The word "nation" comes from the Latin natio-nationis, which refers to one's place of birth. In the same way that the term "native" designates those sharing the same geographical origin, "nationals" are those born (natus) in the territory of a given state, or born from parents that are “nationals” of this state.
1. A weird fiction
In European history, the term
"nation" initially designated the Germanic peoples who settled in
territories of the ancient Western Roman Empire from the 5th century on, and
the groups of students of the same geographical origins who studied at medieval
universities. The term was revived with a political meaning in the American and
French Enlightenment-era revolutions to designate the inhabitants of a state
who had deprived kings of "sovereignty" and transferred it to the
people. Thus, the French Revolution was not officially consummated until July
14, 1790, when delegations from all over France met in Paris to celebrate the
fact that they then formed one "nation" (Festival of the Federation).
Since then the "nation" became almost the synonym of the "state". And this is why most of the world states (Concretely 192) are reunited in the “United Nations” since 1945. You might think that they could not be called the “United States”, because the name was already taken. But think that the precedent of the UN was the League of Nations (1920-1946). So there was no mistake. They could have called it The League of States but our politicians used deliberately the word "nation". In fact it was an idea of American President Woodrow Wilson who thought that every nation needed to have its own state (Principle of nationalities) a very lousy idea that brough directly World War II.
Why the French revolutionaries started using the word "nation". Simply because the state is a very boring organization. And if you want its citizens to be fond of it you need a powerful narrative: the national narrative. This is why you ar eso proud when your national team wins the world championship. Ypu feel kind of superior to the rest of nations that did not make it. It is psychological, because the nation is just an idea. "Nationality", "nation" and "nationalism" are all mere inventions. But they are moving narratives. And this is why they work.
2. A moving narrative
Being a native or national of a state has become determinant of
one’s identity, on a level with ethnicity, gender or physical or intellectual
characteristics. But it is not enough to be, legally, the "national" of a state. One also
has to believe in it, as articulated by John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) when he
argued that:
“A portion of mankind may
be said to constitute a nationality if they are united among themselves by
common sympathies which do not exist between them and any others –which make
them cooperate with each other more willingly than with other people, desire to
be under the same government, and desire that it should be government by
themselves, or a portion of themselves, exclusively”. (John Stuart
Mill (1861) Considerations on Representative Government. Beginning of Chapter
XVI).
Along this same line, the
French thinker Ernest Renan (1823-1892), at a speech he gave in Paris on March
11, 1882, advanced the idea that the nation is a "daily plebiscite" -
a popular consultation, in short, a referendum - on whether or not the heritage
of a long history of joint efforts should be preserved. The question is that if this plebiscite is rejected at some point, the nation ceases to exist:
“A nation is a soul, a
spiritual principle. Two things which, properly speaking, are really one and
the same constitute this soul, this spiritual principle. One is the past, the
other is the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of
memories; the other is present consent, the desire to live together, the desire
to continue to invest in the heritage that we have jointly received.” (Ernest
Renan, (1882) What Is a Nation? ).
As the nation is playing with our feelings, and our emotions it could be a good way of sticking us with our state. But it also could be a disaster, if being proud of your country degenerates in "nationalism". Charles de Gaulle made a difference between "patriotism", which means loving your country, and "nationalism" that imply "hating" all the other countries.
The idea of the nation is a
fluctuating and indeterminate one, as it appeals more to our emotions than to
our reason. George Orwell, as early as 1945, was extremely critical of
"nationalism", which, in his view, consisted of "the habit of assuming that human beings can
be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of
millions of people can be confidently labeled "good" or "bad."
But secondly -- and this is much more
important -- I mean the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or
other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than
that of advancing its interests". (ORWELL, Georges (2007) “Notes
on Nationalism” in G. Orwell The Collected Essays: Journalism and Letters of
George Orwell 4 vols. Boston MA: David R. Godine. Vol. 3, p. 361).
This is why a bad use of the idea of a nation has provoked so many wars.
3. A dangerous fiction:
Independentism, secession and war.
When a national narrative sustain the state's But problems arise when the national narrative of a state falters, because then other, alternative narratives often emerge. In fact, it is relatively common that some people would not be not comfortable as nationals of the state they live in, as they consider themselves members of a different "nation". These sentiments and struggles can range from mere grumbling, to massive demonstrations and activism, to outright violence and revolt. These nationalists (aka separatists, secessionists, regionalists) aspire to a "divorce" from their states, but invariably harbour plans to establish new states, which, ironically, are bound to be vulnerable to future movements to found, in turn, new ones.
