What is the nationalism history essay

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What Is Nationalism?

Nationalism, a compilation of ideas concerning the nation, whose interest are taken to be the ultimate good, has become one of the elementary forces of modern times. It received its supreme boost from the French revolution and was shaped up by the society and political changes of the 19th century in Europe. Nationalism has since traveled around all the continents of the globe. It came in two conflicting deviation. One of which is, state nationalism, which is sponsored by the ruling establishment of existing states. The other one is popular or ethnic nationalism, which is steered by the requirements of people living within those states against the rule of their governments.

Nationalism in Europe

Between 1850 and 1914 strong nation states developed in Germany and Italy. The nation states were fabricated upon the values of nationalisms, the connection of people by a common history, language, customs, values, and purpose. Nationalism originated with the French revolution and with Napoleon, who assisted to spread it out in Europe. As it took hold in the rising urban culture of the late nineteen century, people began to shift their devotion from a sovereign system to putting national interest above all other considerations.

Impact of Nationalism

Nationalism enhanced a sense of belonging and control, as well as a connection to the state, which had been disrupted by the industrial Revolution. The Industrial revolution had modified the affiliation between the worker and the employer and the adherence that had once been directed to the owner and was now shifted toward a unified state. The nationwide states became a way of managing the rapid economic and political changes. Influential leaders were able to steer this power toward industrialization and transformation of their Economies. The spread of nationalism had pessimistic as well as optimistic effect, however. The sprouting of the unified Germany economy threatened to upset the balance of power that had existed since the legislature in Vienna in 1815 and endangered the prevailing position of the great Britain on the continent. In the multinational Austrian and Ottoman empires, nationalism had a disruptive rather than a merging effect. Competing nationalist factions in these empires promoted fragmentation, which sparked conflicts and bloodshed that dramatically effected Europe in the twentieth century.

Major Impacts of World War One on the European Society

Though it ended over a century ago, the First World War memories are still fresh today in the European society. The war had a massive impact that the British referred to it as the Great War. The advance in science and technology brought with it weapons that were highly destructive than before which led to a high number of causalities than the other previous war that had been fought in Europe. A total of 9 million soldiers and 6 million civilian were killed, and property worth millions was destroyed. People died of starvation coupled with the spread of the deadly influenza which was as a result of the troop movement. By the end of the war, almost the whole entire European nation had been completely wiped off. Due to this effect, Europe lost its powers as the war outlay, and reconstruction cost and debt engulfed the British imperial power. The war had such a devastating effect that it took years for the country to get back on its feet. But the war also had a positive upshot as it transformed the European attitudes toward the wars. In a region where war was the accepted norm of settling disputes, the notion suddenly became irrelevant, and regions, which were entwined, in conflicts were now linked with treaties and trade agreements (Davies 1996).

Cold War

Causes

The Cold War was a hostile enmity between the United States and the Soviet Union, which lasted for 40 years until the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early1991. The war was referred to as cold as unlike the other wars the United States and the soviet Union never engaged in any direct military conflict, but both countries threatened each other with nuclear annihilation and were frequently involve in proxy wars whereby they supported other nations fight their wars like in the Vietnam, and Korea. The cold war defined both countries foreign strategies through the second half of the twentieth century as Americans, and the Soviets struggled for allies to sustain and widen their relevant area of power around the world. Each side viewed the cold war as a battle between civilization, in the world wide clash between soviet and American, where only one could win. For more than fifty years, the USSR and the United States differences involved global affairs, building up massive military system, building up nuclear weapons, and fierce technological struggle as each tried to uphold their powers as the world leader.

Why the Cold War Lasted For So Long

Due to the differences in the economic structures of the countries, the countries were always in constant threat from each other. The United States being the leader of the capitalist world struggled to inhibit the Soviet Union from expanding its communism to other nations in Europe. The struggle was establish who was to become the overall superpower of the world. But by early 1980s, the cold war came to an end. The nations behind the iron curtain for instance East Germany realized that they were behind as they could see the prosperity on the West Germany side. By 1991, following the disband of the Soviet Union, for the first time in 40 years the animosity that had existed between the two nations weaken. Though a series of trade agreements and treaties, the two countries, reduced the number of nuclear weapons each country had in their possessions (Lynn 1993).