Nationalism and the People

Term Paper # 99174

Asian Studies
History > Asian
Sociology > Theory

This paper discusses the role people play in forming a nation, using Asia as an example.

1,061 words () | 6 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper reveals that national unity requires more than a common language, a common religion or a geographic territory. The paper defines a nation as a group of people that shares common values, ideals and beliefs worth perpetuating and preserving even in the face of conflict. The paper shows how nationalism is built from the people up to create the modern institution of the nation. The paper looks at nationalist uprisings that were highly dependent on the perspective of the people, such as the Tonghak uprising and the 1911 Revolution in China.

From the Paper:

"What is a nation? As it happens, and quite contrary to modern expectations, the nation is a relatively recent historical invention. In some ways, we expect that the nation has always existed, that people from all eras organized themselves into this political formation. Because the nation is so commonplace today, it is easy to believe that it is a natural condition for human societies. It is easy to believe that all people at all times were a part of a nation."
"But this is an incorrect assessment. The modern nation literally could not exist without the modern developments that began to become commonplace over the last five hundred years. Ernest Renan in "What Is a Nation?" rightly concludes that national unity requires more than a common language or a common religion or a geographic territory-though all these factors can be in place."

Sample of Sources Used:

Chunlan, Deng. "My Plan for Women's Emancipation and My Plan for Self-Improvement." Women in Republican China. Eds. Hua La and Vanessa Fong. East Gate Book, 1999. 121-123.
Duxiu, Chen. "The Way of Confucius and the Modern Life." Women in Republican China. Eds. Hua La and Vanessa Fong. East Gate Book, 1999. 5-8.
Kawakami, R.R. Japan and World Peace. New York: MacMIllan and Co, 1919.
Liu, Li. "Who Were the Ancestors?" Antiquity 73 (1999): 602-613.
Renan, Ernest. "What Is a Nation?"