how has nationalism shaped the course of european history

by Estelle Bosco 9 min read

Nationalism was the ideological impetus that, in a few decades, transformed Europe. Rule by monarchies and foreign control of territory was replaced by self-determination and newly formed national governments. Some countries, such as Germany and Italy were formed by uniting various regional states with a common "national identity".

Full Answer

How did nationalism affect Europe?

The rise and spread of nationalism gave people a new sense of identity and unity. It also led to increased competition among nation-states. After Napoleon was defeated, several other European nations joined together to attempt to return to the old—conservative—ways.

What events did nationalism cause in Europe?

Nationalism was a particularly important cause of World War I due to several key factors. For instance, it caused nations to build up their armies and led to increased militarism. As well, it created extremely high tensions in Europe in the decades before the outbreak of the First World War.

How did nationalism shape Europe in the 19th century?

During the nineteenth century, nationalism emerged as a force which brought about sweeping changes in the political and mental world of Europe. The end result of these changes was the emergence of the nation-state in place of the multi-national dynastic empires of Europe.

Why is nationalism important in history?

The political development of nationalism and the push for popular sovereignty culminated with the ethnic/national revolutions of Europe. During the 19th century nationalism became one of the most significant political and social forces in history; it is typically listed among the top causes of World War I.

What are the impacts of nationalism?

Explore the effects of nationalism positive outcomes—promotes a sense of identity, unites people, promotes pride. negative outcomes—leads to conflict with others, infringes on rights of others, creates xenophobia—the fear that someone will take them over.

Which statement best describes the effects of nationalism in Europe?

Which statement best describes the effects of nationalism in Europe? It created a lack of trust and often obstructed negotiations in Europe.

What is the summary of the rise of nationalism in Europe?

The making of Nationalism in Europe: Industrialization in England, emergence of a working class and liberalism. New conservation after 1815 and preservation of traditional institution. After the defeat of Napoleon, the European government follows the spirit of conservatism.

What was the impact of the rise of nationalism in the 19th century?

The rise and spread of nationalism gave people a new sense of identity and also led to an increased sense of competition among nation-states.

How did nationalism change in the 19th century?

In the 19th century there began a determined struggle to realise nationalist aspirations. ADVERTISEMENTS: The French Revolution had inspired people all over Europe. It spread the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity and generated the spirit of nationalism.

What do you mean by nationalism in history?

Nationalism is an ideology that emphasizes loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation or nation-state and holds that such obligations outweigh other individual or group interests.

How did nationalism affect the 20th century?

In the 20th century, nationalism referred to a broad swathe of political ideologies, each shaped by different national contexts. These nationalist movements united colonised peoples fighting for independence, provided a devastated people with a homeland and provoked conflicts that continue into the present.

In what context did nationalism take hold in Europe?

An increased sense of ethnic identity—nationalism— began to take hold in Europe in the nineteenth century. In particular this was true among the dizzying number of ethnic populations within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These included Czechs, Slovenes, Poles, Magyars, Serbs, Croats, Ruthenians, Germans, and Italians!

What consequences resulted from the spread of nationalism?

The rise and spread of nationalism gave people a new sense of identity and also led to an increased sense of competition among nation-states.

How was nationalism a cause of ww1?

These groups hoped to drive Austria-Hungary from the Balkans and establish a 'Greater Serbia', a unified state for all Slavic people. It was this pan-Slavic nationalism that inspired the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914, an event that led directly to the outbreak of World War I.

What is nationalism and how did it affect the revolutions?

How did the French Revolution impact the growth of nationalist feeling and revolutionary movements? The revolution inspired people to take action against their tyrannical government. People came together under the common desire for a better society and therefore, nationalism peaked.

What is the summary of the rise of nationalism in Europe?

The making of Nationalism in Europe: Industrialization in England, emergence of a working class and liberalism. New conservation after 1815 and preservation of traditional institution. After the defeat of Napoleon, the European government follows the spirit of conservatism.

How did nationalism affect the 1800s?

During the 1800s, nationalism fueled efforts to build nation-states. Nationalists were not loyal to kings, but to their people—to those who shared common bonds. Nationalists believed that people of a single “nationality,” or ancestry, should unite under a single government. However, people who wanted to restore the old order from before the French Revolution saw nationalism as a force for disunity. Gradually, authoritarian rulers began to see that nationalism could also unify masses of people. They soon began to use nationalist feelings for their own purposes. They built nation-states in areas where they remained firmly in control.

What was the breakup of the Austrian Empire?

The Breakup of the Austrian Empire: The Austrian Empire brought together Slovenes, Hungarians, Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Poles, Serbs, and Italians. In 1866, Prussia defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. With its victory, Prussia gained control of the newly organized North German Confederation, a union of Prussia and 21 smaller German political units. Then, pressured by the Hungarians, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria split his empire in half, declaring Austria and Hungary independent states, with himself as ruler of both. The empire was now called Austria-Hungary or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Nationalist dis- putes continued to weaken the empire for more than 40 years. Finally, after World War I, Austria-Hungary broke into several separate nation-states.

What were the three empires that were aging?

Three aging empires—the Austrian Empire of the Hapsburgs, the Russian Empire of the Romanovs, and the Ottoman Empire of the Turks —contained a mixture of ethnic groups. Control of land and ethnic groups moved back and forth between these empires, depending on victories or defeats in war and on royal marriages. When nationalism emerged in the 19th century, ethnic unrest threatened and eventually toppled these empires.

How did nationalism start?

