Rodrigo Pena Barbeito

MIDTERM ESSAY : NATION, ETHNICITY, RACE & CITIZENSHIP

THE ROLE OF NATIONAL IDEOLOGY IN CITIZENSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
RODRIGO PENA BARBEITO
1
Rodrigo Pena Barbeito
Abstract:
Starting from Dimitris Christopoulos' thoughts on the matter this paper is going to try to give an
insightful sociological revie over the topic of national ideology and its relationship ith
citi!enship and nation itself" #irst ith an introduction on the term national ideology as a synonym
of nationalism$ stating hat authors have to say about this" %eading later to an argument over the
idea of nationalism and trying to bring ne aspects& perspectives to the old debate" #inally this
essay ill try to ma'e a point based on those ideas$ also loo'ing at actual national movements based
on nationalism that can ilustrate the topic" (has national ideology been a ay to progress or has it
been a liability for the citi!enship)
*ey ords: +ation$ national ideology$ nationalism$ citi!enship development
INTRODUCTION:
The sto! o"### $%t%&e'sh%( %s h)*st+', -! the "o+'.)t%o')/ '))t%0es o" ### ')t%o')/ %.eo/o,!,
-+t )/so -! the t)$t%$)/ *)'e+0es o" ).*%'%st)t%0e ()$t%$e, )$$o.%', to the %'te')/ o
%'te')t%o')/ $o'te1t2 ,Dimitris Christopoulos-"
.he idea brought by Dimitris Christopoulos here is that citi!enship development has been restrained
by national ideology$ so e could imagine that his vie is consistent ith an idea of nationalism as
defining tool for the nations over history in both an international and national conte/t" And from
here is here this paper is going to start the argument"
But the thoughs on this topic have been there since a long time ago$ as e can see in the folloing
0uote"
I )* 'ot )' Athe'%)' o ) Gee3, -+t ) $%t%&e' o" the 4o/.# ,Socrates-
.hose ere the ords of Socrates more than 1222 years ago$ if e believe Plutarch of course" .he
idea behind this 0uote is that$ not only Socrates considered himself a citi!en of the orld$ hich is
interesting enough given the time$ but he asn't restricted to a nationalism" #rom here e have an
opposite starting point ith a more utopic globali!ation vie and a less national restricted society"
3ronically enough this as a statement given to thousand years ago$ long before a 4global
society5" So first of all$ hich idea lies behind the nationalism) 6hat is nationalism itself) And on
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Rodrigo Pena Barbeito
the other hand is nationalism something to avoid or is it something to embrace) .his or' ill
see' to give a clear idea of the term$ trying to place it in a sociological frame" Secondly$ it ill
intend to set an argument beteen the good side and the bad side of this idely used concept so in
the end e ill be able to argue an opinion about its role in the devolopment of the citi!enship
folloed by a conclusion on the topic"
LITERATURE REVIE5
As seen in these first 0uotes from Christopoulos and Socrates$ it seems nationalism has alays been
there some ay or another" But it's needed for a total understanding on this matter to have a neat
definition of the term" So hat the previous literature tell us about nationalism in relation ith
nations is that the classical definition of the concept has its origins in the nineteenth century
international la$ from an european point of vie" At that time$ nation as a synonym of people$
and nation7states ere considered the representation of one ethnic group of people as the modern
european states ere founded" So nationalism ould be understood as a simple representation of a
nation's ideology" .he idea remained until the end of the tentieth century" 8it9a :agar ,1221-
e/plains that those ideas that defined the nationalism ere rong$ since nation7states are not
populated by a single ethnic group" Before the constitution of the nation7states e couldn't
understand the national identity in the same ay though$ in the ancient greece for e/ample$ there
ere an ensemble of city7states$ but e couldn't say nationalism as there as there asn't a real
nation" 3n the medieval there ere fiefs and therefore the loyalty fell on the feudal lord and not in a
national ideology" 3t as ith the revolutions$ specially ith the french revolution hen the idea of
the people as an ideological hole emerged$ and e could argue that nationalism as the engine for
that" .o support this$ e could ta'e a loo' at ;rnest <ellner's theories
1
for he thin's that nationalism
,as e no it- as born ith the modern era" <ellner or's ith 6eber=s definition of the state as
that agency ithin society that possesses the monopoly of legitimate violence" >e notes that states
only e/ist here there is division of labour$ and the state 4is that instit or set of instits specifically
concerned ith the enforcement of order ,hatever else they may also be concerned ith-"5 Also he
states ,going on ith the idea of the division of labour- that the modern economy needs
substitutable and in that ay mobile people on a large scale$ it needs all people to be specialised
but to move beteen specialisations" .herefore it is re0uired that all have a common education $ a
similar culture" 43t is not the case$ as ;lie *edourie claims
1
$ that nationalism imposes homogeneity?
