Category: Nationalism

Introduction

According to Cox (213), nationalism can be defined as “A sense of identity perceived by people who share a common language, territory, culture, tradition, and, sometimes, religion or race”. In comparing patriotism with nationalism, nationalism looks to be more modern and offers an important connection among individuals than patriotism. In patriotism, there is only a restricted connection between people and in most cases, this occurs during the time of a calamity. Nationalism falls into two groups. The first category is the “ethnic nationalism” that considers a nation as an extended kinship group and puts much emphasis on the significance of a uniform “high and low” culture. The second category is “Political Nationalism” which considers the nation as a political group that is bound together by the same desires and governmental inclinations.

The rising of nationalism at the time when the period of the late 1700s was coming to a close is associated with the multiplication of the thought of well-liked independence. This desire underlies a great deal of contemporary democratic reasoning, even though national states are in most cases founded on esteem for suitable course and toleration of rivaling interests as in democratic systems. When nationalism moves from the sphere of individual identity and turns out to be a political force, it normally targets at becoming self-determined to bring about the national state where it is independent and dominates within its boundaries. In spite of coming up with a global economy and strong corporations operating in several nations, nationalism has maintained its status as among the strongest forces in global dealings.

Serbian History and Factors That Led to the Rise of Its Nationalism

According to Kalt (2), based on the history of Serbia, Kosovo was not just the center of worldly Serbian medieval state but was residence to the Serbian Orthodox Church as well. This church was a religious center for the Empire of Serbia that was established in later times during the climax of the power of Serbia in the mid-fourteenth century. The Turks fought Serbia in a determining war of Kosovo during the year 1389 and by the time the year 1455 set in, the Ottoman Empire had dominated Kosovo. Four years after that, the entire ‘Territory of Northern Serbia’ had as well been taken over by the Ottoman Empire. The people of Serbia witnessed Kosovo, the supporter of their empire which had at one point been arrogantly dominated by Muslims and were then under full control of the Ottomans for almost four hundred years. The thought of the defeated war of Kosovo together with the sense of past grievance that accompanied it has from that time been lifted to mythic rank closely mingled with the national recognition of Serbia and up to the present is still significant in the history of Serbian.

The history of nationalist Serbia indicates that, while under the power of the Ottomans, most of the Serbian people went first to war with Hungary and later on in time, together with the Austrian people, fought in several wars with their similar foe, the Ottomans of Turkey. Nevertheless, whenever there was a restoration of peace, the defiant Serbian people time and again sought mercy to Turkish revenge. They paid a sufferer’s cost for fighting. Overwhelmed by warfare and worsening handling, the Serbian Orthodox Christians started to leave Kosovo during the 1500s and 1600s. Together with the War of Kosovo, the other injustice adorned on the Serbian consciousness was the “Great Migration”. This was the migration in which the Serbian people were forced to move out of Kosovo at once. It occurred in the year 1960 and involved the movement of the Serbian people in Austria. Kosovo experienced variation in population together with Metohija. The Serbian people encountered more trouble with the period that followed. The stay of the Albanian people together with the stay of the people of Serbia exposed them to even more troubles (Batakovic 8). After being for a short time under the power of Austria in the Great War that occurred from the year 1683 and 1699, one Patriarch of Serbia who was in fear of the revenge of Ottoman for the contribution of Serbia in the war took lead in moving 37000 families from Kosovo to Hungary. More migrations took place during the 1700s but still, the greater part of Kosovo remained Serbian, to independent Serb-controlled Belgrade.

The recurrence of hostility went on in the year 1766 at the time Ottoman leaders banned the “Serbian Orthodox patriarchate of pec” and started taxing all the people who were not Muslims. However, in the year 1815, there were uprisings of Serbia in a position to acquire some restricted independence from the Ottoman Empire. By the year 1871, with the exhibition of symptoms of falling of the Ottoman Empire, elated Serbia started to consider taking over once again Kosovo and the remaining old Serbia. The Serbian people had as well been forcing the Albanians out he Southern Serbia and by the time the 1800s came to a close, the migration of the Albanians to Kosovo which was said to have been enhanced by the Ottomans to make the Serbs lose ground, coupled with the moving out of the Serbians had transformed the image of Kosovo; Albanians had turned out to be the majority. With speed, the Albanians became doubtful of the building up Serbian menace and fright that the lands that they were living in would be shared among Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria, elated a rise Albanian nationalism.

The Ottoman weakness came to be known as it had never been known in the past times during the Russo-Turkish War that occurred from the year 1877 up to the year 1878. In the year 1878, Ottomans came to a consensus to make peace at the Berlin congress, with the Kosovska and Pristina Mitrovica cities under the power of Serbia and not within the jurisdiction of ottoman, but the rest of Kosovo was still under Ottoman power. After very many years of subjugation, the Serbian police that had been freshly empowered together with the troops were more than willing to pay back the favor to the Albanians, whom they had seen as being in association with the Ottomans. The cruel Serbian people’s treatment of the Albanian people hastened the establishment of the “League of Prizren” during the year 1878 and this was the representation of the rejection of the Berlin Congress and refusal of the Serbian rule. This league targeted to bring together the four vilayets that were occupied by the Albanian people into a single independent Albanian area. Other than their political superiority, the Serbian people still formed about 40 percent of the Kosovo population, and together with other Slav and Turks, they were in a position to offer opposition to the unification. The change in population component to greater part Albanian Muslim and the jurisdictional splitting up of Kosovo, as well as the existence of long term hostility and inter-ethnic conflict, served to make greater the nationalism of Serbia and Albania in Kosovo at the start of the 1900s.

