Does Globalization Diminish the Importance of Nationalism?

The argument of globalization and nationalism and their relation has been a subject to debate among scholars in the international relations discipline. Both concepts have an important position in our contemporary world. Their importance lies in the creation of modern societies and nations states and their role in the world in which interdependence has increased. As a matter of fact, nationalism has faced a great deal of difficulty in order to survive in this world and it becomes less important, as some would argue. However, others would say that nationalism is benefiting from globalization in gaining more and more strength besides; it is becoming more important than ever. Therefore, to explore the effect of globalization on nationalism and to address their relationship, this essay will look at the concept of both globalization as well as nationalism, followed by how both concepts come to interact with each other, and what are the major arguments of this interaction.

Globalization is defined as eliminations of barriers to trade, communication, and cultural exchange. The world today has become very different from what it was before because of globalization. With the advance in technology and communications, the world becomes deterritorialized (Robertson, 1996). The constraints of geography are shrinking and the world is becoming a single place (Waters, 2011). Talking about the positive or negative effect of globalization, some see it as a destroying power to the heritage and cultures of all the different ethnic groups around the world. For them, globalization is a nightmare that is happening and will keep happening for the next generations. Some effects of globalization can be seen through wearing Addidas clothing, listening to iPods, watching Western series on TV, eating McDonalds, drinking Starbucks or Coca Cola and even the language we speak will be mixture of Americanized English with slang. Our writing will be down to the level of mobile text message such as “Wotz up m8?” Or “How r u?” (Godfrey, 2008). This illustrates the cultural dominance of the West over the rest of the world. Cultural imperialism is one of the dominant faces of the west. As technology and science developed and get advanced in the west, other regions of the world started borrowing this technology and thus what ideas and values and science originated in the west becomes the standards in the whole world. “Products and ideas developed in rich countries shape the value and ideas of citizens of poor countries” (Evans, 1971, 638).

This dominance and the effect have caused awareness and alert to some national groups to fight back against globalization and the evil it introduces (Godfrey, 2008). Globalization as a concept refers to “The compression of the world and intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole… both concrete global interdependence and consciousness of the global whole in the 20th century.” (Robertson, 1992. P.8). This quote shows how the world has become a single place that is connected in one way or another. According to Giddens, “Globalization is identified as the intensification of worldwide social relations which links distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.” (Giddens, 1990). Therefore, everything is linked to each other in a way that is difficult to not be part of it.

However, globalization is not new phenomenon but it has involved some real changes in terms of scale, speed, and cognition. In terms of scale, the number of economic, political, and social linkages between societies is greater. In terms of speed, globalization involves a compression of time and space. In terms of cognition, there is an increased perception of the globe as a smaller place (Kinnvall: 2002 quoted in Kinnvall: 2004). This is to say that changes in the world have transfer the social, economical, and political relations into a much more intensive and faster process that generate transcontinental or inter-regional flows and networks of activity (Held and McGrew, 2003:16).

Concerning nationalism, it refers to the feelings of attachment to one another that members of a nation have and to a sense of pride that a nation has in itself (Kacowicz, 1998). It is the need of human beings to have a sense of belonging and nationalism can provide that. Nationalism is in itself an international ideology, which can be used to promote and defend culture and way of life (Godfrey, 2008). An example of nationalism is when a person moves out of their home country and still cheers for their home country in sports and looks up the current news. Nationalism is the foundation of modern society and social solidarity. Also it is used by politicians to promote national unity and patriotism. After Westphalia treaty in 1648, nation-state was established and accordingly it is the identity that shapes the modern society. Any nation that seeks its interests during peace or war proclaimed their nationality in order to getting people together for the same goal and same aim.

According to Riggs, “People become capable of exercising sovereignty only when they enjoy some sense of solidarity based on shared values and customs. This solidarity is reified into the concept of a nation” (Riggs, 2002). Nationalism contributed to the major wars of the 21st century, which began in Europe the very origin of nationalism. For example, boarder disputes, and ethnic groups who have been split by boarders especially in Africa and some others became minority like the Kurds (Unknown, Nationalism and Globalization, 2009). Thus, nationalism has a long history even before globalization and it has always a stand that people fight for.

