Document 1 is an extract from What is a Nation? by Ernest Renan, a French scholar known for his political theories on national identity. The document gives different aspects of what he claims forms a nation. It is written in 1882, in the period that the idea of nationalism was emerging with the 'rise of intra-European movements'.1 This could be argued to be partly the consequence of the resurgence of imperialism, which could have increased national feeling. France itself was recovering of her losses of the Franco-Prussian war, both territorial as status wise. In addition, the founding of the Third Republic marked a change in France. There are different issues that this document highlights. Yet the main theme that is
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Although it gives the perspective of a French man, it can be argued that it showed general ideas about nationalism in Europe. He claims that a nation is not based on 'race and language' that can be argued as true to a certain extent as, for example, in Austria-Hungary there was not one main language. Although there was a tendency of speaking German, there were many members of the Habsburg family who did not know the language.3 However, for Renan this idea might be a valid aspect of nationalism, yet when considering nationalism developing in the next century, common language and common race are usually main factors forming a nation. Yet, this document does show the development of the idea of nationalism throughout the decades and gives a different view on …show more content…
It is written by Karl Liebknecht, a German socialist who later co-founded the Spartacist League . It is written in 1907, in a the period where tension between the countries were increasing substantially. This was partly due to military enthusiasm across Europe, with Germany being in an arms race with countries such as France. Germany was a relatively new European, industrial power. It could be argued that Germany's strong, military state threatened the other nations. Nevertheless, militarism was not everywhere acknowledged in Germany. Liebknecht was one of them and he argues in this document that the military aspect in Germany's political system is a problematic
Although it gives the perspective of a French man, it can be argued that it showed general ideas about nationalism in Europe. He claims that a nation is not based on 'race and language' that can be argued as true to a certain extent as, for example, in Austria-Hungary there was not one main language. Although there was a tendency of speaking German, there were many members of the Habsburg family who did not know the language.3 However, for Renan this idea might be a valid aspect of nationalism, yet when considering nationalism developing in the next century, common language and common race are usually main factors forming a nation. Yet, this document does show the development of the idea of nationalism throughout the decades and gives a different view on …show more content…
It is written by Karl Liebknecht, a German socialist who later co-founded the Spartacist League . It is written in 1907, in a the period where tension between the countries were increasing substantially. This was partly due to military enthusiasm across Europe, with Germany being in an arms race with countries such as France. Germany was a relatively new European, industrial power. It could be argued that Germany's strong, military state threatened the other nations. Nevertheless, militarism was not everywhere acknowledged in Germany. Liebknecht was one of them and he argues in this document that the military aspect in Germany's political system is a problematic