The Purpose Of Nationalism

Nationalism itself could be defined as a sense of belonging, of people who identify and create a sense of understanding due to the common culture and characteristics among themselves, hence be called as a nation. “It is an ideological movement for the attainment and maintenance of autonomy, unity, and identity on behalf of a population deemed by some of its members to constitute an actual or potential ‘nation’” (Tarling 2004, p. 15). The core of nationalism is nation hence it projects an individual’s attachment to the nation. Originally, major causes such as religion along with cultural and political identity led to a nationalistic movement in Asia which united the people to go against the western powers. Throughout the 19th century, nationalist struggles were seen in Asia. As evidenced in Russo-Japanese war, the victory of an Asian country, who strived to rule the country by its own people (but, later, moved to an imperialistic rule). The …show more content…
‘An Introduction to East and Southeast Asia’, mentions that the purpose of nationalism is the “unification of people of a common language under a single national government” (Knight & Heazle 2011, p. 84), which is followed by many countries today. Nationalism has helped to create a specific identity to its nation, through a common language, shared historic tradition, and geographical boundaries unite people of one nation wherever they may be (Knight & Heazle 2011, p. 84). Nationalism succeeded its mission of liberating Asians from the colonials. It 's further stated in ‘Nationalism in Asia: A History Since 1945’, that "religion and language are …source of cohesion – and division”, in Indonesia, ethnic Javanese have dominated the state since its independence but since most of the population share Islamic ideologies, it unites the people and creates a common ground of understanding (Kingston 2016, p.