GE21001 Dynamic Human WorldsLectures 9 & 10

Nation, Nationalism and Citizenship

Blog: http://dynamichumanworlds.wordpress.com

Dr. Susan P. Mains

Geography

Nation, Nationalism and Territory

Lecture Outline:• What’s a nation?• Nation & nationalism• Forms of nationalism• Nation & territory• Conflict• Citizenship

Nation, Nationalism and Territory

Mexico City Olympics, 1968

Tommie Smith, John Carlos & Peter Norman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fML9GOfiuBs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UnQP1F4Njg

Mexico City

La Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/2/newsid_3548000/3548680.stm

Understanding the Nation

• Definition of Nation• A large group of people

sharing common cultural traits:– Identify with one another– Believe that they belong

with one another– Identify “insiders”– Identify “outsiders”

• Key Concept:– A state must have borders– A nation never does (?)

Understanding Nationalism

• What is Nationalism?• The expressed desire of a

people to establish and maintain a self-governing political entity.

• It has been a dominant social force in recent history, leading to both the creation and destruction of modern states.

Understanding Nationalism

• Nationalism may be based on ethnic ties, but nationalism and ethnicity are not the same.

• Nationalism involves three themes:– independence, unity, and identity

National Identities

• Cooperation across large social and spatial scales involves shared beliefs and trust among strangers.

• Successful nations require a set of agreed upon symbols that define who is and who is not part of the nation.

• Such processes facilitate the goals of independence and unity.

• What identities are privileged/excluded?

Constructing National Identities

• Nations are not ‘natural’ entities, they are socially constructed, unstable, and in process

• How do people construct a national identity?

How are these identities linked with specific places/territories?

Imagined Communities

“It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion. . . The nation is imagined as limited because even the largest of them, encompassing perhaps a billion human beings, has finite, if elastic boundaries, beyond which lie other nations. No nation imagines itself coterminous with mankind. . . It is imagined as sovereign because the concept was born in an age in which Enlightenment and Revolution were destroying the legitimacy of the divinely-ordained, hierarchical dynastic realm.”

--Benedict Anderson, 1983, 15

Imagined Communities

• “Imagined” National Communities

• Nationalism: ideology that links nation to state– Homogeneity of language– Printing press: advent of popular literature– School textbooks– Standardization of time

Imagined Communities

• Achieved through information: factual and mythical

• “invented traditions” and stories of the nation

• Creating continuity with ancient (and selective) pasts and places

• Becoming central to national “culture”• BUT, these may be contested, multiple and/or

conflicting claims to national identity

‘Us’ and ‘Them’

• Nationalism is subjective

• Some people/places ‘belong’ and the rest are ‘others’

• It is exclusionary

• Linked to territory—and iconic landscapes

• Places associated with aspects of national stories, events, figures

Iconic Landscapes

Iconic Landscapes

Visit Scotland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aAIpdA1oIQ

‘Us’ and ‘Them’

• Minority groups may be increasingly marginalised

• Differential rights (e.g., voting, access to public funds, schooling, etc.,)

• Monitoring of religions, dress, language

• May be through legislation force

Symbols of Nationalism

• Language• Flags• Distinctive

architecture• Monuments• Parks• Anthems• Uniforms• Events

Nations & Borders

• May be clearly visible

• Barely marked

• May serve different types of political and physical functions

Separatism & Nationalism

• Increasing ethnic nationalism• New claims to independent nationhood• Ethnic separatism:

– Within multi-national countries– Some unrest– Varying degrees of violence– Forced deportations– Genocides– Military coups, secession

Separatism & Nationalism– Nationalisms are Unstable– Completely malleable –

multiple, changing, disappearing, reappearing, never permanent, and always changeable

– Those who belong to a nation may one day be ostracized from it due to new definitions of what comprise a nation.

• Bosnian Muslims in Yugoslavia

• Kosovar Albanians

Nationalism & Fundamentalism

– Ridding the state of a minority nation within its borders to create a “nation‐state”

– Done through:-Expulsion (en masse)-Eradication (en masse)-Expansion (of state borders)-Rape (genetic eradication)

– 1990s term: “Ethnic Cleansing”“Genocide”

http://www.systemicpeace.org/conflict.htm

http://www.systemicpeace.org/conflict.htm

Defining Citizenship

noun

• a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized: a British citizen

• an inhabitant of a particular town or city: the good citizens of Edinburgh

Oxford Dictionary http://oxforddictionaries.com

Defining Citizenship

• Phrases

• citizen of the world– a person who is at home in any country: he

has long since ceased to be a provincial and is now very much a citizen of the world

Oxford Dictionary http://oxforddictionaries.com

Defining Citizenship

• “Citizenship,  relationship between an individual and a state in which an individual owes allegiance to that state and in turn is entitled to its protection. Citizenship implies the status of freedom with accompanying responsibilities. Citizens have certain rights, duties, and responsibilities that are denied or only partially extended to aliens and other noncitizens residing in a country. In general, full political rights, including the right to vote and to hold public office, are predicated upon citizenship. The usual responsibilities of citizenship are allegiance, taxation, and military service.

• Citizenship is the most privileged form of nationality.”– Encyclopædia Britannica

Citizenship Foundation

“We define citizenship as being about taking an active part in society, we run projects in schools to help young people explore the issues surrounding how we live together in our communities. We also expand the discussion from local issues to national and global ones.

Programmes include economic awareness (eg how to manage money and how money should be spent in the community), volunteering, climate awareness and citizenship issues in other countries.”

http://www.citizenshipfoundation.org.ukStudying citizenship compulsory since 2002

Scale, Citizenship & Politics

• Citizenship at many scales

• “Jumping scales”

The Global Citizen…

• respects and values diversity • is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a

world citizen• takes responsibility for their actions• is outraged by social injustice• participates in the community at a range of levels, from the local to

global• has an understanding of how the world works• is willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable

place

– Words from Oxfam 2006 Education for Global Citizenship A Guide for Schools www.oxfam.org.uk

‘Testing’ Citizenship

“Settlement and citizenship• Becoming settled in the UK by getting

indefinite leave to remain means you will have the opportunity to play an even more active role in your community and wider society. You no longer have to renew your permission to stay in the UK and you are free to come and go with the minimum of fuss, provided you do not remain outside the UK for more than two years.

• If you are applying to become a British citizen, this will give you:

• the right to a British passport • the right to vote in national elections • As an individual, you also have many talents

and experiences to bring to UK society.”

‘Testing’ Citizenship• Question 7According to the book, where does the myth of Father Christmas come

from? A: The Victorians B: Pagan myths updated by Shakespeare C: German/Swedish immigrants to the USA

• Question 8Life in the UK explains what to do if you spill someone's pint in the pub (we're not making this up). What, according to the book, usually happens next? A: You would offer to buy the person another pint B: You would offer to dry their wet shirt with your own C: You may need to prepare for a fight in the car park

• Question 9You've unfortunately had that fight and are bleeding from a well-placed left hook. Which two telephone numbers can you call for an ambulance? A: 999 or 112 B: 999 or 111 C: 999 or any other digit three times

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4099770.stm

Public Citizenship• Private and public identity and

spaces• Pledging allegiance• “Preceding the Oath of

Allegiance, immigrants watch a video montage of Ellis Island images set to “America the Beautiful,” followed by a videotaped message from George W. Bush (“With a single oath, all at once, you become as American as the most direct descendants of our founding fathers”). Last comes a video of newly sworn-in citizens waving flags; “God Bless the USA (I’m Proud to Be an American)” plays in the background” –description of citizenship ceremony in Oregon, USA.