Nationalism …..

Nationalism distinctively is a modern political ideology which arose late 17th century, first in Europe and America, then everywhere else, and it reached its apex at the time of World War I and World War II. Besides, it’s directly related to the nation-state formation which became more obvious Late Middle Ages. The nation which represent typically a group of people who share a common history, cultural or language and have a sentiment of national unison and affirming a distinct ethnic identity. Whereas, the state is a part of land whose people have an independent government. Thus, the nation-state appears if a nation and a state have the same boundaries. Nation-states began to expand during the 17th century since the communication enhanced at that time. Thus, people became increasingly aware of the part of their nation that rest outside their own community. Loyalty to local and religious leaders began to decline, and dedication to kings grew stronger. At that time of history, England, France, Spain, and several other countries had become nation-states. The nation manifestation in particular had either economic or ideological causes and the state had its political agenda and view, when one or both of the conceptions arise; the Nationalism appears. Nationalism is an ideology where the nation supposes it possesses distinct allegations to virtue. Nationalism is based both on group fancy and as the product of Industrialization, Modernization and in less content, Capitalism. In the Industrial phase, from the mid-19th century to World War I, the concept of common sovereignty took fire among secondary classes mobilized by the spread of industry, commerce and commercialized agriculture. Also, as noticed, the nationalizing expansion at work was elite-driven processes to create relatively autonomous, territorially bounded political and economic units, by creating horizontal and vertical homogeneities and overcoming internal cleavages. Whilst in the process reshaping the social groupings within those boundaries into “national people”, and thus push not just industrialization and the market economy forward, but also strengthen and enlarge the power base of the nation-state in the making both domestically and in the larger world. So, these states were becoming more representative and more national, whereas, it is often affirmed that in the industrial phase the whole population began to recognize their interests and their sense of honor with those of their state opposed to other nation-states. Hence, the nationalist emotions of citizens and the state nationalist activities merged and produced the Extreme Nationalism. Reaching the Military era and the race for rearmament between nation states; violent nationalism had widen its demand, but this was mainly in a specific and “statist” means. Hundreds of thousands of bureaucrats, teachers and public sector workers now depended for their income on the state; hundreds of thousands of young middle class men passed through its institutions of higher education; while millions of young men of all classes were disciplined by a military cadre into the unusual moral, forced yet emotionally attached, that is the hallmark of the modern mass army. These three bodies and their families provided most of the fervent nationalists as studies of pre war pressure groups revealed. They were “extra-loyalists” or “nation-statists”, with an imaginary loyalty to what they conceived to be the morality of their nation-state, where these state ideals were mixed. But since all states were militarist, their servants were generally mobilizable at least to an allegedly “defensive” militarism as in WWI. Seeing that, the military merits were still a valued part of masculine culture; hence, women were appreciated as the carriers and nurturer of future warriors only. The period of World War II; common sovereignty was totally achieved. Thus nationalism and ethnicity were extremely harmful. Politics, not ethnicity, generated most of the odd emotional intensity, the barbarity conducted in the name of morality, of the modernist period. Many nation-states maintained the group solidarity by creating cultural and ethnicity as bonds. Besides, the discrimination and the political oppression led to larger degree of unity and group recognition. Accordingly, nationalism was based on fear and self sense, which required sanctuary in conformity, homogeneity and uniformity. In addition, after World War I states began to legitimate terror and nation-states became to use extreme violence to achieve its aims which created the “Extreme Intolerance of Nationalism”. Extreme nationalism may result in racial hatred and in persecution of minority groups. The ideology of modern extreme in tolerance of nationalism made genocide possible, in others words; the genocide is a product of extreme nationalism. By creation of “Us” and “Others” as real danger, by the feeling of superiority produced from success lead to extreme intolerance of nationalism. Hence, it was a political decision behind the genocides and massacres, killing thousands of people under the Nationalism motto. The propaganda, national schools, stimulating emotions and mass communication allowed for the creation of extreme intolerance of nationalism. There is no differences between we are patriotic citizens and they are nationalist, it is just propaganda, nationalist is the same everywhere and should be replaced by democracy and humanism.