Nationalism is the sense of union, pride, and capability that is experienced between people with a shared background or experience, and empowers them to act.
This was very clear in the French Revolution, when many soldiers were sent out to battle, only knowing they were fighting for their country, and that was enough. One of our primary documents was a letter from a soldier to his mother how proud he was to be a part of France. He was perfectly willing to die for France, simply because of the sense of unification and purpose that nationalism provided for him.
In our unit on colonization, leaders of Europeans manipulated nationalism to create more faith in their own countries. By conquering lesser countries, the leaders were able to convince their citizens of the legitimacy of their power, which united the countries within and prompted them to conquer even more countries, benefiting their homeland.
During the Qing dynasty, restrictions on dress would have hidden the differences between conquered and conquerors, making it more difficult for unhappy citizens used to the old regime to acknowledge their shared past and organize as a group. The more similar the conquered were to the conquerors, the harder it was for them to have a sense of nationalism separate from that of the invaders, and the less trouble they could cause.
In short, nationalism is the force behind the actions of a nation. If that logic isn't to circular, that is
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I like how you specifically noted "capability" and how it "empowers them to act." Nationalism really does make people want to help their country out of their own free will, as you showed in the example of the French soldier. People truly believe that defending their country is the most important thing. As you stated, feelings of nationalism were manipulated through propaganda and a sense of faith with obligation. In this way, nationalism used effectively can actually become an effective weapon for a nation.
ReplyDeleteSaying that Nationalism empowers people to act is a partially true statement. If nationalism is to truly empower someone, I think it has to be a very strong sense of nationalism. A weak sense of nationalism can be shrugged off.
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