Nationalism and the nation-state

Detail

What nationalism is

• Nationalism is a political belief built on loyalty to one's nation. A nation here means a people who feel they belong together.
• Popular images: patriotism, the national flag, sacrifice for the country, and the Republic Day parade in Delhi. The parade shows the nation's power, strength and diversity.
• It is hard to define. NCERT (Class 11, Ch 7) admits that the term resists a precise definition.
• It has two sides. Over the last two centuries it has:
• inspired strong loyalty, and also deep hatred;
• united people, and also divided them;
• freed people from colonial rule, and also caused wars;
• broken up empires and redrawn the borders of states.

Four phases of nationalism

Phase	What happened	Effect on states
19th century, unification	Small kingdoms joined to form Italy (1861; Rome added 1870) and Germany (1871). New states formed in Latin America. Local dialects were merged into national languages.	Small units joined into bigger states
Early 20th century, break-up	The Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires broke up	Big empires split into smaller states
Decolonisation (mainly after 1945)	The British, French, Dutch and Portuguese colonial empires ended	Colonies became new sovereign states
From 1960, separatism	Groups inside stable states demanded more self-rule or separation: Quebecois (Canada), Basques (Spain), Kurds (Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria), Sri Lankan Tamils	Existing states face pressure to split

• Nationalism can push both ways:
• Pan-Arab nationalism tries to unite several Arab states into one community.
• Basque and Kurdish movements try to divide existing states.
• Remember this unite-or-divide contrast. It is the core of NCERT's point that nationalism is double-edged.

The nation-state

• A nation-state is a state that claims its borders mark a unique culture and shared history, not just a piece of land.
• Origin: the idea rose with the French Revolution (1789) and its idea of national sovereignty. National sovereignty means that final power belongs to the nation (the people), not to a king.
• Most of the UN's 193 members call themselves nation-states. Yet many are multinational, meaning they hold more than one national group. Examples are India, the UK, Spain and Canada.

Westphalian sovereignty — the base of the nation-state

• Westphalian sovereignty is the rule that each state has full and exclusive authority over its own land and internal matters, and outsiders must not interfere.
• Origin: the Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended the Thirty Years' War. The treaties were signed at Münster and Osnabrück in Westphalia by the Holy Roman Emperor, the German states, Sweden and France, and also between Spain and the Netherlands [4].
• What it settled:
• German princes got almost unlimited control over their own territories. This ended the last attempt (until the 19th century) to centralise power in the Holy Roman Empire [4].
• It confirmed the independence of the Netherlands from Spain and of Switzerland from the Empire [4].

• Scholars of international relations treat it as the start of the modern state system and of territorial sovereignty [4].

• Its three principles: 1. Exclusive authority over territory and domestic affairs. 2. Legal equality of states. Big and small states are equal in law. 3. Non-interference. No outside power should meddle in a state's internal affairs.

The same principles in the UN Charter (Article 2)

UN Charter clause	What it says	Westphalian principle
Art. 2(1)	The UN is based on the sovereign equality of all its members [2][3]	Legal equality
Art. 2(4)	Members must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state [2][3]	Exclusive authority over territory
Art. 2(7)	The UN may not intervene in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of a state. Exception: enforcement measures under Chapter VII (Security Council action against threats to peace) [2][3]	Non-interference

Nation vs state

	Nation	State
Basis	Belief, identity and a shared feeling of belonging	A legal and political body
Elements	Shared history, culture, language or hopes for the future (none of them strictly required)	Population, territory, government, sovereignty (see state-government-governance)
Nature	A community that people imagine and feel	A concrete organisation with power
Match?	One nation may live across many states (e.g. Kurds)	One state may hold many nations (India, UK, Spain, Canada)

Is nationalism still relevant? The globalisation debate

• NCERT's cartoon:
• One character says that "nations are irrelevant in a global village". A global village means a world joined together by trade, travel and media.
• The cartoon answers with Indians cheering the national cricket team and Indians abroad (the diaspora) still watching Bollywood films.