While the power of the Ottoman went down, other powers realized this and the “Eastern question” concerning the uprightness of the empire of Ottoman was pronounced. Russia desired to occupy the Mediterranean. As a consequence, it pursued the “Pan-Slavic foreign policy” giving support to Serbia and Bulgaria. Britain was not in a position to accept such access and thus gave support to the empire of Ottoman but as this empire became weaker and weaker, Britain alternatively shifted its support to Greece as the other prospective safeguard against the extension of Russia. Anxiety came up in Austria-Hungary where the anarchy lost by the falling of the Ottoman Empire would put in too much threat to its ruling leaders and instill more confidence in Serbia. After many years of suppression, Serbia became more than willing to look for its own revenge against the Ottomans.

The low-profile war erupted during the year 1904 between groups from Bulgaria and Greece and the Ottomans in Macedonia. The “Young Turk revolution” came up in 1908. In this revolution, the disturbed provinces of Europe brought back parliament that had earlier on been put off in the year 1878 by the Sultan and in the time being uplifted hopes of having a parliament that could represent many ethnic groups (Anonymous: Young Turk Revolution, 1). These hopes were cleared away at the time more uncompromising nationalist elements took over the movement’s control. Following the chaos in the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary utilized the chance to take over the Ottoman province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbia, as well as Montenegro, coveted this province of Bosnia-Herzegovina (Anonymous: Nationalism, 8). Bulgaria and Montenegro went the same way and announced themselves to be absolutely independent. Serbia seeking to take advantage as well, took interest in their former territories Kosovo being among them.

The changes in power that resulted from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the consequent freshly elated Balkan nations, at last, brought about the Balkan wars that occurred in the years 1912 and 1913. Towards the end of the year 1912, a greater part of Kosovo was under Serbia and the Balkan League which comprised Greece, Montenegro, and Bulgaria (Claudia & Corinne 4). At the same time, the Metohija (Kosovo’s western region), was under the Montenegro Kingdom. It was now the local Albanians that massively moved out while the Serbian people put in place plans to colonize Kosovo once again. The Serbian people were moving in to bring about a balance between the population of the Serbian people and the Albanian people. In the current times, the Albanian people still remember the cruel Serbian treatment at the time of recolonization. The First World War broke out in the year 1914 and in the year 1916, in what came to be known as “The great Serbian Retreat”, the Serbian army deserted Kosovo but pressed back into power by 1918 to establish the kingdom of Serbs, Slovenes, and Croats at the end of the First World War (Kalt 5).

According to Anonymous (Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire 25), “The Serbian national movement represents one of the first examples of successful national resistance against the Ottoman rule.” According to this author, the Serbian national movement climaxed in two huge uprisings at the time when the nineteenth century was starting resulting in the nation getting liberated and in turn establishing the modern Serbian state. Among the major movement’s centers was the “Belgrade Pashaluk” and this turned out to be the heart of the national state of Serbia that had been established once again.

Several factors led to the rise of this state. On top of the total, the center of the nation’s identity was preserved in the form of the “Serbian Orthodox Church” that was maintained in one shape or the other independent all through the time of Ottoman occupation. After the Ottoman control had been established in Balkan Peninsula, the nation of Serbia stayed united basically by the church’s bonds. The church was the heart of the community and at the same time the community’s unshakable leader (Jelavich 144). The devotion to Orthodox Christianity is, at the present, still regarded to be a significant aspect of cultural self-determination. More so, Montenegro’s principality, which was at that time regarded to be a fundamental component of the overall body of the Serbia nation, never got absolute suppression from the Ottomans. These entities maintained the connections with the “Medieval Kingdom of Serbia” holding the initiative of national freedom alive.

The other factors originated from the political events within the region at the time of Ottoman rule, especially during the eighteenth and the seventeenth century. According to Anonymous (Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire 27), “ At the turn of the nineteenth century the region of Belgrade Pashaluk had a relatively recent experience of Austrian rule, as a result of “Treaty of Passarowitz.” Even if Serbia’s northern territory was taken back to the rule of Ottoman basing on the Belgrade Treaty, this region experienced war in the course of the eighteenth century. Consequently, there was no establishment of complete feudal order within Belgrade Pashaluk by the Ottomans. Peasants that were free and having minute pieces of land comprised the major part of the population. More so, the potential leaders that had to emerge in time to come to deal in armed rebellions acquired much experience in military service having served in the irregular troops of Austria known as Freikorps. The closeness of the border of Austria gave a good chance of acquiring vital military material. The leaders in the nation of Siberia had a chance of relying on the support of the Serbian people who were staying and having a prosperous life in the Austrian empire in terms of finances and logistics.

Another factor that is also connected to the rising of Serbian nationalism is the epic culture such as epic poetry. The Serbs narrated the deeds of heroism and military merits that were followed by the Serbian people and played a major role in strengthening the military tradition of the Serbs. This poetry along with the Church of Serbia and the faith of the Serbian people were the bases on which the nationalism awareness was build (Pappas 29).

The instant reason for the onset of the “First Serbian Uprising” was the poor management of the region by traitor “Janissary” troops that were able to take power in Belgrade. Nevertheless, through the motivation of the original success, the rebellion intensified with speed to a complete war of liberating the nation with a well-defined goal of spreading armed effort to other Ottoman areas occupied by the Serbian people. However, even if this struggle did not succeed in the end, the “First Siberian Uprising” served as an avenue to the “Second Serbian Uprising” that occurred in the year 1815 that was ultimately successful.

The Serbia nation that was brought back to life would in the end turn out to be a center of rebellion to Ottomans, offering active support to freedom movements in the adjacent Christian lands which consisted of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Bosnia. This nation would continue to engage in a sequence of wars that turned out to be successful against the empire of Ottoman and the climax being the result of the “First Balkan War” that occurred in the year 1912.

