Nationalism, both civic and ethnic, was brought to full flower through the French Revolution in the eighteenth century, the American Revolution in the eighteenth century, and German unification in the nineteenth century. The development of German nationalism was ethnic in character, while the development of American nationalism was civic in character, and the development of French nationalism had both ethnic and civic overtones.
This research examines the development of civic and ethnic nationalism. As well, the relationship between the development of nationalism and social identity theory is reviewed.
The idea that every nation should have its own state·accompanied by the corollary that one ethnic or cultural group should not collectively role over another·has been the most powerful political force of the past two hundred years. "While particular nationalisms vary, this basic nationalist conception of an ideal world order has been remarkably unchanged for well over a century."
The concept of nationalism has survived setbacks since the French Revolution. One argument against the spread of nationalism is that such a phenomenon destabilizes the international political order. The harmful effects of alteration of existing borders·even peaceful alteration·would, it is contended, outweigh the benefits. "The belief of the Bush administration that the United States was a status quo power explains its efforts to keep both the Soviet empire and the Yugoslav federation intact." The breakup of a multinational state may create a regional power vacuum or a new balance-of-power pattern among its successor states, and such outcomes may be strategically desirable for some countries. The following events illustrate this point. Britain sought the independence of the Low Countries, the Hapsburgs the fragmentation of Italy, and successive Chinese empires the disunity of the nomads in the Tarim Basin. A state may easily conclude...