National Identities: Civic and Ethnic Elements

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Ethnic nationalism
Civic nationalism
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

Nationalism can be seen as a political movement whereby a nation can be fully defined in terms of its culture and ethnicity and the nation has the mandate to have an independent community. It’s argued that nationality defines a countries identity since it’s through nationality which is one of the most important aspects of one’s identity. People identify themselves with the countries they live in. The country we live in can define our identity as a member of that country legible to use the resources of that country among other resources. The concept of national identity can be studied from two perspectives that is, from the ethnic and civic perspectives. National identities are a result of historical processes.

Historically, national identities can depend on the structure and content of people’s opinions, the beliefs of the citizens of that country, and the attitudes of the citizens. The issue of national identities arose with the growth of the many nations and hence the need for national identities to be in a position to know these people and where they came from. (Brubaker, 1992)

The civic element in the study of national identity is one of the elements here. All national identities have the civic part which involves the citizen’s attitudes, beliefs, and feelings about their nation. For people to belong in one nation there is the need for a sense of belonging together in that nation. Nationalism makes people feel together and this is shown by the different groups we belong in that is, the different cultures we come from. It’s through these aspects, with the individuals, who make people feel, they belong to the national community. When we share similar characteristics with our fellow countrymen, then it means that we have a sense of belonging together.

This gives the inmate a view on being national. What makes me feel national? This question can be answered by identifying ourselves with the ethnic groups from which we come. For individuals to be truly national to their countries, the following aspects can be associated with their nationalism although it’s debatable, one has to be born in that country,(birth), one needs to have citizenship, one must have lived in that country most, almost all his/her life and has become resident of that country, when one is in a position to speak the countries dominant language, by religion in the sense that you belong in a dominant religion of that country when one respects the laws of that country and lastly when you feel you belong to that nationality. (Midimbi, 1997).

These elements of national identity affect national building and national unity. The form of identity which a country chooses will have an impact on the national building. For instance, when a government uses the civic form of national identity, it defines that, the citizens of that country have to fully participate for the wellbeing of that nation. If the citizens are willing and ready to contribute to the success of that nation, then the state can undertake that form of national identity. The ethnic nationalism, it’s different from the civic form of national identity since here, the citizens identify themselves from the various ethnic groups from which they come.

Although some small nations’ homogeneity may be traced back in history, most of them, France being the best-known example, was created by modern states. You find some communities do not have ethnic groups and only use one language like the Philippines and Somalia among other countries. As a result, these countries can not use the ethnic form of government since it’s based on ethnic groups with different languages and is forced to use the civic form of national identity. (Schulman, 2002).

Ethnic nationalism

People can identify themselves in terms of the different ethnic groups from which they come from. In these ethnic groups, it refers to the cultures which are shared by the particular groups which make them different from other groups. These people are bound by a common language, culture, and history. It’s in these ethnic groups where people see themselves as belonging together in one nation. Membership in a particular nation is seen to be hereditary, that is, when born into a particular ethnic group, it means that you have a full identity as far as the communities’ resources are concerned. It’s the role of the running government to ensure that these citizens are fully protected as members of that nation. (Hall, and Du Gay, 2001).

Most of the countries use ethnic identity to identify their citizens and it’s also used even in modern nations. Other countries identify their national identities in terms of geographical territory like the western countries. Many countries have many cultural groups which are scattered all over the country. The country normally uses these cultural groups to identify its citizens in addition to the geographical boundaries.

It is in these cultural groups whereby we are supposed to see ourselves as full members of that country whether born in that country or by registration to live in that country. It’s also by properly identifying ourselves that each member of that particular group is entitled to the full activities of that country. As citizens, we have the right over the countries resources, full participation in the government activities as far as making the varying decisions to improve our country, right to vote to which every person you want, freedom of movement, and freedom of speech among other activities. It’s also in these communities whereby we can get to know our origins and where we came from. It is in these communities whereby the residents fully participate in the growth of the nation by taking part in various activities.

For instance, our country is composed of so many ethnic groups with so many languages. It is then out of these groups that people identify themselves by the group they come from. Where territorial identities are weaker than the ethnic identities, then ethnic nations are likely to form but in case the territorial identities are stronger than the ethnic ones, mobilization for political and economic reform is usually weaker since their identities are not usually to form nearly as potent a base for the social movement emerging. (Hall, and Du Gay, 2001).

Civic nationalism

By civic nationalism, it refers to the form by which the state gets its political legitimacy, the active participation of its citizens. Civic nationalism is whereby one becomes a citizen of that state, irrespective of one’s culture, ethnic group, gender among others. As a result, one gets full participation in that country’s activity. One gets also civic rights like the right to vote irrespective of gender or ethnic group. It is nation-building that develops a civic nation and a civic society.

