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Postwar Nationalism Definition
Before considering a postwar nationalism definition, let's consider the general meaning of nationalism.
To do that, we need to define the nation. One of the most widely accepted definitions of a nation is from scholar Benedict Anderson, who called it an imagined political community.
Usually, the people of a country are linked by shared language, culture, history, ethnicity, and/or geography, but not always. The essential factor is that the people of a nation look towards a shared future.
Hint
Defining the concept of a nation is tricky. Think about a hypothetical stranger in a city in your country, far away. Even though this person is a stranger, you know you share your nationality with them and have a common destiny together as members of that nation. This why Anderson used the word imagined.
Nation vs. State vs. a Nation-state
We often use these words interchangeably, but in political science, they have different meanings. A state is a geographically defined area that has a government that controls it. It is where you see lines on a map. Most states today are nation-states, where the people consider themselves part of the same nation.
However, some nations do not have a state. The Palestinians are the most well-known example today. For nations without a state, nationalism usually involves a desire for independence.
Meanwhile, places like the former Yugoslavia discussed below could be considered multinational states where there can be competing identities between being members of the state and the separate nations.
Nationalism
Nationalism is the desire to see the nation succeed and fulfill its destiny.
Nationalism can take forms as simple as rooting for the national sports teams or celebrating traditional foods. However, it can also be a force that drives conflict with other nations.
For example, nationalism played a role in the causes of both World Wars, and the devastation of these wars led to challenges in defining postwar nationalism. It's difficult to make one single postwar nationalism definition, since postwar nationalism took different forms.
Rather than try to make a postwar nationalism definition, let's look at some of the more important examples of postwar nationalism.
Nationalism After WW2
In some cases, nationalism after WW2 led to independence movements, while in others, it led to internal division.
German Nationalism After WW2
Germany was divided into West and East Germany after WW2. A key element of German nationalism after WW2 was a desire for reunification.
Confronting the violent German nationalism that had led to Nazi expansionism and the Holocaust, and determining how best to celebrate German identity and take pride in it while repudiating this violence, was another challenge for German nationalism.
The Nazi party and symbols are illegal in Germany, and German nationalism today promotes ideas of cooperation with the rest of the world and celebrating German culture in a non-militaristic fashion.
Anti-German Nationalism in Eastern Europe
One lesser-known dynamic of postwar nationalism was anti-German nationalism in countries the Nazis had occupied. Germans were expelled from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, and other countries.
Independence Movements
During the 20th Century, a wave of decolonization occurred. While most closely associated with Africa and Asia, postwar nationalism also contributed to European independence movements.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, a period of violence known as the Troubles began in 1969 between nationalist forces that wanted union with Ireland and forces that wanted continued membership in the United Kingdom.
Did You Know?
Ireland was partitioned in 1921 into the independent Ireland, with a mostly Catholic population, and Northern Ireland, where there was a large Protestant population, which remained part of the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists wanted unification of Northern Ireland into one larger nation-state of Ireland and accused authorities of Northern Ireland for being anti-Catholic, while pro-UK citizens of Northern Ireland feared becoming a Protestant minority in a unified Ireland.
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended the fighting. It established that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK unless more than half the population voted for union with Ireland, while also establishing protections and power-sharing for Catholics and Protestants.
Spain
Postwar nationalism also led to violence in the Basque area of northern Spain.
Separatist group ETA carried out a campaign of violence beginning in 1968. Groups receiving secret government support fought carried out revenge attacks.
In 2011, ETA announced a ceasefire, and it formally dissolved itself in 2018. However, many in Catalonia favor independence and voted for it in a 2017 referendum declared illegal by the Spanish government.
Chechnya
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, separatists in Chechnya declared an independent republic. Russia invaded in 1994 to reestablish control. A ceasefire was signed in 1996, but renewed fighting, complicated by the rise of extremist Islamist groups, led to reoccupation by Russia in 1999 and an insurgency.
End of Communist Rule in Eastern Europe
Although the communist bloc countries were technically independent, they were dominated by the Soviet Union. Postwar nationalism was a critical driver of the failed Hungarian Revolution and Prague Spring.
While the fall of communism involved numerous factors, nationalists desires to assert control over their destiny was undoubtedly a part.
Did You Know?
Czechoslovakia, which had been created after World War One as a multinational state, split into the separate nation-states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia after the end of communist rule.
Balkan Nationalism after WW2
The Balkans are an area of Southwest Europe where several ethnic groups live. Among these are Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Bosniaks. They were united into the multinational state of Yugoslavia.
Did You Know?
