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The Role Of Nationalism In The 20th Century

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Isabel Clements

Modern Middle East History

10/19/15

Nationalism as a Political Strategy throughout the 20th Century

Over the past hundred years nationalism has been utilized, and often succeeded, as a political tactic. An ideology grounded in the allegiance to one’s nation, nationalism is a semi-physical but primarily abstract concept. In order for a leader to be able to use Nationalism to their benefit, it is crucial that a nation is familiarized with the demeanor of the ideology. For nationalism to be an effective political move, a nation must ideally have recently suffered a blow to national pride, be in possession of a potential scapegoat, and have in mind an ideal society that requires progression to reach. World leaders use nationalism …show more content…

In the aftermath of World War One, Italy did not receive the territory it had been promised at the Treaty of Versailles’s ratification. Instead provided with two small territories in exchange for their contributions (500,000 dead, 1 million wounded) to the winning Allied side, Italians felt betrayed. The liberal Italian government quickly became a scapegoat for Italian nationalists who they accused of accepting a “mutilated victory” that failed to compensate Italy for its excessive casualties. Benito Mussolini, bitter himself as a result of aforementioned events, possessed skills that cajoled disaffected and unemployed veterans. By harnessing and capitalizing on their anger, he eventually gained a solid control of Italy. From the early 1920s until his ousting in 1943, Mussolini promoted national values and stressed the importance of a strong military, claiming to be working in the interest of restoring former Italian glory with the Roman Empire as an ideal. He proved his severity on the matter to the Italian people and the rest of the world by demanding enrollment of all citizens into the gargantuan military that would occupy Ethiopia, Albania, and Libya within five years (1935-1940). Mussolini’s strategic use of militarism to enforce national superiority and strength resulted in Italy’s emergence as a large threat to neighboring countries. Nationalistic, militaristic, and fascist values that Mussolini enforced upon Italy where what eventually led to their joining the axis powers and going to war against the allied powers. Successful in grasping and maintaining power due to the employment of nationalism, Mussolini’s regime ultimately succeeded in creating a nation of loyal

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His exceptional talents and intense nature as a youth was an advantage for a party that accomplished so little over the past years. When Italy entered the World War I, Mussolini was against it but he changed his attitude with the alleged reason of making Italy a great power and regain Austro-Hungarian territory.

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Soon after the Treaty of Versailles’ ratification, Hitler unified Germany by scapegoating Jews and “liberal traitors”, radicalized a new Nazi nationalism, and used anger towards the Treaty of Versailles as a platform to create “justified” conflicts with other nations. Meanwhile, over in Japan, increased propaganda directed at youth, such as the Japanese booklet in Doc. J, ridiculed Western leaders (creating tension) and glorified Japan’s taking over of surrounding land in an attempt to foster Japanese pride, a behavior that would prove to effectively intimidate the Western powers. Similarly, in America, new pride as the world’s “best hope” for mankind (Doc. C) led to a national sense of American “superiority”, which isolated it from the rest of the world while granting further unification. Finally, in Italy, Mussolini united his people under a new doctrine of Fascism, which attacked all forms of communism, socialism, and capitalism.

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The people of Italy and Mussolini himself wanted to boost Italy’s national prestige. Their prestige had been damaged during the first Italian-Ethiopian War when Italy became the first European country to lose to an African nation. Italy’s modernized military allowed for a swift victory. The win over Ethiopia allowed Mussolini to rebuild Italy with the natural resources that the country had available (Document 6). Benito Mussolini gained the support of many Italians from his encouraging and motivating

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In summary, the major principles and values of fascism, such as the rejection of democracy, glorification of war, promise of national resurgence, and emphasis on community and discipline, were appealing to Europeans in the inter-war years. These principles tapped into the discontent and desire for a sense of purpose and belonging that characterized the post-World War I era, making fascism attractive for many during this

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Both nationalism and sectionalism emerged after the War of 1812. Nationalism grew in the United States because of the victory at New Orleans. Americans were proud to be called Americans. America might have seemed like they were united; however, they were divided also by a growing belief of sectionalism. Sectionalism spread like a disease, affecting the minds of Americans.