Tensions and disconnects
between states and nations are as old as the hills, and have been at the root
of many wars. Most recently, the 20th century saw two devastating world wars
triggered by disgruntled nationalists, taking a gruesome toll of millions dead
and many more crippled for life.
4. The case of the last Balkan
War
Optimists might suggest that wars fuelled by nationalisms are a thing of the past. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Let's think of the clash between states and nationalisms that triggered the horrific Balkans War between 1991 and 1995.
Just
yesterday in historical terms. As the USSR ceased to exist, so did the Yugoslavian Federation led by Serbia (By the way Serbs started World War I).The serbs had a powerful army and they tried to submit the nations that wanted independence. It was a dreadful war. Let’s just remember how Serbs, Croats and
Bosnians did not hesitate to engage in horrendous processes of ethnic
cleansing, resulting in massive population displacements and, in some cases,
genuine massacres, such as the horrific genocide in Srebrenica, where between
July 13 and 22, 1995 the Serbian Colonel Bosnian Ratko Mladic, encouraged by
the President of the Serbian minority of the Republika Srpska of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Radovan Karazic, Ratko Mladic coldly ordered the shooting of 8,327
Muslim men, women and children.
5. The example of the Catalan
secessionist Movement
The example of Yugoslavia's
disintegration continues to constitute a point of reference and touchstone for
certain nationalist movements. Such is the case of Catalonia, whose former president,
the separatist Quim Torra, in December 2018 endorsed a declaration of war
on Spain to achieve independence via the "Slovenian route". Slovenia was the first state that became independent from the Yugoslavian Federation
Drawing parallels between Catalonian and Slovenian nationalism is problematic, however, to say the least. First, because in 1990 96% of Slovenians were for independence. In Catalonia public opinion is, in fact, almost evenly divided, and the partisans of independence are not the majority. Though at no time in its history has Catalonia been an independent nation-state, there is nothing wrong about it might become independent, if separatists manage to articulate the argument for independence in a compelling and persuasive way, offering an alternative to the narrative in which Catalonia forms, and ought to form, part of Spain, which, for the time being, has prevailed. Renan's permanent plebiscite (see above) is being won, for now, by those supporting the unity of the Spanish state. To employ Miguel de Unamuno words Catalan seccionist in order to win, one must first convince. And so far they have not convinced the majority of Catalans that "Paisos Catalans" exist.
The second problem with Catalonian independence is that in the second decade of the 21st century the entire European historical scenario has radically changed. The fall of the Berlin Wall, German unification, and the collapse of Europe's communist regimes favoured, in the early 1990s, an eastward expansion of the European Community, which at the start of the decade consisted of 12 members. Today things have changed substantially for European nationalisms struggling for their own states, as the prevailing sentiment is that the European Union has grown too much too fast, and that too many member states imperil its survival. Thus, some are floating the idea of a "two-speed Europe"; that is, one in which the countries of the South would be subject to a different regime than those of the North.
This why Brussels does not look favourably on a "Balkanization" of the EU, which would exacerbate the already serious difficulties involved in managing common affairs between 27 states without a strong European federal power. Under these conditions the EU is in no mood to endorse the independence of Catalonia.
6. The EU against secessionism in Member States
It is more than understandable that the EU does not want to open a Pandora's Box, encouraging other regions with strong identities to move towards secession. Belgium, for example, could very well be divided into two states: one Walloon and the other Flemish. In Italy, the Northern League would separate Padania from the country if it could, and South Tyrol could end up forming part of Austria again. Brittany and Corsica, emboldened by such secessions, might begin a struggle to break off from the République Française. Scotland, and perhaps Northern Ireland, could abandon from the United Kingdom, particularly in light of the fact that most of their people opposed Brexit. Then there is mighty Germany, where many inhabitants of the former East Germany still feel nostalgia (Ostalgie) for the communist-era GDR (1949-1990). In summary, in a Europe marked by such weak integration, "Balkanization" would most likely dynamite the European project.
It is no wonder, then, that the European Parliament, on November 26, 2020, rejected a proposal to recognize the right to self-determination within the fundamental rights report between 2018 and 2019 the European Union by an overwhelming majority. The motion was rejected by 487 votes against, 170 in favour and 37 abstentions The proposed amendment from MEP Diana Riba, of the Catalan independentists party ERC, called on the EU institutions and states to "respect and defend the right of peoples to self-determination as well as the cultures, identities, languages and all democratic and peaceful political ambitions of European peoples". But it did not work.