Nationalism in the Balkans was an important cause of World War One. A Bosnian Serb had killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand over the Austrian occupation of Bosnia. Serb nationalists wanted a larger Serbia that united all Serbs. After World War One, the multinational Yugoslavia was created. It was meant to be a federation, with the smaller nations having local autonomy but working together in the national government. However, Serbs were often seen as the dominant group.
In the 1980s, after the death of former leader Marshall Tito and the onset of economic problems, cracks in the union of Yugoslavia began to form. The smaller national groups like Croats and Slovenes protested what they saw as Serb dominance, while Serb nationalists resented these groups' assertion of independence.
Conflict broke out in 1990, leading to the breakup of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia became the following independent states:
- Serbia
- Montenegro
- Croatia
- Slovenia
- North Macedonia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
Fighting during the breakup led to genocide in Bosnia and continued conflict for years. In 2008, the region of Kosovo, which was part of Serbia and where ethnic Albanians and Serbs fought, declared independence.
Genocide in the Former Yugoslavia
The multinational areas of the former Yugoslavia created an explosive situation. Historical grievances, real and perceived, related to the legacy of imperial rule, Nazi occupation, and violence during the breakup created vicious cycles of revenge.
After Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence in 1992, Serb nationalists, with the cooperation of the Serb-dominated Yugoslavian army, perpetrated violence against Bosnian Muslims known as Bosniaks and the Croat population there. At least 100,000 people were killed, and many consider the violence genocide.
In 2017, the International Court of Justice found former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic guilty of crimes against humanity. A tribunal has also charged both Serbs and Albanian Kosovars with crimes against humanity in the fighting in Kosovo.
Exam Tip
The map above is useful in explaining how nationalism influenced events in the former Yugoslavia. Look at it and consider why there was fighting in Croatia and Bosnia but not in Slovenia.
Towards a Cooperative Nationalism?
Despite the violent separatist movements discussed above, historically speaking, the second half of the twentieth Century was relatively peaceful in Europe. There were also efforts towards cooperation, like the European Union.
The European Union
The European Union arose out of the end of WW2 as an antidote to possible aggressive postwar nationalism.
The Council of Europe, founded in 1949, the European Economic Community in 1957, and the 1985 Schengen Agreement allowing open borders, were early forerunners of what became the European Union, formally founded in 1993.
The underlying idea of these steps toward an integrated Europe is that countries cooperating and trading are less likely to go to war. The European Union currently has 27 member states.
Did You Know?
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was created as an anti-Soviet military alliance between the US and the capitalist countries of Western Europe. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has grown to include several of the former communist states of Eastern Europe, and its mission has shifted to one of multilateral strategic cooperation.
European Nationalism in the 21st Century
The first decades of the 21st Century have revealed that nationalism will continue to present challenges for Europe. Among some of the current issues related to nationalism in Europe are:
- Brexit, the status of Northern Ireland, and the future of the EU
- National identity and the entry of migrants and refugees
- Catalonian Independence in Spain
- Russian expansion based on nationalist claims to Crimea and parts of Ukraine
- Germany's growing economic power and possible remilitarization
Nationalism - Key takeaways
- Postwar nationalism refers to the nationalism that emerged after WW2.
- Postwar nationalism took several forms, depending on context.
- In some cases, it led to violent separatist movements.
- In the Balkans, it led to the split up of Yugoslavia and conflict that included genocide.
- Some efforts have been made to promote cooperation among nations rather than competitive nationalism through organizations like the European Union.
References
- Fig. 1 - Photo of rallies at the Brandenburg Gate (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_and_East_Germans_at_the_Brandenburg_Gate_in_1989.jpg), photo by unknown photographer, reproduced by Lear21 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Lear_21) and licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0)
- Fig. 3 - Photo of fighter in Chechnya (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evstafiev-chechnya-palace-gunman.jpg), photo by Mikhail Evstafiev (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evstafiev) licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CC-BY-SA-2.5)
- Fig. 5 - Refugees from Bosnia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evstafiev-bosnia-travnik-girl-doll-refugee.jpg), photo by Mikhail Evstafiev (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evstafiev) licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CC-BY-SA-2.5)
- Fig 2 - British bomb disposal unit in N. Ireland (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheelbarrow_bomb_disposal_device_being_operated_by_a_team_from_321_EOD_MOD_45159057.jpg) by unknown photographer, licensed under OGL v1.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:OGL_v1.0)
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Frequently Asked Questions about Post War Nationalism
What is decolonization and nationalism after World War II?
Decolonization occurred in a number of places around the world after World War II and was fueled by nationalism and desires for national sovereignty.
How did nationalism lead to decolonization?
Nationalism influences people to want control over their destiny and have independence, leading to decolonization.
What is the meaning of independence movement?
An independence movement is a movement for independence, usually with the goal of creating a new nation-state.
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