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By subduing Libya (1922-1932), pacifying Somalia (1923-1927), conquering Ethiopia (1935-1936), helping the Nationalists win the Spanish civil war (1936-1939), and seizing Albania (April 1939), Mussolini made Italy predominant in the Mediterranean-Red Sea region.” (history) The quotation shows that Mussolini believed he could build his own empire, and his Fascist movement won a lot of wars as well. “Rome comrades! Through you I want to speak to the Italian people, to the authentic, real, great Italian people, who fight with the courage of lions on land, sea and air fronts…

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Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany were similar in that both were dictatorships. Both Mussolini and Hitler came to power through legal means and believed that people were divided into either inferior or superior races. For example, Hitler was obsessed with the Aryan race and called for the genocide of Jews during WWII. In addition, both Mussolini and Hitler favored the wealthy, believed that an individual was meaningless and must submit to the decisions of their leaders, and aimed at self-sufficiency so that each could survive entirely without international trade. Furthermore, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy “had aimed for prestige and power for their countries, and brought instead humiliation and destruction” (Tarr, R.,

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Communism believed in a classless society, while Fascism followed a dictatorship, but maintaining a dictatorship required the suppression of the people. Fascist ideology believed that “war alone brings up to their highest tension all human energies and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have the courage to meet it,” which requires constant violence to prove power (Lualdi 236). By 1924, Mussolini was able to gain 65% of the vote for fascism, but in 1933, the Nazi party only gained 44% of the vote, and even with a minority ruling party was able to gain control of the government. Both Mussolini and Hitler came into power through legal means, but Mussolini was named Prime Minister in the hopes of avoiding war but after gaining control. Yet after their legal rise into power, they used coercion and violence to further their fascist rulings.

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Nationalism is the pride for one’s country, the love that one has for its country and it is the want for the good of all people in the nation. This love is not conditional, it does not depend on race religion or economic standing. When a leader is chosen, when a country is coming out of great national change, this requires a particularly strong leader who only wishes for their countries greatness and success in the future. However, this can quickly turn into ultranationalism, or expose ultranationalistic motives. The two concepts of one’s love for their country have similarities, one is formed from the other, or that each can be provokers of change in either direction in the political spectrum.

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In 1919, Benito Mussolini described fascism as “A movement that would strike against the backwardness of the right and the destructiveness of the left.” That “Fascism sitting on the right, could also have sat on the mountain of the center… These words in any case do not have a fixed and unchanged: they do have a variable subject to location, time and spirit. We don’t give a damn about these empty terminologies and we despise those who are terrorized by these words.” Fascism came into prominence in the early 20th-century Europe. It originated in Italy during World War I.

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What nationalism views are expressed in Rhodes “Confession of Faith”? Nationalism (Noun) - 1 . patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts. 2 .

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376) This description of Fascism indicates a government that is involved in the lives of its citizens to an extreme degree. By illustrating the government as a “powerful form of personality”, Mussolini alludes to the Fascist characteristic of organicism, where the state is seen as an organic whole being. Mussolini continues his

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In fact, when Mussolini founded the Milan facio in March 1919, it had no clear-cut goals, except for a belief in action and a stated goal of strong foreign policy (Duggan, 2013). However, when Italy was driven from Fiume at the end of 1920, many Italians began to believe that Italy would have to develop strong foreign policy. In 1921, Mussolini formed the National Fascist Party and began to quickly amass power in the Italian government. One of the methods he did so was to tout

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Nationalism has too often been dismissed as an irrational creed due to its association with disastrous results over the decades. But undeniably, it is a dominating force in contemporary international politics. It is important to understand nationalism if we want to understand global political developments. Many books have been written on this subject, but David Miller’s On Nationality stands out. This book takes on a distinctive approach to the study of nationalism, rendering it one of a kind in this field.

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The Warwick debate provides approaches to the study of nationalism. It laid the foundation for the development of two approaches to the study of nationalism. The first approach is Smith’s primordial approach and the other is Gillnets modernist approach. Smith’s argument begins with the definition of nationalism and the difference between a state and a nation.

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