6. A Terrorist War for the
independence of the Basque Country
Fortunately, the fight for independence in Catalonia has not been violent so far, though it is generating increasing tensions and fanaticism on both sides. Nationalist feelings however caused much more pain in the Basque Country, as Basque separatism, believening in the reunion of the 5 Basque territories (2 in France and 3 in Spain, plus Navarre) spawned a terrorist war led by the terrorist organization ETA (1961-2011), which killed 829, wounded 3,000, and deeply scarred Spanish society, as ably described by Fernando Aramburu in Patria (2016).
We thought that wars caused nationalism were over -at least in Europe- until Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine the 24 of February of 2022.
7. Putin's Russia and European nationalist movements
It was clear that Putin helped the independence attempt in Catalonia, on October 1st, 2017. He is doing whatever he can to weaken a European Union that has become stronger and stronger with the ontegration of Eastern European countries that until 1990 were beyond the Iron Curtain.
But for understanding all this
mess we have to get back into the history of Russia since the dissolution of
the USSR in December 1991.
Since Putin came to power on
the 26 of March of 2000 his obsession has been to revert the disintegration of
the USSR in December 1991 affirming Russian strength in Chechenia (one of the
21 Republics integrated in the Russian Federation) against muslim majority, and
over the Western independent States that were integrated in the USSR, namely Georgia
(independent since 9 April 1991), Ukraine (independent since 24 August 1991),
the Republic of Moldavia (independent since 27 August 1991) and the Republic of
Belarus (Independent since 10 December 1991).
Remember that the USSR was
created by initiative of
Lenin on December 30, 1922 by four States: the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist
Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. It integrated 15 Republics. The main
one was the Russian Federalist Socialist Republic, but it was joined by 7 Western
Republics (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia, Moldavia, Ukraine and Belarus)
and 7 Eastern or Oriental Republics (Azerbajian, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
Armenia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan).
The USSR became an hegemonic superpower that almost controlled the world in the 20th century, especially after the end of World War II, and the beginning of Cold War on June 24, 1948 (until 12 May 1949) by the beginning of Berlin Blockade (as Stalin’s reaction against the implementation of the Marshall Plan of 1947, that led to the signature of the Treaty creating NATO on 4 April 1949.
The Cold War enabled to establish an Iron Curtain (according to Churchill’s expression) that enlarged soviet domination to Eastern Europe. Namely were under Soviet rule: Poland, Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania.
Officially the Soviet Union ceased to exist and was replaced by a Commonwealth of Independent States on December 8, 1991, with the signing of the Treaty of Belovezha (Belovezha Accords). They were signed by representatives of three of the States that on 1922 had constituted the USSR (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus). The Republic of Transcaucasia was missing.
But how the map of Europe changed because of the disappearance of the Iron curtain. As the USSR disappeared, the Eastern European countries that were under its influence became fully independent and ended joining the European Union
8. The integration of Eastern Europe in the EU project
9. EU members that came from the disintegration
of the Yugoslavian Federation
c) North Macedonia : (Independence from Yugoslavia: 8 September 1991) NATO member since 27 March 2020. Applied for EU membership on March 2004. Was granted candidate status on Decemeber 2005.
d) Montenegro: (Independence 22 October 2007) NATO member since 5 June 2017. Applied for EU membership on December 2008. Was granted candidate status on December 2010.
Concerning the disintegration of the USSR we have a whole new map of the area, because besides the Russian Federation we have 15 new independent states. 7 in the Western part of Russia and another 7 in the North Asian part.
a) The Russian Federation is integrated a complicated territorial structure, as it is integrated by different Federal subjects: Republics (21), Krais, Oblasts, cities of federal importance Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Sevastopol), autonomous oblasts, autonomous okrugs. . In 1993, the Russian Federation comprised 89 federal subjects. By 2008 the number of federal subjects had decreased to 83 because of several mergers. In 2014 after being annexed from Ukraine, Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea were announced as the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia, a move that was internationally unrecognized. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Four Ukrainian oblasts were annexed by Russia (Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts). This annexation is not internationally recognized.
The Russian Federation is still the largest country in the world with its 17,098,246 km2 (6,601,670 square miles), within internationally recognised borders. It is a transcontinental country between Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, divided by the line of the Ural mountains. Much bigger than the United States (9,833,520 km2 - 3,796,742 square miles) and China (9,596,961 km2 - 3,705,407 square miles) and more than 4 times the whole extension of the EU : European Union 4,422,773 km2 (1,707,642 square miles).