Conclusion

In summary, the main factors that led to the rise of Serbian nationalism included autonomy, the church, migration and emigration, the epic culture and armed confrontation and military service.

The issue of military service and armed confrontation gave way for the expression of the military strength and ability of the Serbian people and this gave them the capability to uphold a measure of civil freedom, privileges, and autonomy from the empires that subjugated them.

The issue of autonomy involved those conditions which instilled in the Serbian people a mind the possibility of acquiring self-government regardless of how worse the situation could turn out to be. The kinds of autonomy that varied from one area to the other lessened the impact of foreign control.

The issue of migration and emigration enabled the Serbian people to refuge from war and its outcomes. It also offered fresh opportunities for military service, land to cultivate, and entry into other fields of opportunity such as trade.

The epic culture such as the epic poetry and the church helped in retaining the identity in terms of history and religion in the epoch that followed Kosovo. The church played a role in instilling in people the faith of national belonging that was independent and of its own kind not just from the Ottoman Islam and the Habsburgs’ Catholicism but from the Orthodoxy that was followed by the Bulgarians, the people of Greece among other Christians. The epic poetry maintained a sense of history among the Serbian people in an epoch during which literacy and the ability to keep records that were written could not be easily found. For instance, according to Etty (4), the Serbian people were inspired by poetry; “idealizing the Orthodox peasant lifestyle and glorifying the Battle of Kosovo and bolstered by Russian assistance, “they were able to attain freedom from Turkey in the year 1815.

These factors that contributed to the rise of Serbian nationalism were very closely related. Each factor was influenced by the other. For instance, military service and armed resistance aided in the establishment of self-governing institutions and also influence migration and emigration.

Works Cited

Anonymous. “Nationalism”. Unpublished, 2009. Web.

Anonymous. “Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire”. AbsoluteAstronomy.com. 2009. Web.

Anonymous. “Young Turk Revolution”. AbsoluteAstronomy.com, 2009. Web.

Batakovic T. Dusan. “Kosovo and Metohija under the Turkish Rule”. Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren, 2009. Web.

Claudia and Corinne. “Serbia and Balkans: Early 20^th Century”. Unpublished, 2009. Web.

Cox K. John. “The history of Siberia”. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN: 0313312907, 9780313312908. 2009. Web.

Etty John. “Serbian Nationalism and the Great War”. Britannica, 2009. Web.

Jelavich Charles. “Some aspects of Serbian religious development in the eighteenth century.” University of Illinois Press, 2009. Web.

Kalt Eric Benjamin. “Kosovo: At the Fringe of Empires,” Zen Diplomat, 2009. Web.

Pappas C. Nicholas. “Serbian Survival in the years after Kosovo”. Deremilitari, 2009.

Introduction

Nationalism is a prominent topic in postcolonial discourse because of its close association with the concept of a colony as opposed to a country. As colonial empires ceased to exist and their former domains achieved independence, they attempted to unify around the idea of the state, introducing nationalism for the purpose. However, numerous issues emerged due to this approach, which may have contributed to the struggling development of some of these nations. Moreover, postcolonial narratives frequently discuss cultural differences and the inadequacy of the Western understanding of society and politics for describing the situations of other countries. As such, the school of thought also challenges the notion that Western nationalism is the sole form of the phenomenon. This essay will discuss the dangers of nationalism, as seen from the postcolonial perspective, as well as the answers to the issue that it proposes.

Postcolonialism and the History of Nationalism

It is generally accepted in historical theory that the East and the West have developed substantially differently, with diverging cultures, political systems, and systems of social interaction. However, various developments enabled the West to take a dominant position in the world’s structure throughout the colonial era and much of the period that followed. This position of power has led to the emergence of the idea of the West’s superiority in various social developments. However, according to Seth (2019), postcolonialism challenges both the conception of a fundamental difference that makes the West superior and the idea that developing nations have not yet advanced enough to embrace the Western model. Instead, the claim put forward in postcolonial thought is that non-Western countries have formulated unique ways of perceiving the world that is as viable as those used in the West.

The proposition would imply that it is inappropriate to view the development of non-Western nations through the scope of Western history. As a result, the Western notion of nationalism would not necessarily apply, either, and the term has to be defined within the confines of the local culture. Inuconda (2019) provides the example of India, which has developed nationalistic tendencies in the private sphere rather than the public one, as is generally the case in the West. In Indian society, the members of the lower societal tiers wanted to increase their involvement in the nation’s governance, which they saw as being disproportionately controlled by the upper castes. As a result, the concept of a shared identity that is often used by governments in Western systems as a part of nationalistic discourse was weakened, though it was prominent among citizens.

The Dangers of Nationalism in Former Colonies

As the desire for independence in various colonies increased, their populations often unified in the effort to reach that goal. As such, they entered their postcolonial period as unified bodies based on the conception of the nation, which naturally fostered nationalistic tendencies that were patterned after the Western model. As Sadiq (2017) explains, they used the jus soli conception of citizenship, providing rights to anyone born on the colony’s soil regardless of ethnicity. However, this concept was only sustainable when the people of the newly formed nations were focused on their former sovereign. As their attention shifted to internal issues, the significant differences between the different ethnicities that were present in the territory of the former colony became apparent.

When colonial nations divided territories into their new possessions, they were generally unconcerned with the ethnicities that lived there. Postcolonial societies typically followed this distribution, and, as a result, members of many societal groups formed countries together. As a result, when different political bodies mobilized ethnicity in their attempts to obtain power, the nationalism that emerged in these nations became characterized by conflicts and xenophobia, both against the white natives and other local groups (Cornelissen, Cheru, & Shaw, 2016). Various damaging events and political systems, such as the apartheid in South Africa, emerged as the result of ethnic and racial conflicts. These issues can be attributed to the focus on the national idea without a resolution for the underlying disputes. As such, nationalism can be seen as dangerous for postcolonial nations due to its tendency to shift attention away from important issues and let them develop unchecked.

