Rise of Nationalism

The national state is the primary political unit. Two explanations for the rise of nationalism are derived from very different sociological premises: One premise places importance on common citizenship in a specific location and shared methods of political activity; the second explanation is based on the ethnic or cultural similarity of the members of a political community. The rise of nationalism based on the first reason is the spread of the idea of political self-determination for a social group inhabiting a definite territory and perceiving itself as having distinct ethnic and cultural characteristics. The second explanation for the rise of nationalism is based on the political and cultural awakening of the masses. This cultural nationalism evolved into the desire by the population to form a national state.

According to Calhoun, however, both views underestimate the importance of the institutions, networks, and movements that knit people together across the internal lines of diversity within nations. Calhoun refers to this phenomenon as the sociological problem specific to social integration (305).

For example, Karl Marx's theories of nationalism very strongly emphasized the connection between the rise of the bourgeoisie and the emergence of the national state. Without the complete overthrow and reversal of the positions of rulers and ruled, and of classes and castes, nationalism would not be possible (Bottomore 76). Marx believed that, once th

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effect of this situation over decades was underestimated by the Communists. In contrast, the object of the French Revolution was to abolish the entire social structure of pre-Revolutionary France, not to preserve it. Beneath the chaotic surface, however, a vast, highly centralized power with all the elements of authority and influence emerged. This new power was created almost automatically out of the havoc wrought by the Revolution. According to Alex de Tocqueville, everywhere the revolutionaries were breaking down class distinctions, eliminating inequalities, replacing members of the aristocracy with trained civil servants and local charters with uniform regulations, and implementing a wide range of powers with a strong, centralized government (Goldstone 30-31). Nationalism has been a major factor in many revolutions throughout history. Nationalism has been a replacement for loyalty to the monarchy, the basis for antimonarchial coalitions in the English and French Revolutions, and a focal point for liberation revolutions in Algeria, Vietnam, Angola and Mozambique. However, the definition of nationalism is still problematic for some political sociologists. Regardless of whether nationalism is defined by territ

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