World Civilizations

NATIONALISM AS A DISRUPTIVE FORCE The eighteenth century saw a revolution sweeping Western philosophy and a simultaneous upheaval and transformation in Western social life . In this period , the west , particularly the European society and state seemed cold and heartless . The dislocations of industrialization and urbanization exposed the weaknesses of the old system and stimulated a need for more innovative political institutions adaptable to the new socio-economic conditions . This desire for change was accompanied by strong nationalist sentiments . Initial Western nationalism was lauded as a liberal form of mass political engagement and

allegiance to the secular power of emerging states , consistent with popular rule Accordingly , its birth was announced with the representation , rights and toleration of England 's constitutional monarchy and its banner the liberty , equality and fraternity ' of the French Revolution against absolutism . Many scholars estimate the birth of the American nation from 1750-1775 (see for example , Weeks , 1994

In the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century , social political , and economic turmoil and instability transformed many Western countries into the world 's most chaotic amphitheater of disruption People who thought that their cultural and political bs were violated waged a series of insurrections and rebellions . This strong feeling and desire to fight violations of inalienable natural rights came to be known as nationalism . Nationalist feelings became a decisive power in the Romantic Era . In nationalism , the individual is the very center , the arbiter , the sovereign of the universe (Kedourie , 1993 ,

br 17 . The political implication of this was that self-determination constituted the supreme good . Later political philosophers building upon Kantian ideas proposed that : humanity is naturally divided into nations each nation has its peculiar character the source of all political power is the nation for freedom and self-realization , people must identify with a nation loyalty to the nation-states overrides other loyalties and the primary condition of global freedom and harmony is the strengthening of the nation-state (Smith , 1983

In the early years of the twentieth century , the striking similarity displayed by the nationalist movements throughout Southeast Asia derived from their common inspiration in Western ideology and their largely identical economic bases - the former guiding the intellectuals who lead the movements in their respective countries the latter supplying the driving power from the masses . However , it must be pointed out that nationalist movements in this region did not have the support of more than a very small fraction of the native peoples , who for the most part are not aware that the question of autonomy even exists , and whose major concern is simply survival (Emmerson , Mills , and Thompson , 1942

In Southeast Asia , native nationalism has been the forced growth of a transplanted Western seed . In spite of the centrifugal forces of a plural society artificially bound together solely by the profit motive nationalism has taken root among the indigenous peoples . It has penetrated most deeply among the native peoples who are united by a common language , pride of race and glorious historical traditions (Emmerson , Mills , and Thompson , 1942

Thus...