Nationalism and Decomcracy

Just in about ten days, the tension between China and Japan jumped from initial diplomatic complains to the large-scale demonstrations in both countries. Many news reports used "Nationalism" to describe the root of this conflict. BigEagle thinks that there must have many people who have only a vague idea of the true meaning of Nationalism - even myself is not 100% sure I know the meaning. So it is time to do some research on this subject. I hope that we can also find out what is the relationship between the nationalism and democracy.

Nationalism is, according to Wikipedia (note: many definitions here were taken from it), an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. According to some theories of nationalism, the preservation of identity features, the independence in all subjects, the wellbeing, and the glory of one's own nation are fundamental values.

Nationalism is a controversial term, as its most general definition is broad and has been controversial throughout history, and specific examples of nationalism are extremely diverse. Often the most negative consequences of the clash of nationalisms, ethnic tension, war, and political conflicts within states, are taken for nationalism itself, leading some to view the general concept of nationalism negatively and others to argue that viewing nationalism through its most negative consequences distorts the meaning of the term.

Nationalism may manifest itself as part of official state ideology or as a popular (non-state) movement and may be expressed along civic, ethnic, cultural, religious or ideological lines. However such categories are not mutually exclusive and many nationalist theories combine some or all of these elements to varying degrees.

Types of Nationalism:

Civic nationalism (also civil nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from the active participation of its citizenry, the "will of the people"; "political representation". This theory was first developed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and put down in various writings, particularly On the Social Contract. Civic nationalism lies within the traditions of rationalism and liberalism. It is the theory behind representative democracies such as the United States and France.

Ethnic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from historical cultural or hereditary groupings (ethnicities). This was developed by Johann Gottfried von Herder, who introduced the concept of the Volk.

Romantic nationalism (also organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of ethnic nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy as a natural ("organic") consequence of race; in the spirit of Romanticism and opposed to Enlightenment rationalism. Romantic nationalism relies upon the existence of a historical ethnic culture which meets the Romantic Ideal; folklore developed as a Romantic nationalist concept.

Cultural nationalism is a form of nationalism where only culture and not any hereditary features (such as skin pigmentation) becomes the central aspect of what constitues the nation. The best example for cultural nationalists are the Chinese who consider their nation to be based on culture. Race is being played down by these nationalists as they consider Manchus and other national minorities as part of the Chinese nation. The Qing dynasty's willingness to adapt to Chinese customs shows the supremacy of the mainstream Chinese culture. Many Chinese on Taiwan consider themselves Chinese nationalists because of their cultural background but they reject the Chinese Communist government.

State nationalism is a variant on civic nationalism, very often combined with ethnic nationalism. The nationalistic feelings are that strong that they often get priority over the universal rights and liberties. The success of the state often contrasts and conflicts with the principles of a democratic society. The maintenance of the national state is a superior argument, as if it brings better government on its own. Typical examples are Nazism, but also the contemporary Turkish nationalism, and in a lesser form the right-wing Franquism in Spain, and the Jacobin attitude towards the unitary and centralist French state, as well as Belgian nationalism, fiercely opposed towards equal rights and more autonomy for the Flemings, and the Basque or Corsican nationalists. Systematically, wherever state nationalism is strong, there are conflicting appeals to both the loyalty of the people, and on territories, as the Turkish nationalism and its brutal repression of Kurdish nationalism, the opposition between strong central governement in Spain and France with Basque, Catalan, and Corsican nationalism.

Religious nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy as a consequence of shared religion. Zionism is an example, though many, if not most, forms of ethnic nationalism are in some ways religious nationalism as well. For example, Irish nationalism is associated with Catholicism; Indian nationalism is associated with Hinduism. In modern India, a contempary form of Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva has been prominent among many followers of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. In general, religious nationalism is viewed as a form of ethnic nationalism.

Sometimes however religion is more of a marker of a group than the motivation for their nationalism. For example although most Irish nationalist leaders of the last 100 years are Catholic, in the 19th century and especially in the 18th century many nationalistic leaders were Protestant. Irish nationalists are not fighting for theological distinctions like transubstantiation, the status of the Virgin Mary, or the primacy of the Pope. Rather they are fighting for an ideology that identifies the geographical island of Ireland with a particular view of Irish culture, which for some nationalists does include Catholicism but has as a more dominant element other elements of culture. For many nations that had to struggle against the consequences of the imperialism of another nation, nationalism was linked to the pursuit of an ideal of freedom.

Islam is nominally opposed to any notion of Nationalism, Tribalism, Racism, or any other categorization of people not based on one's beliefs. Instead of nationalism, Islam advocates a strong feeling of community between all muslims, which is called the Ummah. This feeling of communal consciousness is emphasised by the awareness that a Muslim's daily prayers are shared with others as the sun sweeps across the globe, and during the holy month of Ramadan when worldwide Muslims fast and give charity together, and culminates in the sacred Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in which muslim men and women of all cultures, colours, and backgrounds come together. The word ummah is often incorrectly translated into English as the Islamic "nation" (not to be confused with the "Nation of Islam" which differs altogether from the teachings of Islam and is disapproved of by most Muslims).

Banal nationalism is a concept put forward by Michael Billig (Prof. Social sciences, University of Loughborough) whereby the everyday, less visible forms of nationalism exist, that remind and shape the minds of the nations on a day to day basis.

After we came abroad and received Western education, we naturally have "Western Political Thinking" which believes --
1. Nationalism is an alternative to democracy;
2. Liberal democratic tradition is formed by an idea of universal freedom, individual rigts, equal and individual fulfillment;
3. Nationalism is the ideology of commual existence, collective rights.

Therefore, Democracy is good, civilized, progressive and national. Wheresas, Nationalism is backward,immature, barbaric, irrational, mythological way of thinking. However, democracy is based on Nationalism, in fact, it is mutually needed for starting a democractic enterprise. As we can see from the definitions listed above, Civil Nationalism is democratic because it vests sovereignty in all the people (remember "We the people"... in US Constitution?), but Ethnic Nationalism is not.

My next question: "Which type of Nationalism can evolve to Democracy faster?"