II. (6)
An...