1 <ellner's 0uotes pulled out from <ellner's papers$ +ation and nationalism ,1@AB- and .hought and Change ,1@CD-
1 ;lie *edourie$ +ationalism ,%ondon: >utchinson$ 1@C2-"
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Rodrigo Pena Barbeito
it is rather that a homogeneity imposed by ob9ective$ inescapable imperative eventually appears on
the surface in the form of nationalism"5 So <ellner argues that nationalism is a strong ruler among
sociological behavior$ in his understanding he defined the concept ith the thesis that nationalism
is an essential component of moderni!ation$ of the transition from agrarian to industrial society ,the
latter re0uiring a state that can produce and be maintained by one common$ literate and accessible
culture"- +ationalism for <ellner is thus deEned as:
4.he general imposition of a high culture on society$ here previously lo cultures had ta'en up
the lives of the ma9ority$ and in some cases the totality$ of the population" 3t means the general
diffusion of a school7mediated$ academy7 supervised idiom$ codiEed for the re0uirements of a
reasonably precise bureaucratic and technological communication" 3t is the establishment of an
anonymous impersonal society$ ith mutually substitutable atomised individuals$ held together
above all by a shared culture of this 'ind$ in place of the previous comple/ structure of local groups$
sustained by fol' cultures reproduced locally and idiosyncratically by the micro7groups
themselves"5
6ith this definition e differ from the 4classical one5 in the idea of nationalism as 9ust a reflection
of the people from one nation" But <ellner's definition is not that complete though$ as he 'ind of
forgets the ethnical part" >is nationalism basically rests on the idea of the common culture" .his
nationalism ould be closer to the idea of a civic nationalism$ as the culture of the citi!ens is the
most important aspect" 6hile other opposite definition ould be an ethnical nationalism$ here the
ethnics or the race define the national identity" ;ven <ellner's nationalism might not be considering
ethnics so much$ it still provides an interesting approach"
#urthermore 8ichael *eating gives us an idea of ho nationalism has shaped the states and that
current states may be ea'ened hile national movements are rising" >e claims that the
globali!ation and global culture from above$ li'e Socrates' 0uote$ has been one reason hile belo
it has been the ne social and political movements ithin the states on territories$ because of the
political decentrali!ation" .he last reason ould be the neo7liberal ideology and the advance of a
civil society" Fust as the states are ea'ening $ the nationalism seems to get stronger as a
counterpoint" 3t is important to notice that the latest nationalist movements are more from regions
ithin nations than from nations themselves"
So long e have seen ho the idea of nationalism has evolved" 3n the first place it as refered as
9ust a result of the idiosyncrasy of a nation" 3t as later hen some authors argued that nationalism
asn't restricted to a nation$ but it could be composed by a cultural or an ethnic group of individuals
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Rodrigo Pena Barbeito
ith a sentiment of belonging to a same community even if those communities don't correspond
ith a nation7state borders" 3t's no time for a critical approach to the notion of nationalism and its
role in citi!enship development"
CONCLUSION
After developing the idea of modern nation$ national ideology and nationalism ,both cultural and
ethnic- e can no try to choose a position in the argument about nationalism"
Gn one hand e have the classic idea of nationalism bonded to the modern nation7states" .his old
idea loo's li'e a result from the old period of european colonialism and the folloing states
foundation$ and it doesn't allo us to see beyond the unreal ethnic and cultural homogeneity ithin
those states" 6e can argue that in the first stages$ national ideology$ as easy to be mista'en ith
this idea of a nation's ill" ;verybody could remember some e/amples to support this idea" #rance
and the french revolution could seem obvious" .here's one thing clear though$ in those times
nationalism as a poerful sociological engine" .he french revolution or the Hnited States
independence are e/amples or ho a national identity can shape the orld"
But on the other hand nationalism loo's li'e a more comple/ idea noadays" 3t's inside those