• Lesson: globalisation has not wiped out national feeling.

• Forces weakening the nation-state:

• Pooled sovereignty in the EU. Pooled sovereignty means member states hand some powers, such as trade and a common currency, to a shared body.

• Responsibility to Protect (R2P), 2005. It was adopted at the 2005 World Summit (paragraphs 138–139 of the Outcome Document) [5]:

  • Para 138: each state must protect its people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity [5].
  • Para 139: the international community, through the UN, should first use peaceful means (Chapters VI and VIII). If a state is "manifestly failing" to protect its people, collective action can follow through the Security Council under Chapter VII, decided case by case [5].
  • Effect: sovereignty becomes a responsibility, not just a right. This limits the Westphalian rule of non-interference.

• Forces strengthening the nation-state:

• Brexit: the UK voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum and left on 31 January 2020. Taking back national control beat pooled sovereignty.
• Economic nationalism: "America First" and tariff nationalism, which means using import taxes to protect home industry.
• Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India):
  • The PM announced it on 12 May 2020 with a special package of ₹20 lakh crore, about 10% of GDP, to fight the COVID-19 crisis [6].
  • Its five pillars are Economy, Infrastructure, System, Vibrant Demography and Demand [6].
  • The Finance Minister gave the details at press conferences from 13 to 17 May 2020 [7].
  • Its aims were to compete in global supply chains, ease business, support MSMEs (small businesses), attract FDI and strengthen Make in India [7].
• Ethno-nationalism: nationalism based on one ethnic, religious or language group.
• Diaspora nationalism: emigrants keep a national identity, as in the cricket and Bollywood example.

Prelims Hooks

• Italy unified in 1861 (Rome added 1870). Germany unified in 1871.
• Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended the Thirty Years' War. It was signed at Münster and Osnabrück and recognised Dutch independence from Spain and Swiss independence from the Empire.
• The nation-state idea rose with the French Revolution (1789), not with Westphalia. Westphalia gave state sovereignty, while 1789 gave national (popular) sovereignty. This is a common trap.
• UN Charter Art. 2(1) covers sovereign equality, Art. 2(4) bans the use of force, and Art. 2(7) bars interference in domestic jurisdiction. Chapter VII enforcement is the exception.
• R2P was adopted at the 2005 World Summit (paras 138–139). It covers four crimes only: genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
• Pan-Arab nationalism seeks to unite states, while Basque and Kurdish movements seek to divide them.
• Brexit: the referendum was in 2016 and the UK left on 31 January 2020.
• Atmanirbhar Bharat was launched on 12 May 2020 with a ₹20 lakh crore package (about 10% of GDP) and five pillars.
• Elements of a state: population, territory, government and sovereignty. A nation is defined by belief and identity, not by these elements.

Mains Points

• Nationalism is double-edged. It built states (Italy, Germany), ended empires (Austro-Hungarian, Russian) and freed colonies. It also drives separatism (Basques, Kurds, Sri Lankan Tamils) and wars. A good answer balances its uniting and dividing roles.
• Nation vs state mismatch. Most of the UN's 193 members are multinational (India, UK, Spain, Canada). So "one nation, one state" is unworkable. Stability depends on accommodating diversity, not on making everyone the same.
• Sovereignty under pressure from both sides:
• It is diluted from above by EU pooled sovereignty and by R2P (2005, paras 138–139), which make sovereignty a responsibility.
• It is reasserted from below and within by Brexit (2016/2020), "America First" tariffs and Atmanirbhar Bharat (2020).

• The Westphalian model (1648; UN Charter Art. 2) is being adapted, not replaced.

• Globalisation has not ended nationalism. NCERT's cartoon (cricket fans, diaspora Bollywood audiences) and the rise of economic nationalism show that national identity survives global markets. It often comes back stronger during crises such as COVID-19.