There is another type of nationalism, which is the economic nationalism. This type in many ways harms the states that practice it. Also, one of the main manifestations of economic nationalism is protectionism, which is costly for the global economy in general (Campe, 2008) as the world becomes interdependent, then the fate of one state is linked and attached to the fate of another state. This is in many ways the basic feature of globalization, therefore, for a state that wants to stay behind and cut any ties with other states is going to lose.

When it comes to the relationship between globalization and nationalism, it can be said that there has been three major arguments that addresses this relationship. The first argument says that globalization has diminished nationalism through the increased interdependence and diminishing the national barriers between countries. In addition, the compression of time and space that allow people to interact more rapidly and thus nationalities have melted down and differences have disappear or at least become less important and less distinguishable. The second argument says that, globalization and nationalism have a mixed relation in which, one can has led to the other and one promotes the other. This argument stresses that the system of nation state has established before globalization and each state has contribute to the emergence of a global system. However, under globalization, nation-state is still functioning and promoting the global system. The third argument says that, globalization has increased the sense of nationalism in a way that national extremism has emerged. This essay will examine all these three arguments, and based on evidences, the essay will conclude with a clear answer to the question in the title favoring one of the arguments mentioned above.

The first argument in which globalization seems to diminish nationalism, John Kusumi argues that, “Globalization is the anti-thesis of nationalism as it suggests that there are no boundaries just one globe”(Godfrey, 2008). The importance of nationalism becomes less as “We live in a world that is simultaneously shrinking and expanding, growing closer and further apart, national boarders are increasingly irrelevant” (Attale: 1991, quoted in Lerche: 1998). Thus, with globalization, nationalism has lost its magnitude that keeps people of one nation together and draws a red line between different nationalities.

Furthermore, Hobsbawm argues that the peak of nationalism has passed and its strength, power and relevance are not the same as it was in the 19th century. In the past, clear national borders, strong traditional and national sense among people of a one nation, and there was less ways of contacting others. But in our current world, everything has become fast and integrated with each other to the degree that you cannot identify people and their nationality. Increase the contact between people due to the integration of world societies is often associated with more stereotyping and hatred of others and increase conflict (Butt, 2012). As more people with different nationalities come together and interact, more disputes and conflict will be generating. For example, in a multi-cultural education programs, there is an ongoing struggle for the presentation of identity claims. According to Giddens 1991, “living with a calculative attitude to the open possibilities of action, positive and negative, with which, as individuals and globally, we are confronted in a continuous way in our contemporary social existence” (Robertson, 1996).  Such interaction can be seen as an effect on globalization on nationalism in which, one cannot live with others.

The world on a cultural level has shifted from national cultures to the mixed of cultures across the globe resulted in homogenized global culture rather than nationalism. The TNC’s, which act globally, plays a role in establishing the global market in which makes the fate of one state is dependent on  other states’ economic fates. The development of global community from the interdependence to new technologies to media productions challenges the nationalist thinking. Globalization thus, “Possesses many threats to nationalism from participation in international organizations, loss of parts of state’s sovereignty, to advanced technologies, and easy mobility of people around the globe” (Campe, 2008)

Another issue is that immigration has a double faces in which, one face supports the argument of diminishing nationalism, while other face support the increasing sense of nationality. The first face is that through growing immigration, globalization introduces risks and security challenge to nationalism (Natalie, 2010). This is again from a cultural and traditional point of view, when more people immigrate to other country, they will affect the social structure and thus they will change the demography of that country, which results in decreasing the sense of nationality. However, the second face as Godfrey mentioned it by saying, “Migration of people from the 3rd World to the Western nations is a result of globalization which resulted in racial and cultural tensions in many parts of Europe and America, Example the Cronulla uprising, Dec. 2005 (Godfrey, 2008). Therefore, such changes and challenges have affected,

The protective framework of the small community and of tradition replacing these with many larger impersonal organizations. The individual feels bereft and alone in a world in which he or she lacks the psychological support and the sense of security provided by more traditional settings” (Giddens: 1991 quoted in Kinnvall: 2004).

The second argument is globalization and nationalism have a mixed relation in which, one can has led to the other and one promotes the other. Some see globalization as the result of nationalism because each nation has participated and gives something to the globe in a successful collective action (unknown, Nationalism and Globalization, 2009). This suggests that each independent nation has in one way or another involved in making up the globe as it is now. This could have happened through the interaction of trade in old days. Thus, without the existence of nationalism, globalizations would not be happening.

