Why and how justifiably has nationalism been treated with suspicion by political thinkers?

Nationalism and Politics

Custom Research by Essay Nationalism and Politics

Essay Plan

Introduction

Overview of the essay itself

Roots and renaissance of nationalism

Nationalism enters the modern age

World superpowers and nationalism

Justified suspicion of nationalism

Nationalism in 1930 's Germany

Nationalism in communist Europe

IV . Nationalism and the world economy

Relationship between global politics and nationalism

Effect of nationalism on world economy

V . Key considerations

Introduction

As the world political climate has become more complex and in some cases outright hostile , many

nations have turned inward , embracing nationalism as a method of self preservation at the very least and at best , or worst depending upon one 's point of view , pitting nations against one another in competition for global political status . Because of these mixtures of nationalism and politics the question of why and how justifiably nationalism has been treated with suspicion by political thinkers becomes very relevant . In this , the question will be discussed and explored with real world examples where appropriate

The Roots and Renaissance of Nationalism

Nationalism , in one form or another , traces its European roots back at least 200 years most sources agree that the modern renaissance ' of nationalism can be defined as the period when the Cold War reached its apex in the early 1970s . It was also during this period that nationalism became truly political in nature , as the two superpowers of the world at that time , the United States and the United Soviet Socialist Republic , each developed an intense infrastructure of national pride and protectionism while at the same time trying to advocate their respective political systems in other nations in an effort to gain allies for their war of politics and ideology . With the key players in the world political game embracing nationalism in its new form , the other nations of the world , large and small , soon followed suit . Along with the nationalism boom came suspicion of nationalism on the part of many of the world 's most keen political minds and powerful political players

Justified Suspicion of Nationalism

The suspicion on the part of the world 's political leaders is justified when one takes the time to look at world history over the last century or so , painful examples of nationalism run amok abound Many people do not realize it , but the roots of the Nazi party , the political machine of Adolf Hitler in the Germany of the 1930 's-1940 's was based upon a very concentrated , and in hindsight toxic , form of German nationalism . In this instance , Hitler , being a charismatic speaker and power monger , used the fervor of nationalism to build a regime which ultimately claimed millions of innocent lives and hurtled the world into war for years . Behind the scenes , one can only imagine how many more lives were shattered as a result of Nazi fervor and actions . Also , referring back briefly to the introduction of this the entire communist movement which came close to launching the world into war as well , had its...