Class notes
POL 1004F Language OF Politics ; Nationalism Notes
- Course
- Institution
This is a comprehensive and detailed note on Language OF Politics ; Nationalism for POL 1004F. Essential!! To your success in academics!!
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
anyiamgeorge19
Reviews received
Content preview
Nationalism● Note the context of Europe’s transition into the modern period
● Political organisation during mediaeval period = empires rather than countries as
we know them now
● Breaking down of empires into nation states → birth of modern european state as
we know it today = result of the process of modernisation
● Led to ideology of Nationalism
● Nationalism made number of assumptions:
○ Actualised by people acting on the ideology’s philosophies
○ Every nation must be given a state (everyone who considered themselves
by part of a nation demanded for independent stateship from the empires
= fall of empires)
○ Demand made = right to self-determination (exclusive to nations)
○ Developed a “we” consciousness
○ Led to a struggle between Nationalists in Europe and Divine
Rulers/Mediaeval order of things
○ Transformed the way we consider politics in the world (now with the
modern state)
● Nation = socio-cultural entity = community that shares a language, culture, and
myth of common origin
○ Build myths that sustain the nation
○ Can never be wrong as it is in its effect, not its logical reasoning → use the
effect of the myth to sustain its correctness
● Essentially the same groups which would be considered nations in Europe, are
known in Africa as Ethnicities
● State = political construct
● Coming together of the Nation and the State = the Nation-State
○ Supposition that it is the only acceptable form of political organisation
○ Error of this assumption = implying there is a congruence between the
boundaries of the nation and the boundaries of the state
○ Ie within the boundaries of the modern state should be found the
constituents of one nation
○ Assumed that states were therefore uni-ethnic
○ Was deconstructed around 1970s when self-determination was demanded
by other ethnic groups within the state
○ Would have been more accurate to be said to be constituted as a
State-Nation
○ Built the idea of being a Nation using ethnic symbols
○ Error = dominant ethnic group builds national image around their ethnic
symbols
○ If you recognise society as a state-nation, you can build the new national
identity based on civic symbols
■ Known as nation building
○ Has caused many groups in Europe wanting to be recognised as
independent states
, ○ State-Nation can also be seen as a melting pot (American origin)
○ White Anglo-saxon Protestant values central to this melting pot
○ Shared the same moral order as Industrial Capitalism
○ Productive relationship between capitalism and nationalism
○ Without nationalism, the discipline of economics would not exist →
fundamentals of capitalism rely on nations to exist
○ Says that any economic benefit of the state should benefit those of that
nationality (Benefit of the state belongs to the nation)
○ Xenophobia = issue of Nationalism
○ State-nation = acknowledgement of plurality/Nation plurality (ie
multi-ethnic)
○ Problem with nationalism = attempting to achieve national homogeneity
(homogenous nation)
○ Nationalism = functional to Capitalism
■ The identity of a nation controls the economic consumption
○ Capitalism = functional to Nationalism
■ National affinity made possible by modern media and the
consumption of the same commodities (the core identifier)
■ Build a sense of mutuality due to the common emotions and
reactions being linked to what is reported in the media (eg
something bad happening somewhere else in South Africa warrants
a similar emotional response from anyone sharing the Nationality)
○ One can’t accept Nationalism without accepting Capitalism
○ Shared moral order = the moral order of the modern moment
■ Relationship between reason, rationality, and the idea of
progress
■ Nationalism therefore invariably subscribes to the modern
epistemological knowledge (modern disciplinary knowledge)
■ Nation became a unit of modern disciplinary knowledge production
■ Mutual functionality between Nationalism and any Modern
Disciplinary Knowledge
■ Demand to record the history of the Nation, which is contradicted
by their self understanding of mythical origin
■ Sees Liberal Democracy as the only way in which a state should
function
■ Nationalism as an ideology = ideology of Modernity (in sync with
the modern consciousness)
■ Makes sense in Europe as it develops in the Modern European
Consciousness
○ Large portion of Modernity = built on myths
■ Eg of one of the myths = idea of money
■ Money = a promissory note that is never met by the person giving
the money - only when material products or services are
exchanged for that money
■ Money attributes value to commodities based on its price tag
■ Leads to commodification of people ie a person’s value/value of
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller anyiamgeorge19. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $13.50. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
79271 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now