So to achieve nation-building, then the citizens of that country are supposed to work together towards building the nation to have a civic nation and a civic society where these people live. It depends on the people’s will to participate in the activities of that nation hence defining its identity. It’s also argued that membership to the nations is seen as voluntary unlike in ethnic nationalism. It’s by the people’s will to participate in the activities of that country that the nation is in a position to identify itself. (Schulman, 2002).

With civic nationalism, it has led to representatives democracies in most of the countries like in France whereby this form of national identity is used mostly. For example in France, France is one of the most richest and powerful nations in Europe. It is considered as the most urbanized country with communities over 2,000 which are urban and with most of its people above average. It also has 28 million inhabitants. Most of its land ranging from 250,000 square kilometers is under cultivation. As a result, France civic nationalism is widely used. You find that the nation is composed of those citizens who contribute to the growth of these economies.

The most active citizens and those who have ambitions to work in this country are given full identity and hence in a position to identify themselves as a citizen of this nation. So these citizens live to achieve this goal of fully contributing to the growth of the economy. This form of nationalist can be seen as a good form of national identity since it ensures that, all citizens of that country are actively involved in the economic activities of that country to have a national identity to that nation. The citizens of that country contribute to many activities of that country say, in sharing the countries resources, participating in activities like voting during the general elections, making decisions that lead to the growth of that country.

For civic nations to be successful then there is the need for a national unity whereby the citizens of that nation, live by the rules and regulations set by the ruling country. If national unity is not shown in this country, it will affect the civil nation and the civil society. So good orientation is supposed to be taught to the citizens in order no ensure that there is strong nationhood. Strong nationhood in the sense that there is national unity can be got by a well-drafted constitution with well-structured laws.

This constitution functions as a tool that binds the nations of that country together. It has laws that bind the citizens together, the laws also dictate the people’s relationships, defines also the activities of that country and how these activities ought to be done. Failure to do as per that constitution, you find that one is in a position to face the law.

Civil society is one of the most manifestations of those nations. Without nationality, states can not possess the needed preconditions to create a civil society. It is not in a position to have an effective constitution with set down laws that are supposed to be followed by the citizens of that nation. (Ignatieff, 1994).

Civil societies can also be affected when the dominant nation is divided. For example in Ukraine, a country that is unclear about its identity. This country doesn’t have a clear identity because of the political divisions, regional, and linguistics. These obstacles have led the country not to have a clear definition of its national identity since these obstacles have led to unified civil societies. So questions like civil society, national identity, and nationalism are vital in the post soviet modernization and the return to Europe of states such as Ukraine.

National unity and integration have played a central role in sustaining civil societies and generating mobilization. For one to be in a position to calculate the benefits and costs of collective action and to act strategically, one’s identity has to be identified. When creating identity, involves collective interaction that is between and within groups. Many sociologists have argued that nationalism is an occasional friend but not an eternal foe of civil society. (Schopflin, 2000).

Conclusion

National identity refers to the way a nation can identify itself from other nations as different. There are certain ways which are used by the different countries to identify themselves, some of which include, ethnic nationalism whereby a nation identifies itself by the cultural groups, language, and linguistics in that country, civic nationalism whereby the nation identifies itself by the willingness of its citizenship to actively participate in the economic activities of that country, pan nationalism which is usually ethnic and cultural but the nation itself is made up of a cluster of related ethnic groups and a good example is by the Turkic people which has this form of national identity.

Diaspora is also another form of national identity which refers to the nationalist feeling among a Diaspora and a good example is in the United States. A religious nationalist is defined by the nation’s shared religion along with other factors like culture, language, and ethnicity. These are some of the areas where nations and people can identify themselves as belonging to a particular nation. As a result, for national identity to occur there is the need for a nationhood and national unity must prevail in the states to properly identify them.

Reference

Hall, S. and Sarat, M. (2001). Modernity and Cultural difference.London.London Institute of International Visual Arts.

Midimbi, V. (1997). Nations, Identities and Cultures. Durham. Duke University Press.

Hall, S. and Du Gay, P. (2001). Questions of Cultural Identity. London. Sage.

Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and Nationalism. Oxford, Basil Blackwell.

Brubaker, R. (1992). Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press.

Yack, B. (1996). The Myth of the Civic Nation. Critical Review, vol. 10, pp. 193.

Schulman, S. (2002). Challenging the Ethnic/Civic and West/East Dichotomies in the Study of Nationalism. Comparative Political Studies, vol. 35, no. 5.

Ignatieff, M. (1994). Blood and Belonging. Journeys into the New Nationalism, London. Vintage.

Schopflin, G. (2000). Nations, Identity, Power. The New Politics of Europe. London. Hurst.

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