Moreover, globalization has promoted nationalism as in the case of Western social science in which in becomes a cultural resource in different global regions, for example the work of Durkheim on the theme of civil religion were influential in the establishment of the new Turkish Republic in 1920 (Robertson, 1996). This shows that what has happened or generated in a specific region or a country has influence other region or a country in a positive way that led to deepen the sense of nationalism. Lets here don’t forget the fact that nationalism was first established in Europe in Westphalia treaty 1648 (Vensatd, 2012). Therefore, both globalization and nationalism can live together in harmony and flourish or benefit from each other. According to Natalie “Their coexistence is not a battle in which only one is destined to emerge as the winner and the other as losers; it is rather a mutually beneficial coexistence of two compatible tendencies” (Natalie, 2010) some examples of this relation can be detected in Georgia where nationalist forces have been seeking greater globalization through the integration in Euro-Atlantic structure and attracting Foreign Direct Investment. In addition, elites of East European nations also framed their accession campaigns to Euro-Atlantic structure in terms of fulfilling national aspirations including gaining acceptance, recognition and security guarantees. This implies that nationalism has been acting as “a doctrine that lays down the basic rules of the game for any movement seeking to gain or hold political power” (Benner, 2001). In this respect, culture politics serves power politics and therefore nationalism and globalization can and do coexist together (Natalie, 2010).

The third argument says that, globalization has increased the sense of nationalism in a way that national extremism has emerged. According to Douglas Kellner,

Indeed from the late 1980s to the present, there has been a resurgence of nationalism, traditionalism, and religious fundamentalism alongside trends toward growing globalization. the explosion of regional, cultural, and religious differences in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia as well as explosive tribal conflicts in Africa and elsewhere suggest that globalization and homogenization were not as deep as it proponent hoped and criticized feared. Culture has thus become a new source of conflict and an important dimension of struggle between the global and the local (Godfrey, 2008).

From the quotation; we see that Nationalism in the age of globalization is a response to economic and political problems. As globalization is an external force that is pushing on the localities resulting in diminishing national sense, localities have respond very strongly to this pressure by adopting strong national sense. According to Giddens, “The revival of local nationalism and an accentuating of local identities are directly bound up with globalizing influences to which they stand in opposition” (Giddens: 1994 quoted in Natalie: 2010).

The more communication and interaction the more awareness of your identity and cultural differences leading to an increased projection of ethnic, cultural, and national differences leading to more conflict. Example of that, some national gangs and groups are formed by students in some European universities (Bloom: 1993 quoted in Butt: 2012) also massive effect of printing press, which allows people to express their culture and nationality with others, which allows people to see far beyond their communities and boarders. Moreover, the increased migration has led to the rise in the right-wing parties as in Europe and Britain (Butt, 2012). All of this is showing one important fact, which is the rise of nationalism as a response to globalization. Usually those radical right nationalism is driven by parties organization rather than mass movements and it involves more than racism and neo-fascist ideology, it is a political ideology and cultural authoritarianism (Delanty and O’Mahony, 2002, p.148).

In our global world, being proud of your heritage and culture and nationality has already become a tattoo in many respects (Godfrey, 2008). Globalization increases awareness of social heterogeneity as democracy allows people to participate and freedom of speech is guaranteed, groups whose identity is based on race, ethnicity, religion, language have become increasingly vocal and have used the global media to make their discontent knowing. After the Cold War, when the state was weakened by globalization minorities were able to more effectively assert their identity in reaction to hegemonic cultural forces. To that, most scholars believe that nationalism would only intensify as state faces the growing challenge of globalization. This is to say that when the state is weak, national sense becomes stronger (Hobsbawm, 1992).

