The birth of the internet and the concept of the rapidly increasing globalisation supported the idea that borders no longer mattered nor meant. In a borderless globe of bits and bytes, the traditional concerns of nations, like territory and sovereignty, looked as anachronistic as swords and shields. But, in the last two decades, nationalism has revived itself forcefully. It is now probably stronger than at any time since 1945. So far, it has led to war in former Yugoslavia and Ukraine, but could easily become a threat to the whole of Europe. On the other hand, 45 per cent of Scots cast vote in 2014 in favour of setting up a nation, independent from the United Kingdom. The referendum was watched eagerly by separatist movements in Catalonia, Tibet and Quebec. Separatist movements are one facet of the revival of nationalism.
Moving borders has always resulted in massacre and bloodshed. Europe paid its huge cost during the 20th century. However, before the creation of the nation-state system, people didn’t care for the land, but they were loyal with their king or emperor.
Nevertheless, Woodrow Wilson was not the first to invoke the notion of nationality. Its roots date back to the French Revolution in 1789. The emergence of nationalism is to be found in the Revolutionary wars, before the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte on the scene. The breakup of old empires resulted in the birth of a myriad of small fractious states. The concept of nationalism emerged in Europe. But the UK never accepted nationalism and ruled over its colonies for a long period. For instance, the war of independence in 1857 is titled “The Great Mutiny.”
Nowadays, Europe has been facing the eruption of nationalism and its on-the-board examples are Scotland referendum, Brexit deal, a Crimean crisis among many others.
Before the creation of the nation-state system, people were loyal to their kings or emperors but after the treaty of Westphalia in 1648, people’s loyalty increased for the land instead of their rulers. So, the prestige of a king was lost. People fought for their rulers until approximately the 19th century. Time to time, the concept of nationalism strengthened its roots people started to fight for their land. For instance, Russians were not ready to jump into World War 1. They were the first to leave the battlefield and concede the independence of the Polish, Ukrainian and Baltic nations as well as some in the Caucasus. Moreover, coming to World War 1, the whole of Europe was roaring for nationalism. The Turkish Sultanate had to cede its sovereignty over many nations of its subjects in the Middle East and North Africa. Similarly, the Austro-Hungarian empire was redrawn. Poland received territories from Germany, Austria and Hungary.
Moving borders has always resulted in massacre and bloodshed. Europe paid its huge cost during the 20th century. However, before the creation of the nation-state system, people didn’t care for the land, but they were loyal with their king or emperor
Hungry also lost one-third of its land. In a nutshell, the aftermath of World War 1 resulted in several states based on nationality and self-determination.
According to Pedro Schwartz, there were three particular moments when the notion of a nation enflamed. The first was the French revolution when people pushed back the European armies and invaded almost the whole of the continent. The second was the end of World War 1 when the right of each nation to become a state was proclaimed. The third was on the occasion of the Bandung Conference of 1955 when the concept was launched that the states of the third world had a right to become independent at par with the older nations of Europe, which had ruled over them. To sum up, Rousseau was disgusted at the luxurious way of life of the French court. Rousseau’s starting point “Man is born free, and everywhere is charged with chains,” in his book “Le Contract Social (1762)” shocked Europe.
The writer has a Bachelors in Commerce