Nationalism, as an ideology and political trend, has a complex history, with researchers and writers having different views on its beginnings and formation. This phenomenon has grown over the past centuries, especially in the Western world. It should be noted that nationalism has two distinct periods: the old period and the new and modern period. In this article, we aim to introduce both periods to the readers and examine the history and evolution of nationalism in these two phases.
Nationalism in the past periods
New nationalism is one of the products of the new centuries, while nationalism in its modern sense did not exist in earlier periods. People of the past did not have the same way of thinking; if there was nationalism in some places, it was different from contemporary nationalism. However, we can find the approximate roots of nationalism in ancient Greek thought.
In ancient Greece, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle believed in Greek nationality (not in today’s sense, nor with the intensity and fervor of 19th century nationalism). At that time, the rule of city governments was common and these beliefs were mostly limited to the city of Athens. If necessary, they manifested the cooperation of the Athenian people with each other in defense of foreign attacks, and in no way did this weak and partial nationalism have the goal of attack and aggression.
If we examine the tribal system (and the system of small states) in Greece over thousands of years, we can find characteristics of nationalism in it.
Although interest in the ancestral land has a long history among mankind and goes back to the birth of man, nationalism in its political and organizational form emerged in the socio-political atmosphere of most European countries after the renaissance era. In the 16th century, it was strengthened by the Italian Niccolò Machiavello and the French Jean Bedin, and in the 18th century, it went through its growth period and finally reached its peak in the 19th century.
Nationalism as a coherent school and ideology originated in the West in recent centuries, and its roots can be traced back to the late Middle Ages, at the same time as the Renaissance. In the Middle Ages, which lasted for about a thousand years, the church and the leaders of the Christian religion united with the ruling system of that time and managed many of the society’s affairs under their supervision; But at the end of this thousand-year period, the power of the church began to decline, and finally, the lords of the church were forced to leave their positions in the administration of social affairs.
Although nationalism with its new concept was created in the 18th and 19th centuries; But by examining its works and signs, we can see that this concept existed centuries ago among the nations of the past and they made a lot of efforts to return to their culture, language and ethnicity.
Nationalism in the modern era
Modern nationalism is the result of the Great French Revolution. With the French Revolution, nationalism was released from its bed and sparked many uprisings in other parts of the world. The first traces of national and nationalist movements in the history of Europe can be seen in the years (1815-1805 AD) in Germany, which was under Napoleon’s colonization in those years. Also, in 1448 AD, Hungarians, Serbs and Czechs made independence movements against the Austrian Empire. The battles of Melbourne, Italy in the years (1860-1870 AD) for the reunification of this country under the leadership of Joseph Mazzini and Garibaldi and the victory of this movement, aroused great enthusiasm in Europe.
The growth of nationalism, at the same time, is characteristic of a historical period in which nations became independent political units and the principle of “national sovereignty” was recognized. This period lasted for Europe from the 17th century to the end of the 19th century, and in Asia and Africa, especially the second half of the 20th century. Nationalism, which believes in a school and an intellectual tendency to the supremacy of race and nation and its sovereignty over other races and nations of the world, the thought of racial supremacy in the 20th century in Western Europe, which was manifested by the rise of Hitler in Germany and Mussolini in Italy. The dictatorial regimes in Germany and Italy, which were established in order to fulfill the goals of the “nationalists”, the main value and behavioral components of this intellectual trend were racial superiority and hostile foreign policy.
In the book “Encyclopedia of Nationalism” about the French Revolution (which is known as the cradle of nationalism) and the spread of nationalism to other countries, it is stated: “Although France, centuries before the revolution, united different nations and groups in the form of a single national entity. but the violent overthrow of the Bourbon dynasty led to a militant nationalism that spread across Europe and even threatened the nascent United States.
The 19th and 20th centuries are the golden ages of nationalism expansion in Western countries. Later, this phenomenon quickly spread to Islamic countries and inflicted very terrible and deadly blows on its body. These topics will be discussed in the next sections of this article.
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