Of course the Soviet Union was
bigger with 22,402,200 km2 (8,649,500 square miles).
But of course the difference was the loss of 14 of the 15 Republics of the
former USSR. Namely:
b) Western former Soviet Republics.
Republic of Latvia (Independent in 4 May 1990) In NATO 29 March 2004. In EU 1st May 2004.
- Republic of
Esthonia (Independent in 8 May 1990). In
NATO 29 March 2004. In EU 1st May 2004.
- Republic of Lithuania (Independent in 11 March 1990). In NATO 10 March 2004. In EU 1st May 2004.
-
Ukraine (24
August 1991)
-
Republic of
Moldavia (27 August 1991)
-
Republic of
Belarus (10 December 1991)
c) Eastern (Oriental) former Soviet Republics:
-
Republic of
Uzbekistan (31 August 1991)
-
Republic of
Kyrgyzstan (31 August 1991)
-
Republic of
Tajikistan (9 September 1991)
-
Republic of
Armenia (21 September 1991)
-
Republic of
Azerbaijan (18 October 1991)
-
Republic of
Turmenistan (27 October 1991)
-
Republic of
Kazakhstan (16 December 1991)
The only exception of Western States disintegration
from Russia is Kaliningrad, (an
Oblast as Federal subject of the Russian Federation) on the Baltic Sea, the only
territory detached from the Russian Federation Originally it was a German
territory called Könisberg. It was
there that philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was born and lived all his
life. After the Nazi defeat Könisberg was occupied by the Red Army.
On 4 July 1946 the Soviet authorities renamed Königsberg to
Kaliningrad following the death on 3 June 1946 of the Chairman of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (titular head of state) of the USSR, from
1938 to his death in 1946 Mikhail Kalinin (1875-1946), one of the
original Bolsheviks. But under Stalin he was the nominal signatory of all
decrees, while in reality he rarely took part in government business.The
remaining German population of Königsberg was forcibly moved to Germany in
1946–1949, and the city was repopulated with Soviet citizens (as a part of the
agreement between the Allies and the Soviet Government). The city's language of
administration was changed from German to Russian. Since the dissolution
of the Soviet Union, it has been governed as the administrative centre of
Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, the westernmost oblast of Russia. 6
11. Nothing is quiet in the Western
Front
One of the most famous novels on
World War II was written by Erich Maria Von Remarque “All quiet in the Western
front” (Im Westen nicht Neues),
publilshed in 1929. An antibellicisit novel, from the German side, thet is the
defeated bloc. After the disappearance
of the USSR in 1991 and the access of Putin to power in 2000, the Russian
Federation is all except quiet in the Western front dealing with four of the independent
States that belonged to the USSR. That is: Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and
Moldovia. Because their territories are in the broder with the EU.
Belarus is dominated by pro Putin President Lukashenko, the head of State of Belarus since 20 July 1994. So here so far Putin has no trouble.
The Republic of Georgia in more problematic, as since its
independence in 1991 Russia has been trying to control through Separatists of
South Ossetia Autnomous Oblast and the secessionists of Abkhaz. Since Putin got
to power in 2000 there is agrowing pro western movement in Georgia and the
relationships with Russia have began to deteriorate. (By the way Stalin was
born in Georgia). On 1 August
2008, the Russian-backed South Ossetian forces started shelling Georgian villages,
with a sporadic response from Georgian peacekeepers in the area.
In the Republic of Moldovia
Putin is backing the secessionist movement in Transnitria. Actual Moldavian
Prime Minister Maia Sandu (since 24 December 2020) consider the Transnitria conflict an
artificial problem created in order to stop Moldova from gaining its
independence and that other former Soviet countries experienced the same thing.
Sandu also stated that Moldova is looking exclusively for a peaceful and
diplomatic solution in the Transnistria conflict.
Of course the biggest conflict now in this area is the Ukraine. Putin has been on alert since the Ukrainian pro Western Orange Revolution (2004-2005) started and Yulia Timoshenko was Ukraine Prime minister ((2007-2010). The pro Europe movement in Ukraine has been affirmed by Vlodomir Zelenski Ukranian President since 20 May 2019. By education he belonged to the Russian population of Ukraine, but as he did not accepted Russian interference he has become since February 2022 the symbol of Ukraine’s Nationalism. And this explains why on February 24, 2022 Russian troops invaded Ukraine trying to submit Ukraine to the Russian Federation as he already did with Crimea on 2014, and the subsequent Declaration of independence of its territory on 16 March of this year.
