Nationality In History And Politics

First published in 1944, Nationality in History and Politics unpacks the vagueness of terms such as nationality, national consciousness, national character, national will, national self-determination, etc. The phenomena underlying these terms are exceedingly complex, and writers frequently shift the sense according to the interest defended. National consciousness comprises a number of different aspirations which, however, can be summed up as a striving for national personality. The book investigates in detail the correlations between those aspirations and such factors as race, language, religion, territory and State, and examines in particular the social background of modern nationalism. The chapters give the sociology of national sentiment and national traditions, usually called national character, against a wide historical background. The latter part of the book treats the evolution of ideas on nationality and on supranational aims from the Middle Ages to our own time, and the influence of the doctrines of great thinkers on the national ideology of the principal nations. This book will be of interest to students of history, political science, sociology and psychology.

First published in 1944, Nationality in History and Politics unpacks the vagueness of terms such as nationality, national consciousness, national character, national will, national self-determination, etc. The phenomena underlying these terms are exceedingly complex, and writers frequently shift the sense according to the interest defended. National consciousness comprises a number of different aspirations which, however, can be summed up as a striving for national personality. The book investigates in detail the correlations between those aspirations and such factors as race, language, religion, territory and State, and examines in particular the social background of modern nationalism. The chapters give the sociology of national sentiment and national traditions, usually called national character, against a wide historical background. The latter part of the book treats the evolution of ideas on nationality and on supranational aims from the Middle Ages to our own time, and the influence of the doctrines of great thinkers on the national ideology of the principal nations. This book will be of interest to students of history, political science, sociology and psychology.

The core of J.G. Herder's philosophy of nationalism lies in the conviction that human creativity must be embedded in the particular culture of a communal language. While he acknowledged that this cultural particular must be integrated into a more universal humanity, he insisted that each culture should preserve its incommensurable distinctiveness. He also called for a new method of enquiry regarding history, one that demands empathetic sensitivity toward the uniquely individual while realizing that there are few gains without losses. F.M. Barnard demonstrates that Herder, despite his innovative work on the idea of nationality, was fully aware of the dangers of ethnic fanaticism, but also of the hazards of what is now known as globalization, recognizing that these must be tempered by a sense of universal humanity. Barnard shows that Herder anticipated modern theories of the dynamics of cultures and traditions through the problematic interplay of persistence and change and that his speculations on cultural and political pluralism, on language as a democratic bond, and on the possible fusion of communitarian and liberal dimensions of public life remain relevant to contemporary debates

Nationalism is a dominating force in contemporary politics but political philosophers have been reluctant to discuss ideas of nationalism. In this book David Miller defends the principle of nationality.

This book introduces the background of China’s issue of nationality from the very beginning. Throughout the country’s history, all the nationalities that lived and prospered on Chinese land created a pattern of cultural diversity within national unity through their interaction and integration. The formation of this pattern is due not only to the geographical fact that China covers a broad expanse on the Asian continent but also to the historical fact that it is home to disparate and ancient human heritages, and to culturally diverse historical sources.The book’s five chapters explain the evolution of the CPC’s policy towards nationalities. At the time of the PRC’s founding, the Common Program (in essence an interim Constitution) passed by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress (which was composed of people from all sectors of society and all of China’s nationalities) not only declared that people of all China’s nationalities had equal rights, but also stipulated that: regional national autonomy would be practiced in all areas where minority nationalities were concentrated; that all nationalities had the right to develop their native languages and culture and to maintain or reform their customs and religious beliefs; and also mandated that people’s governments support the development of minority nationalities in the areas of politics, the economy, culture and education.In the final section, the book demonstrates that the subject of how /divthe CPC addresses nationality-related issues is a dynamic one that encompasses the past, present and future, and is simultaneously an answer, a process and a question./div