Reinhard Bendix's conception of Nationalism

Bendix provides a definition of modernization:

A breakdown of the ideal-typical traditional order: Authority loses its sanctity, monarchy declines, hierarchical social order is disrupted. Secular authority, rule in the name of the people, and an equalitarian ethos are typical attributes of modern society (10).

As Bendix convincingly describes it, the emergence of nationalism and the process of democratization were inevitable results of an historical process. Just as kingships emerged from medieval conditions, so did the coming of modernization---as defined above---lead logically to the disruption of the power of those kingships and the increasing power of the people.

The key to this process to Bendix is the nature of power in its application to political rule. Power to Bendix is not merely a question of force:

In the nation-state, all is well as long as citizens believe that the government knows what it is about, has the ability to deliver

. . .
power buttressed by legitimation. Nationalism, as a result of modernization, involved a shift in the exchange of power between the king and the people. In other words, the king lost the legitimation for his power as a result of the increased dissatisfaction of the people with the "authority relations" (60) of the monarchy. The emergence of the nation-state was not an independent occurrence, but was a part of the evolution of that power shift. In fact, within the monarchy itself, the seeds of nationalism were sprouting as modernization intensified and the aristocracy and the monarchy competed for power: As personal combat declined while higher education, urban interests, and competition for place at the capital increased, the English aristocracy was brought to acknowledge the supremacy of national over local concerns (208). In his analysis of the decline of the power of the king in England, Bendix writes that as a result of the social and economic disruptions and popular dissatisfactions caused by modernization, the people made increasing demands on the king. Specifically, in England, the people demanded that the king be financially responsible for "the ordinary operations of government" (207), especially his own expenses.
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Power Bendix, Germany Russia, Specifically England, Rule Bendix, England America, Europe America, England Bendix, Reinhard Bendix's, power king, king people, California Press, sacred foundation, name people, individual rights, power shift, shift king, , social economic, shift king people, rule name people, mandate people, central role, power shift king,
Approximate Word count = 1429
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)