Postcolonialism and Cosmopolitanism

A logical solution for the issue presented above would be for the various communities that lived on the territory of the colony to address their differences and find a unifying factor before achieving independence. On a broader scale, the same ideas would apply worldwide, with nationalism being a dangerous ideology that promotes conflict instead of achieving positive results. The alternative would be cosmopolitanism or the idea that people and the relations between them should be at the center of the worldwide society rather than different states. It is possible to find postcolonial scholars such as Spencer (2017) that explicitly support and promote it. They encourage the reduction in the importance of the nation through increases in the power of supranational institutions. In this case, the ultimate goal is to establish a worldwide network of solidarity between individuals and societies.

However, not all postcolonial researchers believe that the world is moving toward a universal cosmopolitan framework or supporting such a transition. Miller and Ury (2016) provide the example of Professor Pheng Cheah, who has posited that emerging cosmopolitanism exists alongside a new model of postcolonial nationalism. In such a framework, the nation-state still exists and opposes global capitalism, the nation prevents its subordination to the same system, and cosmopolitanism negates state authoritarianism and national unification (Katz, 2018). As a result, the state contributes to global progress while still protecting its autonomy to some degree. This conception alleviates some of the concerns about globalization and cosmopolitan society, such as the concentration of power worldwide in the hands of a small wealthy minority and the loss of diversity. As such, nationalism may continue to exist and become a beneficial force in the postcolonial narrative despite its problems.

Conclusion

The postcolonial school of thought identifies several issues in nationalism that make it a dangerous force. The Western perception of nationalism may be a part of a broader culture-specific view, and its extrapolations to other cultures may lead to significant misinterpretations. India, in particular, appears to have followed a pattern of nationalism that diverges from the definitions generally used in Western political discourse. Additionally, the application of the Western, state-centric nationalism model led to ethnic conflicts and the emergence of xenophobic cultures, and severe social issues in many former colonies. Postcolonial thought posits that such events are necessary parts of nationalism that will eventually lead to the disappearance of the practice. However, some scholars suggest a different possibility, in which the ideology will adapt to become a positive force that exists alongside cosmopolitanism and limits its harmful expressions.

References

1. Cornelissen, S., Cheru, F., & Shaw, T. M. (eds.). (2016). Africa and international relations in the 21st century. Basingstoke, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
2. Inukonda, S. (2019). Media, nationalism and globalization: The Telangana movement and Indian politics. New York, NY: Routledge.
3. Miller, M. L., & Ury, S. (eds.) (2016). Cosmopolitanism, nationalism and the Jews of East Central Europe. New York, NY: Routledge.
4. Sadiq. K. (2017). Postcolonial citizenship. In A. Shachar, R. Baubock, I. Bloemraad, & M. Vink (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of citizenship (pp. 178-199). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
5. Seth, S. (2019). Postcolonialism and the history of post-colonial nationalism. In S. Berger & E. Storm (Eds.), Writing the history of nationalism (pp. 171-190). London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.
6. Spencer, R. (2017). Whose cosmopolitanism? Postcolonial criticism and the realities of neocolonial power. In N. G. Schiller & A. Irving (Eds.), Whose cosmopolitanism? Critical perspectives, relationalities and discontents (pp. 37-40). Oxford, United Kingdom: Berghahn Books.
7. Katz, A. (2018). Postmodernism and the politics of ‘culture’. Abingdon-on-Thames, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.

Introduction

Whether the nation state is of any more importance as compared to supranational organisations remains an intriguing question. Ralston Saul, the author of ‘The Collapse of Globalism and the Reinvention of the World’, as well as Ronkainen Czinkota, Sutton-Brady, and Beal, the authors of ‘International Marketing: Asia Pacific Edition’ come in handy to provide a clear-cut distinction between the two in terms of their importance. Examples of nation states include Japan, Portugal, and Iceland.

On the other hand, supranational organisations involve all the Non-Governmental Organisations, Inter-Governmental Organisations characterised by treaties signed by each member state, collective decision making, and a committee body elected by each member state (Demirpolat, 2009, p.98).

Examples of such organisations are the United Nations, World Bank, Common Wealth, African Union, European Union, and World Health Organisation amongst others. They, too, have their own pros and cons. Though the paper so far is silent in terms of the pertinence of the two, it argues out that the nation state is not as important as supranational organisations.

Why not go for the Nation State

Loose of sovereignty

Sovereignty is “the quality of having supreme independent authority over a geographic area such as a territory” (Alenikoff, 2004, p.1997). It is the power of a state to rule and make laws. Arguing against the nation state, Saul criticises the sovereign states like the US referring them to as “confused empires…suffering from negative nationalism” (2005, Chap. 25). The world is constantly changing daily. New forms of technology are being introduced each day in the markets.

This is posing a very great challenge to the nation state, as it has to change constantly with the other people outside its territory. This forces the nation states to join other states to form supranational organisations in order to conduct trade with them. In agreement with Saul, Mukherjee shows the importance of unity among the UN member states.

According to Mukherjee, all the 191 nations who are members of the United Nations had agreed “…to work together towards the achievement of a set of health and development goals by 2015” (Mukheerjee, 2010, p.593: Alenikoff, 2004, p.1997). They also agreed to work together to fight the challenges faced in the individual states

Internal friction

A nation state can have two different communities in a territory as it is in Rwanda in Africa where there is Hutu and Tutsis communities. In relation to this, Saul relates the nation state to an “Oligarchic giant that squeezes out the less competent or wealthy countries from having an equal role on the world stage” (2005, Chap. 26). Some countries have “different religious groups with different beliefs and practices” (Chatfield, 1989, p.314).