nation7states here the nationalist feeling is emerging" And there it is here the ne theories about
nationalism have something to say" +ationalism isn't 9ust a mere result of a nation7state$ but it has
more to do ith culture and ethnicity" As 8ichael *eating suggested the nation7states are
ea'ening but if e believed in the classic idea of national ideology$ nationalism should be fainting
too$ hen in the last years it has been 0uite the opposite" .here are a lot of e/amples of ho
nationalism is not something from the past$ but a very current phenomena" Since the former Soviet
Hnion states to the nationalist movements in countries li'e Hnited *ingdom ith the scotch or in
Spain ith Catalonia or the Bas0ue counrty" .hose independent movements are based in ideas of a
cultural identity hich differs from the nation7state here they are ithhold no" Crimea is a very
present e/ample of ho ethnicity and culture can shape a country and it implys a completely
different movement ithin the also nationalist u'ranian events"
Anyone can notice ith those e/amples that nationalism is still on vogue$ at this point 3 ould have
to agree ith the initial topic" As Christopoulos statement suggest$ nationalism really has
determined the development of the nations and the citi!enship$ but 3 ould chose another ords"
.he term 4>amstrung5 seems 'ind of pe9orative$ and e could argue that nationalism has more than
one dimesion and it's not easy to condemn it" 6hile regional nationalism ,the one hich implies
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Rodrigo Pena Barbeito
territories inside a sovereign territory- is seen as a bad thing by many authors$ there are 0uite less
ho state the same for the nationalism according to the classical term" Although 3 ould say that the
ea'ened states noadays can be seen as the european empires of the nineteenth century and this
regional movements are li'e the first nations afterards" .he other idea$ supported by authors ho
believe that nationalism is a past phenomena$ is that globalita!ion and free mar'et ma'e these
movements$ this 4ne ave of nationalism5 something irrelevant$ even more$ anachronistic" But
they are flourishing still" So 3 couldn't support that idea" Socrates' 0uote in this case ould be an
utopic vision$ and thereby e ould have to drop the idea" ;ven ith such a big thing as
globalita!ion is for nations and citi!enship$ nationalism seems to be more poerful" .he previous
attempts to an europen federalism for e/ample haven't succeeded$ mostly because of the national
ideology of the countries as stronger than the idea of a hole continental community ,ith
different cultures-"
So even nationalism has changed and maybe it asn't really there until the first industrial
revolutions$ according to <ellner$ e can conlude that it has been$ and still is a huge factor for the
citi!enship development" 3s it possible to say if nationalism is a good or a bad thing though)
Certanly it has many faces$ and thus is not so easy to assert hether it is useful or not" 3t provides a
sentiment of community and belonging" #or e/ample it gave birth to the H"S"A$ until then 9ust a
british colony$ or even the first french republic" But it also can lead to conflicts and racism" 6e can't
forget that it as behind nationalism here +a!ism started and the hatred it lead later" +ations ere
divided because of it" So in the end 3 could only submit that hen e are tal'ing about nationalism
it depends of the situation ,ethnics$ culture$ regional movements and so on- more than the term
itself$ it can lead to a better situation for the citi!ens or not" 3t certanly colides ith the idea of a
global society$ so if e believe in globalita!ion$ this is going to be a 0uestion that politicians and
society ill have to consider in the folloing years"
CR3.3CA% S.A+C;
.he very first obstacle 3 faced in this eassy as the language itself$ 3've tried to e/press my ideas the
best 3 could even english is not my mother language" 3 hope the result is admissible" .he second
issue ould be the time 3 putted in this essay$ maybe not enough to have the result 3'd li'e" #inally
concerning the content of this paper$ 3 ould have to say 3 couldn't reach an strong argument but 3
thin' the 0uestions raised and the approach are suitable for further analysis"
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Rodrigo Pena Barbeito
B3B%3G<RAP>J
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