I think the whole story of nationalism started when the French Revolution tiled the way for the modern state. In 1914 number of multi-national empires was increasing drastically. The French Revolution which was started by Napoleon by conquering number of French territories. This was the time when political transformation of Europe was started. The army’s slogan was “liberty, equality and brotherhood” and their ideas were based on liberalism and national identity. In 1815, when Napoleonic wars were about to end, the major powers of Europe tried to re-establish the old monarchy system. Most of the people of Europe were still faithful to their home city.

What countries were formed by nationalism in the 19th century?

Because of common national-identity, various small states were united and transformed into a Country, such as Germany and Italy. Whereas, few more countries were emerged on the globe by achieving independence; these countries are Romania, Greece, Poland and Bulgaria.

What is nationalism in politics?

“Nationalism” is different from “patriotism” .Patriotism is love for mother land. Nationalism is extreme love and pride for a country.

What is the term for a supposed identity of oneself within geographically organized political collectivity?

Term nationalism can be defined in many ways I think it is a supposed identity of oneself within geographically organized political collectivity is called Nationalism . In other words we can say nationalism is a loyalty or devotion to the wellbeing of one’s nation.

How did the French Revolution affect the development of the nation state?

Progress and Development of the concept of modern nation state became easier by French Revolution. All over Europe major think tanks questioned the old monarchial order and expedite the growth of a popular nationalism devoted to re-sketch Europe’s political map.

Why did the colonies become weak?

After World War II (1939-1945) many colonial countries became economically weak because of aggressive nationalism and they were influenced by political liberalism. Many countries willingly granted independence to their colonies. After war nationalist movements resulted in many new nation-states, including Israel, Morocco, Libya, the Sudan, Ghana, the United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria), and Iraq. In the 1960s and 1970s many once British, French, or Belgian colonies in Africa became independent. During the 1990s Jewish, Arab, and Palestinian nationalist parties continued to generate political instability in the Middle East. In Eastern Europe the decline of Communist rule contributed to the ending of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.

What is the meaning of nationalism?

As per my knowledge the term “nationalism” is normally used to explain two phenomena: (1) the attitude which members of a nation have when they are particular about the national identity (2) the actions taken by the members of a nation when seeking to accomplish self-determination.

What is nationalism based on?

Nationalism, ideology based on the idea that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests. Although it is often thought to be very old, nationalism did not become a great determining factor in history until the end of the 18th century.

Where did nationalism originate?

At the beginning of the 20th century, nationalism flowered in Asia and Africa. Thus, the 19th century has been called the age of nationalism in Europe, while the 20th century witnessed the rise and struggle of powerful national movements throughout Asia and Africa.

What was the cause of World War I?

Alpha History - Nationalism as a cause of World War I

What is nationalist movement?

A political nationalist movement is a political, sometimes also military, struggle by a national group for statehood or for some measure of independence from or autonomy within a larger political association, such as another state or an empire.

What is nationalism in politics?

Nationalism, translated into world politics, implies the identification of the state or nation with the people—or at least the desirability of determining the extent of the state according to ethnographic principles. In the age of nationalism, but only in the age of nationalism, the principle was generally recognized that each nationality should form a state—its state—and that the state should include all members of that nationality. Formerly states, or territories under one administration, were not delineated by nationality. People did not give their loyalty to the nation-state but to other, different forms of political organization: the city-state, the feudal fief and its lord, the dynastic state, the religious group, or the sect. The nation-state was nonexistent during the greater part of history, and for a very long time it was not even regarded as an ideal. In the first 15 centuries of the Common Era, the ideal was the universal world-state, not loyalty to any separate political entity. The Roman Empire had set the great example, which survived not only in the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages but also in the concept of the res publica christiana (“Christian republic” or community) and in its later secularized form of a united world civilization.

What was the culture of the Middle Ages?

During the Middle Ages, civilization was looked upon as determined religiously; for all the different nationalities of Christendom as well as for those of Islam, there was but one civilization— Christian or Muslim—and but one language of culture— Latin (or Greek) or Arabic (or Persian ).

What were the forms of political organization that were not delineated by nationality?

People did not give their loyalty to the nation-state but to other, different forms of political organization: the city-state, the feudal fief and its lord, the dynastic state, the religious group, or the sect.

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Overview

The rise of nationalism in Europe was spurred by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. American political science professor Leon Baradat has argued that “nationalism calls on people to identify with the interests of their national group and to support the creation of a state – a nation-state – to support those interests.” Nationalism was the ideological impetus that, in a fe…

Background

National awakening also grew out of an intellectual reaction to the Enlightenment that emphasized national identity and developed an authentic view of cultural self-expression through nationhood. The key exponent of the modern idea of the nation-state was the German G. W. Friedrich Hegel. The French Revolution, although primarily a republican revolution, initiated a movement to…

The struggle for independence

A strong resentment of what came to be regarded as foreign rule began to develop. In Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Norway local hostility to alien dynastic authority started to take the form of nationalist agitation. The first revolt in the Ottoman Empire to acquire a national character was the Serbian Revolution (1804–17), which was the culmination of Serbian renaissance which …

Nationalism's growth and export

The invention of a symbolic national identity became the concern of racial, ethnic or linguistic groups throughout Europe as they struggled to come to terms with the rise of mass politics, the decline of the traditional social elites, popular discrimination and xenophobia. Within the Habsburg monarchy the different peoples developed a more mass-based, radical and exclusive form of nationali…

Revolutionary organizations

• Serb revolutionary organizations
• Greek revolutionary organizations
• Albanian revolutionary organizations
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization

See also

• Communitarianism
• Cultural identity
• Expansionism
• Identity politics
• Intercultural competence