According to Hepburn and McLoughlin, religious or ethno-national cleavage in Northern Ireland that has resulted in violent inter- ethnic conflicts (2011, p.384). Since such groups usually have different number of people, there are minority and majority groups. Majority groups often marginalise the minority culture groups, a situation known as internal friction that Saul addresses as ‘squeezing’.

This can cause conflicts among the people, which can result into internal war. A good example is the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1991 leaving over half million people dead. According to the UN reports, the genocide in Rwanda happened when the Hutu started slaughtering the minority Tutsis leaving about 800,000 people dead.

Difficult in migration

In the nation state, the issue of globalism, as Saul says, “…has indeed failed thereby failing people as well” (2005, Chap.26). People in these states do not bother to follow them. Saul addresses this as lack of democracy in the nation state. He says this has “Weakened the nation-state through the idea of inevitable international forces” (Saul, 2005, Cha. 27). This in turn raises the number of illegal migrations, which in turn increases crimes like robbery, rape and drug abuse.

According to the article by Lomsky-Feder, global orientation is a process aiming at reducing migration costs and removing barriers among the states of the world (Lomsky, 2011, p. 593). He further argues that this can only be achieved through international unity. In other countries, to acquire migration documents is very expensive and many people in such countries cannot afford. Migration is discouraged barring “people from moving freely from one country to another” (Chatfield, 1989, p.314).

Conflicts with the opposing groups

Nation states tend to get opposing challenges from the supranational organisations. Not all countries may have all the resources required by a state to live independently. Saul comes with the subject of “Public good” (2005, Cha. 25) as a key goal that the nation state do not uphold. Others need advice and other financial materials. Hence, they have to collaborate with other countries. This forces this state to join international organisations in order to do business and trade with other countries.

Lomsky asserts that ‘global citizen’ competes with more traditional prototype of the ‘national citizen’, which is primarily identified with the nation state system, but the ‘global citizen’ is winning (Lomsky, 2011, p.593). All the nation states are currently getting opposing conflicts from supranational organisations, and it may cause their distinction soon. Nationalism is currently being replaced by supranational organisations!

Soon and soon, each country will have to join the other countries in globalisation. Finally, the whole world will be like one small village maybe with one president. This, as Saul predicts, is the “Free-trade paradise where the inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth” (2005, Chap.28).

Vilification of globalism

Those for the idea of globalism have declared nation states as “heading toward irrelevance: that economics, not politics or arms, would determine the course of human events; that growth in international trade would foster prosperous markets that would, in turn abolish poverty and change dictatorships into democracies” (Saul, 2005, Chap. 29).

The world is currently changing. Every person living today will have no choice but to change with it. When one goes to Rome, he/she should behave like Romans. Currently new scientific methods and machines are being invented. Human beings have to adopt those methods for better living conditions. Burgess argues in his journal that European countries are currently accepting changes from nationalism to supranational organisational systems.

This has resulted to the creation of European Union (Burgess, 2011, p.9). He also argues that people “must therefore abandon the forms of the past and enter the path of transformation, both by creating common basic economic conditions and by setting up new authorities accepted by the sovereign nations” (Burgess, 2011, p.14).

Concurring with Saul, he argues that Europe should rediscover the leading role she used to play in the world, which she lost due to division of its states. Globalism and change go together. Globalism is like a policy that places the interests of the entire world above those of individual nations. Nationalism, Saul says, tends to vilify globalism hence making it infamous (2005, Chap. 25). It tends to malign the idea of globalisation.

Increased corruption cases

In the countries, which practice the nation state systems, there is a large number of corruption cases. In fact, Saul criticises the nation states based on their rampant cases of corruption involving money. “You can always tell you’re in deep trouble when people start thinking money’s real” (Saul, 2005, Chap. 23: Bekus, 2010, p.389).

This is the trouble faced by nation states. Having in mind that supranational organisations help to fight corruption, these countries lack pressures from such organisation as the United Nations, which help their members to fight corruption. Wilding argues that, presently, there is increased sense of the global nature of many problems, which can only be dealt by interacting with other states (2009, p.736). He also says that these problems cannot be solved by one nation.

Rather, they require action at higher, transnational or even global level. Problems as increased corruption cases have a negative impact on the lives of their citizens. The minorities live in very poor living conditions while government officials live like kings. Alexander asserts that leaders in nation states have raised the corruption rates while seeking for national dependency (2010, p.868).

Why supranational organisations are Important

Economic Importance

Czinkota et al, the authors of ‘International Marketing: Asia Pacific Edition, second Edition’ come in handy in favor of supranational organisations: the stance of the paper. Nations, which have joined hands with other nations to form supranational organisations, get economic benefits. These benefits include trade conducted by the member countries that Czinkota et al (2011, p.23) refers to as ‘international marketing’.

Supranational organisations are international organisations formed by a conjunction of several states. The member countries form intergovernmental organisations, which set rules and regulations by which the trade within these countries should be carried. The cost of the importation of goods is reduced and this in turn boosts the trade between these countries. The international trade has reduced poverty in the member states.

Economic growth is the only result, as Czinkota et al points out based on the increase in the amount of goods and services which are produced by a country, a state, a nation or any economy (2011, p.28). The free trade pact policy in supranational organisations such the UN, the EU and the AU has boosted trade in its members.

Development of member states

Supranational organisations enhance international relations between their member states. In fact, Czinkota et al “focuses on Australian and New Zealand firms looking outwards, principally but not exclusively towards the Asia–Pacific region, as this is the major focus of their international business activities” (2011, p.45). Development can be in many forms. It can be inform of international relations or the physical developments.

