Summary of Nationalism and Imperialism
Chapter 25: The Age of Nationalism, 1850-1914
Early nationalism, which was generally liberal, idealistic, democratic, and radical, came to be, by the end of the nineteenth century, the basic organizing principle in western society. The idea of nation had arrived in its modern form. Between 1850 and 1914, strong nation-states developedwhich won the enthusiastic support of all the social classes. This caused a shift in the balance of international political power and pulled the masses away from the socialist doctrine of class war. Napoleon III of France played a pioneering role in this triumph of nationalism. His mild dictatorship, which came into being illegally and which lasted from 1852 to 1870, showed how the national state and its programs could appeal to rich and poor, conservative and radical. In this way, the national state became a way of coping with the challenge of rapid political and economic change. Nationalism had a negative side as well, fuelling bitter international rivalries and heightening ethnic tensions.
Nationalism continued to be appealing to the masses because national governments and politicians responded effectively to many of their political demands and social needs. In Germany, Bismarck initiated the first social security laws, while the Conservative party in Great Britain expanded the franchise to ever more adult males. Throughout most of Europe, socialists and socialist political parties looked increasingly toward unions and parliaments for continued gradual improvement. They paid only lip service to the idea of radical, violent revolution and class war. The growing moderation of European socialists reflected the great appeal of nationalism for the masses. Only in multinational states, most notably the Austro-Hungarian Empire, did the growth of competing nationalisms promote fragmentation as opposed to unity.
Chapter 26: The West and The World (Imperialism)
Another aspect of western expansion was that European states established vast political empires mainly in Africa but also in Asia. This new imperialism occurred primarily between 1880 and 1900, when European governments scrambled frantically for territory. White people came, therefore, to rule millions of black and brown people in Africa and Asia. The causes of the new imperialism are still hotly debated. Competition for trade, superior military force, European power politics, and a racist belief in European superiority were among the most important. Some Europeans bitterly criticized imperialism as a betrayal of western ideals of freedom and equality. Others believed that the west had a responsibility to civilize the non-western world.
Western imperialism produced various reactions in Africa and Asia. The first response was simply to try to drive the foreigners away. The general failure of this traditionalist response then led large masses to accept European rule, which did bring some improvements. A third response was the modernist response of western-educated natives, who were repelled by western racism and attracted by western ideals of national independence and economic progress. Thus, imperialism and reactions to it spread western civilization to non-western lands such as Meiji Japan.
Early nationalism, which was generally liberal, idealistic, democratic, and radical, came to be, by the end of the nineteenth century, the basic organizing principle in western society. The idea of nation had arrived in its modern form. Between 1850 and 1914, strong nation-states developedwhich won the enthusiastic support of all the social classes. This caused a shift in the balance of international political power and pulled the masses away from the socialist doctrine of class war. Napoleon III of France played a pioneering role in this triumph of nationalism. His mild dictatorship, which came into being illegally and which lasted from 1852 to 1870, showed how the national state and its programs could appeal to rich and poor, conservative and radical. In this way, the national state became a way of coping with the challenge of rapid political and economic change. Nationalism had a negative side as well, fuelling bitter international rivalries and heightening ethnic tensions.
Nationalism continued to be appealing to the masses because national governments and politicians responded effectively to many of their political demands and social needs. In Germany, Bismarck initiated the first social security laws, while the Conservative party in Great Britain expanded the franchise to ever more adult males. Throughout most of Europe, socialists and socialist political parties looked increasingly toward unions and parliaments for continued gradual improvement. They paid only lip service to the idea of radical, violent revolution and class war. The growing moderation of European socialists reflected the great appeal of nationalism for the masses. Only in multinational states, most notably the Austro-Hungarian Empire, did the growth of competing nationalisms promote fragmentation as opposed to unity.
Chapter 26: The West and The World (Imperialism)
Another aspect of western expansion was that European states established vast political empires mainly in Africa but also in Asia. This new imperialism occurred primarily between 1880 and 1900, when European governments scrambled frantically for territory. White people came, therefore, to rule millions of black and brown people in Africa and Asia. The causes of the new imperialism are still hotly debated. Competition for trade, superior military force, European power politics, and a racist belief in European superiority were among the most important. Some Europeans bitterly criticized imperialism as a betrayal of western ideals of freedom and equality. Others believed that the west had a responsibility to civilize the non-western world.
Western imperialism produced various reactions in Africa and Asia. The first response was simply to try to drive the foreigners away. The general failure of this traditionalist response then led large masses to accept European rule, which did bring some improvements. A third response was the modernist response of western-educated natives, who were repelled by western racism and attracted by western ideals of national independence and economic progress. Thus, imperialism and reactions to it spread western civilization to non-western lands such as Meiji Japan.