Only looking at the whole picture you will understand why the War
is so important for Putin. And it is going to be certainly a very long war. Concerning the EU one of the collateral effects of the war is that it is creating a compellin European narrative in which European
nations could for the first time since 1945 develop their own World policy, and
not only follow the US international interests. Europe would become an ally but
not be submitted to Washington interests. It is sad paradox, but thanks to Ukraine War the EU is having for the first time a powerful narrative that make its member states stay together with the same objective: survive in the 21st world.
HOW TO STUDY TEACHING GUIDE 1
Teaching Guide nr. 1 deals
with "The Origin of European Nations", pages 7 to 16 of your
Materials. Please read carefully the text (pages 8 to 13) and then proceed to
answer the Concrete questions, understand the Concepts, and answer the General
questions. If you have any doubts about any of these, please ask in
class.
As you see you have some dates
(Basic Chronology in page 14). The crucial ones are the following: 378, 395,
476, 496, 568, 573, Pope Gregory's Papacy (590-604) and 654. You should learn
them by heart as the first part of the exam consist on remembering crucial dates.
Some other important dates on
recent nationalists conflicts:
30 December 1922 Creation of the USSR.
1924 Death of Lenin
1936-1938 Moscow Trials
1939, 23 August
Moltov-Ribbentrop non aggression treaty.
1939, September: German and
Russian invasion of Poland.
1941, 22 June: German invasion
of Russia.
1942 23 August to 1943, 2
February Stalingrad’s Battle.
1948, 24 June Beginning of Berlin’s Blockade
1953, 2 March Stalin’s death.
1961 Basq Terrorist Movement starts its terrorist war against Spanish
State (Until 2011).
1989, 9 November Fall of the Berlin Wall
1991, 8 December Belovezha
Accords. Dissolution of the USSR.
1992, 7 February Maastricht Treaty. The EU starts 1st
November 1993.
1995, 13-22 July Srebrenica Massacre (Balkan War)
14 December: Dayton Agreement.
End of the Balkan War.
1996, 29 February End of Sarajevo’s Siege. (since April 5,
1992).
2000 Putin comes to power.
2004-2005 Orange revolution in Ukraine (pro
Western movement)
2007-2010
Yulia Timoshenko, pro Western Ukrainian Primer Minister.
2011 ETA basq terrorist movement stop the war
against Spanish State.
2017,
1st October Unilateral Independence referendum in Catalonia.
2019,
14 October: Catalan independentists leaders sentenced to jail.
2020,
26 November The European Parliament
refuses to consider self-determination a fundamental right.
2021,
June Spanish Government grants pardon to
catalan independentists leaders
2022,
24
February Begins Russian invasion of
Ukraine.
December: Spanish Government abolish crime of secession and eases the crime of
misappropriation of public funds. As they need the votes of Catalan Independentist
parties.
Topic for discussion in class:
- Do you think
that the concept of "nation" is still valid in our today's Global
world? Is it compatible with European integration? Is the EU a problem or a
solution for nationalistic conflicts within Europe?
Please consider the following
aspects:
1. What was the sense of the
word nation during the period of the Germanic kingdoms.
2. What were the
"national legal bodies" in the Germanic kingdoms. You have to
distinguish between the principle of personality of the Law and undertsand the
meaning of Territorial Law. Consider what happened in the Roman Empire in 212
AD with Roman citizenship and what was the situation after 476 AD.
3. What was the meaning of the
term "nation" in Medieval European Universities (FN 11 and 14).
4. How the term nation changed
in the 19th century according to authors like John Stuart Mill (FN 7) and
Ernest Renan (FN 8).
5. Look at George Orwell
distinction between "Nationalism" and "Patriotism" (FN
10).
6. Consider Geary's
position in the last paragraph (pages 12 and 13) abouth the political use
of the past to justify the "rethoric of nationalist leaders".
7. Consider if they are any
links between "racism" and "nationalism".
8. Be prepared to discuss in
class about the Catalan and Basq issues in contemporary Spain. You can also
think of Nationalist issues in the UK (After Brexit) or in Belgium.
And of course the Yugoslav Wars from 1991 to 2001.
9. Consider why Putin started
the Ukraine War on the context of the dissolution of the USSR and the situation
of the Russian Federation in the Worlde Order after 1991.
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