Development is a significant event or occurrence that causes change, growth or advancement. It is evolution, progress or expansion in a country or the whole world. Physical development includes urban settings, infrastructure and technology while international relations include intergovernmental friendships or any other relations between two or more states (Hill, 2003, p.56). They also advance common interests of the member countries as well as the common good for the humanity.

They provide financial, technical and humanitarian assistance to the member countries (Czinkota et al, 2011, p.65). This in turn increases the rate of development in such countries. Countries borrow ideas from each other. Ideas of urban planning are passed from one country to another. This is why most urban cities in the world are identical.

These organisations cause development of infrastructure in their member countries. Infrastructure “helps determine the success of manufacturing and agricultural activities. Investments in water, sanitation, energy, housing and transport” (Jan, 2003, p.26), which are parts of infrastructure also improve lives and help to reduce poverty. Information and communication technology that is highly employed in supranational organisations, promote growth; improve delivery of health and other services.

In line with this claim, “European institutions, networks and lobbying organisations have provided an ‘opportunity structure’ for sub-state actors, and European integration has opened up new possibilities to pursue territorial interests that were once ‘closed’ by the expansion of the nation state” (Hepburn, & McLoughlin, 2011, p.385). They also expand the reach of education and support social and cultural advances.

Interaction and intermarriages

Supranational organisations make interaction possible among the people of their member states. This in turn causes intermarriages across the states.

Hence, people live in harmony. Intermarriages improve unity and togetherness of these people and probability of war and conflict eruption is reduced to a very low level (Culcasi, 2011, p.302). Intermarriages also make the chances of war and chaos among the people minimal. This also improves trade among the people thus favoring the continuity of supranational organisations, as opposed to the nation state.

Free movement across the states

Supranational organisations usually encourage the movement of people from one country to another. Migration becomes possible. A person is authorised to carry business in any country if it is a member of a certain organisation. Somek asserts that free movement within the EU states is likely to enhance trade thus increasing the living conditions of Europeans (2010, p.322). He also argues that the World can achieve homogeneity by joining one supranational organisation (p.329).

The cost of acquiring documents such as visas or passports is lowered encouraging migration and trade. In organisations like the EU, all people in these states have the right to travel, work, study, and live in any member countries of the organisation. People have the opportunity to vote in the member state where they live and stand as candidates in both local and international elections.

Employment opportunities

Job opportunities have been one of the greatest challenges faced by the whole world today. Supranational organisations usually play a great role in the creation of job opportunities. The presence of these organisations should be encouraged to counterfeit these challenges.

How do they create job opportunities? This is a question, which many people have repeatedly asked themselves. Free trade pacts between these countries increase the trade conducted within the organisations (Czinkota et al, 2011, p.65). This creates many job opportunities. Workers are needed to deal with transportation of goods from one place to another, from one market to another. People are needed to administer services to customers.

Due to developments in infrastructure, job opportunities are created, as a people are needed in construction of roads and rails Wilding, 2009, p.59). These supranational organisations also need workers for them to function properly. They need clerks, secretaries, financial advisers, directors, and administrators for them to be efficient.

Large markets

Supranational organisations are usually international organisations. The presence of many states in these organisations provides a very large market to trade of their goods and services (Czinkota et al, 2011, p.75). These markets in turn increase trade in the member states increasing the economy of the respective country.

The price in the international market is common as multi-national political communities decide it. World Trade Organisation has helped to reduce tariffs on manufactured goods, elimination of non-tariff barriers to international trade besides acting as arbitrator in case of trade disputes between member states.

Enhancement of safety and peace

International organisations have played a great role in ensuring safety in most parts of this world. For example, the EU countries have worked together to make the world a safer place by handling such common problems such as safety of nuclear energy, long-term employment, development of rural areas and integration of young people into working life (Lomsky-Feder, 2011, p.56).

The United Nations has played a major role in enhancing world’s safety by; one, stopping the Iran and Iraq’s war in 1988, secondly by stopping the India and Pakistan’s conflicts and also by providing humanitarian assistance in member countries when in need. The United Nations also ended the civil wars in Mozambique, Namibia, Cambodia, and Haiti.

Financial support

International organisations have always provided financial support to their member states. Organisations like Red Cross, World Bank, WHO, and the UN have been giving loans to their members especially the developing countries (Johansson, & Glow, 2009, p.38). For example, the World Bank gave 8.1 billion US dollars to developing African countries to help in their development of their infrastructure.

World Bank has also helped the third world countries to build infrastructures, educational institutions, provision of water, electricity services, protection of environment, and fight corruption and deadly diseases like HIV Aids (Czinkota et al, 2011, p.84). Farmers of these countries get support to make structural changes in agricultural and food industries hence coping with competitive pressures in international markets.

The World Bank has helped many developing countries in the purchase of agricultural machineries and chemicals especially in Africa. This increases agricultural production and thus increased living conditions. It has also helped in the purchase of mining machineries, which are very expensive.

This gives the poor countries the opportunity to explore their potentials and hence industrial development (Surzhko, 2010, p.79). Supranational organisations have a crucial role to play when it comes to ensuring smooth functioning of global monetary systems, as well as putting in place mechanisms for peaceful dispute resolution. They harmonise industrial standards in different countries

Conclusion

Migration experienced in supranational organisations can result to surplus unskilled labor in these countries due to heightened immigration, which in turn results to a push down of wages and an increase of crime rates.

The demerits posed by nation states to its citizens, as revealed by Czinkota et al and Saul prove that it should be discouraged. On the other hand, supranational organisations are more advantageous as compared to nation states and thus more important. They should be encouraged and every country should join for the best of their citizens.

