Nationalism is a tool that can bind members of a nation or nation-state together, but it is also the framework of political campaigning and serves as the justification of violent government action towards other nations or nation-states. This societal phenomenon is defined as the bond between an individual and their respective nation or nation-state apart from others. This bond, or force, can push nations into war as patriotism and national interests clash. Escalation beyond healthy levels into ultranationalism, which is a much stronger force that bonds an individual to their nation or nation-state by condemning all others as inferior, can occur and be disastrous. Ultranationalists are chauvinistic in nature, rather than merely patriotic. They
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Nationalism creates cliques, tight-knit groups of people who see those diverging from their own collective image as outsiders, which can create animosity and resentment on both sides of the equation. The feeling of oneness with clique members can easily turn into the support of, or participation in, hate crimes, if one member exhibits extremist views or commits violent actions without retribution from other, less radical, individuals holding membership. This could end up corrupting whole parties who previously teetered on the line separating ultranationalism and nationalism. Apart from separating nation-states into groups pit against each other and inciting racial street violence, nationalism can also encourage colonialism and imperialism as one nation sees themselves as superior or more “civilized” than the preexisting nation they aim to take …show more content…
However, in Germany this was a time known only for the violence and mindless hatred that it characterized so well, and led almost immediately into full scale war - world war one. Propaganda was used by Hitler to push his preferred ‘pure Germans’ into hating the Jewish population, as well as Roma, Polish, homosexual, or communist individuals. The propaganda he and his minister, Josef Goebbels, put forth both visually and auditorily emphasized Jewish people as a threat to Germany as a nation that should consist only of the ‘genetically perfect Aryan’ race. The divide this caused in society showed a clear ‘us and them’ attitude and became a technique used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party to manipulate the patriotism and nationalism that Germans felt into hatred.
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In the case of the Congo area of Africa, nationalism brought collonialism, conflict, imperialism, and political upheaval; the nationalism however was not their own but rather Europe’s. Between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Africa was torn apart in the name of European expansionism. Leopold the second, king of Belgium, in particular ruthlessly controlled an area of Africa called the Congo.
Nationalism creates cliques, tight-knit groups of people who see those diverging from their own collective image as outsiders, which can create animosity and resentment on both sides of the equation. The feeling of oneness with clique members can easily turn into the support of, or participation in, hate crimes, if one member exhibits extremist views or commits violent actions without retribution from other, less radical, individuals holding membership. This could end up corrupting whole parties who previously teetered on the line separating ultranationalism and nationalism. Apart from separating nation-states into groups pit against each other and inciting racial street violence, nationalism can also encourage colonialism and imperialism as one nation sees themselves as superior or more “civilized” than the preexisting nation they aim to take …show more content…
However, in Germany this was a time known only for the violence and mindless hatred that it characterized so well, and led almost immediately into full scale war - world war one. Propaganda was used by Hitler to push his preferred ‘pure Germans’ into hating the Jewish population, as well as Roma, Polish, homosexual, or communist individuals. The propaganda he and his minister, Josef Goebbels, put forth both visually and auditorily emphasized Jewish people as a threat to Germany as a nation that should consist only of the ‘genetically perfect Aryan’ race. The divide this caused in society showed a clear ‘us and them’ attitude and became a technique used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party to manipulate the patriotism and nationalism that Germans felt into hatred.
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In the case of the Congo area of Africa, nationalism brought collonialism, conflict, imperialism, and political upheaval; the nationalism however was not their own but rather Europe’s. Between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Africa was torn apart in the name of European expansionism. Leopold the second, king of Belgium, in particular ruthlessly controlled an area of Africa called the Congo.