Evidence shows that in the former Soviet Union republics, new nationalism was born from insecurity and exclusive seeking ethnic purity. Because of globalization, minorities in many countries are mobilizing to demand justice and respect, and establish communities often resist these demands (Riggs, 2012). The fact that USSR has collapsed and many nationalities and minorities were under USSR protection or repression. These minorities breathe freedom after the collapse and thus they demanded their right of ruling themselves based on their identity and nationality. According to Delanty and O’Mahony, “Nationalist identity claims as a basis for mobilization. National mobilization thrives on insecurity and uncertainty as categories of group belonging become sharpened in the heat of contestation” (Delanty and O’Mahony, 2002, P.144). This has led to more conflict as new nationalities was born, “National cultures have produced confrontations between Serbs, Muslims, and Croats, Armenians and Azerbaijanis” (Godfrey, 2008). So as a response to a weak state that is no longer a promoter and protectors of domestic interests but rather a collaborator with outside forces, minorities have raised their national voice (Scholte: 1997 quoted in Lerche: 1998).

In globalization, the powerful countries are those who can have a massive effect on the rest of the globe. Therefore, “The effort of the West to promote its values of democracy and liberalism as universal values to maintain its military predominance and to advance its economic interests would only engender countering responses from other civilizations” (Huntington: 1993 quoted in Lerche: 1998). Again, here we see a response from other nationalities and other civilization that feel inferior or less powerful in the age of globalization due to the social, economic, and political status toward the West.

According to Fuller: 1995,

Systems of international marketing and communications create freeways for the mass import of foreign cultural materials, food, drugs, clothing, music, film, books, TV programs, with the concomitant loss of control over societies. Such cultural anxieties are welcome fuel to more radical political groups that call for cultural authenticity, preservations of traditional and religious values and rejection of the alien cultural antigens (Fuller: 1995 quoted in Lerche: 1998).

The author here is clear in pointing out how the global system is designed in a way that makes it possible for others to respond. So, instead of expanding of Western cultural dominance, “We are witnessing a contested and decided encounter between global cultural flows and inherited local identities” (Waters: 1995 quoted in Lerche: 1998). On the other hand, Giddens has also stated that, “The process of globalization has a transformative and uneven effect on all parts of the global system. This suggests that globalization is not simply a one-way process, transmitting Western civilization to the rest of the world. Indeed, experience has shown the quite reverse” (Giddens, 1992). Thus, globalization rather than destroying local cultures, it tends to encourage responses to it through the rise of localities and nationalist movement around the world.

In the light of this argument, someone like Smith 1998 would argue that nationalism is stronger than globalization and therefore it cannot diminish or be less important. He stated that, “Nations have deep roots and they are based on pre-political, cultural, and ethnic identities and their social and moral significance sustain their power and explain their resistance” (Smith: 1991 quoted in Natalie: 2010). He added that globalization does not mean the end of nationalism. A cosmopolitan culture that exists today does not have the ability to drive people like nationalism; however, the world is witnessing a rise of extreme nationalism (Smith, A. 1998)

In this view, nationalism emerges as a cultural doctrine, which seeks to preserve and promote identity, culture, and autonomy of a nation. Smith (1991) supports this view as well as Tamer (1993) when she says that, “National movements are motivated by a desire to assure the existence and flourishing of a particular community to preserve its culture, tradition, language” (Natalie, 2010, p.170). The point here is that, nationalism as a response to globalization has emerged as a cultural protector that wants to bring societies back to their traditions and values. According to Beyer,

In response to the modern developments, religious and nationalist leaders may talk about moral or ethical decline by pointing to modern society lack of morality, loose of ethical values, and increased corruption. Therefore, the solution is to return back to traditional values and religious norms (Beyer: 1994 quoted in Kinnvall: 2004).

Now, having addressed the last argument that argues the rise of nationalism as a response to globalization, within this argument lies the rise of fundamentalism. Fundamentalism as a concept refers to those groups who resist the not only globalization but also the structure of the globe as a whole. According to Robertson, “Resistance to contemporary globalization, for example the radical side of the general Islamic movement would be regarded as opposition not only to the homogenize system but to the conception of the world as a series of culturally equal” (Robertson, 1996). Thus, fundamentalism opposes the idea of homogeneity of cultures and nationalities and provokes extreme nationalism.

According to Barber 1996, he describes the fundamentalist movement as, “Parochial rather than cosmopolitan, angry rather than loving, zealous rather than rationalist, ethnocentric rather than universalizing, fractious and pulverizing, never integrating” (Barber, 1996). Thus, this quote suggests that globalization seems to be pulling all identity groups on the planet out of their various degrees of isolation, pushing them into the current of the global structure and thereby obliging them to redefine relativize themes in regard to global trends. In Lerche, 1998, we see how globalization has a direct cause to the rise of fundamentalism through forcing different nationalities and cultures to integrate together and adopt themselves to the new structure. As a consequence to that, fundamentalism rose up against the force of globalization.