Reference List

Alenikoff, T. (2004). Thinking outside sovereignty box: transnational law and the US Constitution. Texa’s Law Review, 82(7), 1989-2016.

Alexander, M. (2010). Typologies and phases in nationalism studies: hyroch’s A-B-C schema as s basis for comparative terminology. Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.

Bekus, N. (2010). Nationalism and Socialism: ‘phase D’ in the Belarusian nation building. Nationalist Journal, 38(6), 385-396.

Burgess, M. (2011). Entering the path of transformation in Europe. The Federal Legacy of the Schuman Declaration, 29(2), 4-18.

Chatfield, C. (1989). Alternatives to Anarchy: American Supra Nationalism Since WWII. Journal of American History, 76(1), 314.

Culcasi, K. (2011). Cartographies of Supranationalism: Creating and silencing territories in the Arab Homeland. Political Geography, 30(8), 217-428.

Czinkota, M., Ronkainen, I., Sutton-Brady, C., & Beal, T. (2011). International Marketing: Asia Pacific Edition. Australia: Cengage.

Demirpolat, A. (2009). The changing aspects of Arab Nationalism. London: Routlege.

Hepburn, E & McLoughlin, P. (2011). Celtic Nationalism and Supranationalism. British Journal of politics and international relations, 13(3), 383-399.

Hill, P. (2003). Technological achievement and human development program: A view From the UN development program. New York: Word Press.

Jan, E. (2010). Is nationalism left or right? Critical junctures in Que’b’elois Nationalism, 7(3), 23-38.

Johansson, K., & Glow, H. (2009). Honor bound in Australia: From defensive Nationalism to critical Nationalism. London: Longman Publishers.

Lomsky-Feder, E. (2011). Competing models of Nationalism: An analysis of memorial ceremonies in schools. West Virginia: WVA.

Mukherjee, S., & Barry, D. (2010). Structural Violence: A barrier to achieving millennium development goals for women, journal of women’s health. 20(4), 593-602.

Saul, J. (2005). The Collapse of Globalism and the Reinvention of the World. Penguin Viking, Camberwell.

Somek, A. (2010). The argument from transnational effects 1: Representing outsiders Through freedom of movement. New York: Word Press.

Surzhko, H. (2010). Liberal nationalism, nationalist liberation and democracy: The Cases of post-soviet Estonia and Ukraine. London: Routlege.

Wilding, P. (2009). Social policy: Now and Then. A social policy and administration Journal, 43(70), 736-749.

Architecture is an art that involves both the process and the end product of setting up, crafting, and creating. It is a discipline that has been in existence since time immemorial and is often perceived to manifest the cultural orientations of a group of civilizations. Through this discipline, a group of people can describe themselves culturally in the form of their buildings and other material artifacts. They can also exhibit the science, art, and diverse styles of designing and putting up buildings and other physical structures considering the manner in which they are erected, as seen in Australia. From the above description of the architecture, it is clear that it is a unique way of showing identities that vary from one civilization to the other, one ethnicity to the other, and from one nation to the other. It is also important to note that regions can also have distinct architectures. National architectures have many cons as compared to regional ones. The main objective of this paper is to explore the cons of nationalism in the Australian case.

Nationalism in Australia can be traced back to the nineteenth century when the call for emancipation rose significantly. Such emancipation enhanced calls for the establishment of Australia’s national identity. Through architecture, Australians are able to express their attitude and their national identity in an effective manner. They are also able to take actions that are aimed at achieving a sense of self-determination. In Australia, architecture has brought out the concept of ethnicity, common origin, and cultural ties, which are the fundamental pillars that bind this nation together. On the other hand, regionalism has two implications. In architecture, it describes the American realist modern art movement that was mostly practiced during the 1930s. The architectures based their trade on the creation of rural life scenes as opposed to those of the city. Regionalism also means the art of portraying a common sense of identity and purpose within a certain geographical region. It creates and implements specific institutions that exhibit particular regional shapes and identities. Incidentally, regionalism encompasses nationalism, but the regional geographical landscape is larger than that of nationalism.¹

As a way of expressing patriotism and self-identity, nationalism has been blamed for playing a great role in impeding the unity between Australia and its regional neighbors. This is because different ethnicities in Australia express and identify with their architectures in a unique and distinct nature. Some even seem to contradict and conflict with the values held by those of other nations within the same region. For instance, some traditional Hindu paintings and sculptures are viewed by some Australian Christians as satanic. In this regard, in a situation where these religious groups share a common regional boundary, misunderstandings can come up between them. This can be aggravated if either or both of the groups choose to advance their nationalism at the expense of regionalism. It creates an emotional powerful force that can meltdown to violence if not checked.

Architectural nationalism tends to tie Australians to their nations instead of regions or global institutions. In essence, the regional and global institutions are often overlooked or ignored at the end. The resultant effect of all these might be the creation of mistrust and hate that is especially directed at the foreigners who visit other countries. Such mistrust can still boil down to the culmination of violence between nations especially if one country feels offended by the way it is portrayed in the architectural designs of another.

While it is true that architectural nationalism encourages Australians to love and commit themselves to nation-building, it is also true that it breeds unequivocal suspicion toward foreigners. In this instance, the artifacts designed by foreigners are not appreciated even if they are good. Instead, they are discriminated against as Australians, especially the aboriginal community, prefer to value and appreciate their own artworks instead. For instance, the Chinese architectural designs are often handled with suspicion by Australians as well as in other nations. This apparently has the danger of lowering the self-esteem of the architects besides killing the industry as a whole.

