Nationalism - (n.)
1. a feeling of pride in the nation of which one is a part, often leading to competition and conflict: Budding nationalism in England and France caused a rivalry between the two countries that resulted in a game of land-grabbing where each attempted to colonize as many "savage" lands as possible - the people of each country desired to feel superior to the other through highest amount of amassed land.
2. a unifying force that brings people of varying history and ethnicity together under a common purpose: Nationalism in the United States is supported by the idea of independence and freedom from discrimination - this idea allows people from all walks of life to find a connection. OR Nationalism during the French Revolution brought together members of the first and third estate; together they created a representative government ruled by the people rather than by a monarch.
3. the arrogant waving around of a flag (or one's own pride) to exhibit unity or superiority in unity: Nationalism in China can be seen in Qian Long's letter to George III of Britain where he describes the distinctions between the "Celestial Empire" and "the lonely remoteness of your island" - China obviously felt itself to be the best and most important country in the world.
4. an impetus for changes that are perceived to be positive by those that enact them: The Haitian Revolution, pushed forward by Nationalism, united the slaves in their desire to be free of the french (even though it left them in the end with an unstable economy).
5. the destruction of an empire: Nationalism restricted by land boundaries caused the downfall of the Ottoman Empire - there was no longer pride in the whole Islamic Nation, but rather only in the land nations themselves (Turkey, Egypt, etc.)
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I really liked how you formatted this post, with the definition and the examples set up like an actualy dictionary definition. It was quite entertaining to read.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rina. The format of you post made everything very clear, and you did a really good job proving each point fully. You made a lot of great references back to past topics,and did a good job in keeping your definition and points from becoming vague.In part 4, you said that nationalism is a force for changes considered positive by the people causing them, which I disagree with. While you did leave room for the changes to be negative, they could be unintended consequences, such as the instability caused by the nationalism of the Young Turks in the Ottoman Empire.
ReplyDeleteI was about to say that I liked the formatting too. I also like how you have more than one definition. There is not one set, specific definition, and I feel like you mentioned many important ones. Also, I agree with Catherine that sometimes, nationalistic people can know they are doing a bad thing, but believe it needs to be done. Like when the Black Hand murdered Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
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