After doing this week’s reading, I would like to focus on when national identification started to expand itself in this period. National identification became a political force. This was beneficial to the time period, but also caused a few mutations. The mutations include:
1. 1. The emergence of nationalism and patriotism as an ideology taken over by political right.
2. 2. The assumption that national self-determination up to and including the formation of independent and sovereign states applied not just to some nations, which could demonstrate economic, political, and cultural viability, but also to any and all groups, which claimed to be a nation.
3. 3. The growing tendency to assume that national self-determination could not be satisfied by any form of autonomy less than full state independence.
4. 4. There was the novel tendency to define a nation in terms of ethnicity and especially in terms of language.
The first aspect of mutation (The emergence of nationalism and patriotism as an ideology taken over by political right.), needed to find an extreme expression between the wars in fascism, whose ideological ancestors are to be found here.
The second mutation is the difference between the old and new assumption. It is illustrated by the difference between the twelve entities and the twenty-six states (emerged after the first world war).
Were there any other mutations that could have been formed from national identification? National identification changed this time period, I think, for the better.
I think it's interesting that you bring up how nations were defined by their ethnicities, and especially their languages. Beyond the fact that it goes largely hand in hand with our Wikipedia project, I think it brings up quite an astonishing change in mindsets in a short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteI still believe that national identity though, has a long way to continue to change. I still think national identity has a more global element to it that has yet to be recognized. Countries, like the US and other powers, need to realize what their specific role in the world is an 100% follow it. I, personally, hate speaking in absolutes, but I do believe that it is necessary for this to occur. If the nation makes a choice and sticks with it, then we can actually see an outcome develop. If we don't stick to it then we just end up with a conglomerate of different solutions.
That last rant may have made no sense, and I fully realize that... lol