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ID: 111489

Giuseppe Mazzini and the democratic logic of nationalism / Hughes, Steven C

Hughes, Steven C	Journal Article
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2012.

Summary/Abstract

This article brings the thought of Giuseppe Mazzini back into the field of nationalism studies, from which it has been largely missing for a half century. It suggests the following: that Mazzini is much more modern and secular than he is usually portrayed; and that his commitment to liberal policies while rejecting liberal principles suggests that the distinction between civic and ethnic nationalism has been misconceived. Nationalism, to Mazzini, was not an end in itself but a means to an end - government of, by and for the people. The demand for such a government was manifested in three popular demands in nineteenth-century Europe: in the West as democracy, in the East as national sovereignty (the precondition for democracy) and in both East and West as social democracy. Thus nationalism may be instrumental rather than an end in itself, and it may be attributable not to ethnic groups' natural striving for autonomy but to the pursuit of democracy.

Key Words

Socialism ; Ethnic Nationalism ; Theories of Nationalism ; Civic Nationalism ; Mazzini ; Iran - Democracy - 1941-1953

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ID: 078558

Homogenisation, nationalism and war: should we still read Ernest Gellner? / Conversi, Daniele

Conversi, Daniele	Journal Article
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Publication

2007.

Summary/Abstract

Is homogenising nationalism a consequence of industrialisation? This view has been most forcefully and systematically advanced by Ernest Gellner. The article contests this approach by focusing instead on militarism and militarisation. It therefore identifies the key role of the mass army as presaging the era of mass nationalism and cultural homogenisation. Drawing on a range of authors from history, sociology and political science, the relationship is found to be reciprocal and symbiotic. A preliminary exploration on the possibility of early modern (or pre-modern) forms of cultural homogenisation is preceded by a critical assessment of Gellner's interchangeable use of the terms culture, language and ethnicity.

Key Words

Ethnicity ; Nationalism ; Militarisation ; Theories of Nationalism ; Homogenisation

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