Furthermore, the relation between globalization and the rise of fundamentalism is shaped by the necessity for societies, regions, civilizations, and sub-national entities to declare their identities for both internal and external purposes because of space-time compression. Therefore, fundamentalism is a reaction to globalization (Robertson, 1996). As I have explained early in this essay that nationalism is deeply strong and rooted in the pre historical and pre political processes, Fundamentalism as a concept might be misinterpret by different sides. Some see it as a destructive movement to nations and to the globe as a whole, while some others see it as a just a mode of thought and practice which has become globally institutionalized in which norms of national and cultural self-determination is felt. Eventually fundamentalism makes globalization works (Robertson, 1996).

According to the Bulgarian national alliance who believe that, “We, the nationalist from BNS, have adopt a course toward formation of united nationalist front against globalization, NATO, EU in its current form, corrupt Bulgarian politics and rebirth of a traditional Bulgarian moral issues” (Godfrey, 2008). This shows an example of the extreme nationalism that is strongly support the argument favoring the rise of nationalism under globalization. Another example is the New Right activists and national anarchists who chose the phrase “globalization is genocide” on their banner at the APEC protest back in September 2007. This again shows how those groups feel about the global system and also shows how strong and bigger those movements are becoming. Thus, nationalistic groups who want to preserve their identity fight back the destructive agenda of globalization. At the end, globalization as it seeks a global community with no national barriers it actually feeds the national sense to be raising again (Godfrey, 2008).

In conclusion, this paper has argued that globalization has a double-edged sword, however, the rise of nationalism and increasing its importance has marked a strong position under globalization. With growing globalization and the changes that has brought to the world, minorities, nationalities, and localities have awakened and became more aware of the threat of globalization. This threat is embraced in the homogenization as a nature of globalization that makes people and nationality melting down and becomes as one. This has led to the increase of national sense as a response to the force of globalization in order to protect cultures, traditions, and nationalities form melting or adopting the new structure of the world that is caused by globalization. However, nationalism has created xenophobia in which people fear that their nationality and tradition will disappear in the face of globalization. Therefore, they create or invent tradition or reestablish an old tradition in which they maintain their identity. As Deutsch stated that, “Xenophobia is written into the heart of nationalism” (Delanty and O’Mahony, 2002, p.167). Thus fearing of the force of globalization led to more sense of nationalism and more defensive means to protect or even invent traditions just to resist globalization.

On the other hand, globalization can be seen as a challenge to nationalism in the way it increases immigration and movement of people which might create new sources of tensions and pose new difficulties to the management of cultural and ethnic diversity (Natalie, 2010). Some other threats are; participation in international organizations and the loss of parts of a state’s sovereignty over its own territory, as well as regional integration erode nationalist ideology. This argument might seem convincible and well argued, but evidence shows the opposite. For example EU is an international organization and at the same time it strengthens the nation state of Europe.

In a globalized world, many features of nationalism seem to have been revived. Increasing migration movements fosters xenophobia among people. Mixing cultures and newly emerging hybrid cultures make it hard for people to find their identity and let them turn towards their own culture (Campe, 2008). This means that the force of globalization has pushed nationalism to be raised again and be more important than ever as people realize they are lost without their identity and nationality. Finding an identity is very essential for security reason in the modern world of insecurities. The tendency toward a strong sense of nationality has fueled by “fears of diminishing economic resources for the socially insecure” (Delanty and O’Mahony, 2002, p.156).

It is true that globalization has a potential of containing aggressive nationalism that thrives on isolation and insecurity. It also creates incentives for the resolution and prevention of conflict by the integration. However, at the same time it generates nationalistic responses in the form of right wing radicalism or religious fundamentalism that reacts to certain aspects of globalization such as immigration and restructuring of traditional economy (Sassen, 1998).

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Written by: Tammam O. Abdulsattar   
Written at: Middle East Technical University
Written for: Luciano Baracco
Date written: June 2013

source: http://www.e-ir.info/2013/11/14/does-globalization-diminish-the-importance-of-nationalism/