Another great danger of nationalism as seen in Australia, through its architectural designs, is its potential to prevent people from identifying and appreciating the differences that exist between other persons with different backgrounds. This is attributed to the very fact that nationalism advocates for the recognition and appreciation of oneself at the expense of others. In the midst of all this confusion, the works and arts by people from other nations are considered redundant and unworthy. The consideration of ‘our own’ as perpetuated by nationalism is tantamount to discrediting others who also have their own unique arts. In so doing, the other people are considered as potential enemies. Needless to say, this also has the implication of generating violence between the nations.²

Nationalism was a good concept in the past because it allowed Australian citizens to identify themselves and fight for a common cause. The use of their own architectural designs such as houses, crafts and other physical structures only cemented their unity. The world today has become a global village. In this regard, Australia’s individual interests must not supersede its quest to benefit from the unity of the world as a result of architectural nationalism. Worse still, such kind of nationalism should not be allowed to infringe on the rights of other nations in the name of freedom. Based on this, it is important that all architectural designs are crafted with the interest of the region instead of that of Australia as a nation.

References

Allen, T, Homesickness: Nationalism in Australian Visual Culture, MacMillan Art Pub., South Yarra, VIC., 2008.

Hage, G, Against paranoid nationalism: searching for hope in a shrinking Society, Pluto Press Australia, Annandale, 2003.

Footnotes

1. T Allen, Homesickness: nationalism in Australian visual culture, MacMillan Art Pub., South Yarra, VIC., 2008, p. 108.
2. G Hage, Against paranoid nationalism: searching for hope in a shrinking Society, Pluto Press Australia, Annandale, 2003, p. 91.

The novels Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih and Beer in the Snooker Club by Waguih Ghali brightly reveal the story of two male heroes who are in constant search of a better life. Both characters move to England to apply their knowledge and to reach self-realization and self-expression thus believing that they would not have more possibilities for improvement in their native country. Though the writers narrate the stories about the lives of their protagonists in different ways and styles, both novels render the meaning of Arab masculinity.

The first story Season of Migration to the North is about Mustafa Sa’eed, Sudanese, who comes to London for an advanced study where he is nicknamed “the black Englishman.” Before, the writer depicts the story about the previous life of the protagonists in the Sudanese society where he was not highly appraised since “This country hasn’t got the scope for that brain of yours, so take yourself off” (Sallih, 23). There, in London, he resorts to sexual violence against women thus seducing them in his room decorated in the African style. The second novel by Waguih Ghali narrates about the main personality whose name is Ram and about his own vision of the events taking place in the Cairo privileged society. He is just an observer who tries to interfere and to focus on the vices of society thus condemning cruelty, insincerity, and greed.

As it can be viewed, the novels discover a contrasting interpretation of Arab masculinity, its evil sight subjected to the animal instincts and its good sight revealed in nobleness and gentleness of the character. Hence, Mustafa Sa’eed is depicted as a hunter who is to conquer the women and satisfy his desires. He is a man of direct goals for whom the methods do not matter but the result. Mustafa is the “invader who had come from the South, and this was the icy battlefield from which [he] would not make a safe return” (Salih 160). In his vision, the subjective character of the relationship, Sa’eed is a warrior who must enslave the world. Since the country where he lived previously mortified his instincts of a hunter, the English society allowed him to disclose his personality and to reveal his anger hidden by the disguise of a mere farmer. In another narration by Ghali, Ram is the embodiment of consciousness who fights against injustice and human inequality. Because of weakness to express his resentment, he becomes an instrument of politeness for people to enter the higher society of political position. All the situations appeared in Ram’s life he does not take seriously but at the same time, he complains: “It made me sick because apart from Font and myself, all the other students dying at Suez were from poor families and Mourir and Co. were going to lord it over the survivors” (Ghali 49). His relationships with women also revealed his masculinity. However, unlike Mustafa, he shows his nobility and politeness thus disclosing his respect for females. In these male-female relationships, Ram reveals himself as a weak person that could be easily influenced and subjected to the domination of women. In his turn, Mustafa proves his superiority in a rude way. For him, women are just the method to unleash his masculinity and to establish the patriarchal tradition. Hence, those acts of violence accomplished by him are just a kind of logical completion of his life: “The sensation that …I have bedded the goddess of death and gazed out upon Hell from the aperture of her eyes – it’s a feeling no man can imagine. The taste of that night stays on in my mouth preventing me from [savoring] anything else” (Salih 152). The constant desire to witness death and to dominate makes him obsessed with the process of murder. So, the stories reveal Arab masculinity through the desire to be liberal but the impossibility to obtain a proper education they are unable to set the justice thus expressing their indignation.

Anyway, what is common about the characters is that their behavior is directed at condemning other nationalities and fight for approval in the host countries. The ways to prove national superiority are differentiated greatly. Hence, Ram chose more rationality whereas Mustafa chose the path of violence and rebellion. Ram proves his nationalist preferences in the conversation with: “You know Edna, you are not Egyptian. Not because you are married to an Israeli or because you are Jewish; you are not just Egyptian. Do you remember you told me once that I am not an Egyptian because I belong to elite, ect? But I am Egyptian …I have our humor… I have the Egyptian character.” The Sahil’s novel is also the manifestation of nationalism and national superiority. It is revealed through Mustafa’s attitude to the Englishmen and even to the language: “The language, though, which I heard for the first time is not like the language I had learnt at school. These are living voices and have another ring. My mind was like a keen knife. But the language is not my language” (Salih 29).

The novels discussed above show the national character of Egyptian people and their extreme aspiration to freedom thus manifesting their love of Arab people. The nationalism here is attached to the Arab expression of masculinity and their desire to prove their domination.

Works Cited

Ghali, Waguih. Beer in the Snooker Club. The Netherlands: New Amsterdam Books, 1999.

Salih, Tayeb. Season of Migration to the North. US: Michael Kensend Publishing, Limited, 1989.