Nationalism in the Late 19th Century

Paper Summary:

The paper argues that there is no single theory that fully explains the causes of nationalism. The paper explains the idea of nationalism and explores its causes and effects. The paper then shows how nationalism in the later half of the 19th century was caused by several different factors and had both national and global implications.

From the Paper:

"As nationalism is a term that has many different meanings, the following paragraphs are committed to explaining the idea of nationalism as it will be used in this essay in order to avoid any confusion that may otherwise arise. Nationalism and nation are two terms inescapably linked and in order to understand what nationalism is, one must first have an understanding of what a nation is. Benedict Anderson, the emeritus of international studies at Cornell University described a nation as an imagined community of perceived equals who are loyal to that community. This is said in the sense that not everyone in the community will ever meet each other or even know of each other, but where a sense of community exists nevertheless and where people feel such a bond to that community that they are compelled to be loyal to it. It is important to note that a nation is not necessarily a state (a political unit), although a nation can be created from a state or vice versa."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Christopher A. Bayly, The Birth of the modern World: 1780-1914 Global Connections and Comparisons, Blackwell Publishing, Cornwall, 2004.
• Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London, 1991.
• Jerry H. Bentley, and Herbet F. Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective of the Past, Vol II: From 1500 to the Present, 3rd Ed, McGraw Hill, New York, 2006
• Hilary Conroy, 'Japanese Nationalism and Expansionism', The American Historical Review, Vol. 60, No. 4. Jul., 1955, pp. 818-829.
• Cynthia H. Enloe and Mostafa Rejai, 'nation-states and state-nations', International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 2 1969-06 pp. 140-158.

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