World history..........nationalism of india, ottoman empire/turkey, iran, china, japan, mexico

World History………. Nationalism of India, Ottoman Empire/Turkey, Iran, China, Japan, Mexico

The paper ” Nationalism of India, Ottoman Empire/Turkey, Iran, China, Japan, Mexico” is a good example of an essay on history. In my opinion, nationalism in the following countries of India, the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, Iran, China, Japan, and Mexico were all successful to an extent. However, if I had to rank the countries in the successfulness of nationalism, I would rank them as the Ottoman Empire/Turkey in the first place, then India, Iran, China, Japan, and finally Mexico. These rankings are leading and the state the country is in today. Questions about the nations today would include did nationalism help the nation create a lasting government, what is the state of that government today if still in existence, and how successful is the country overall? These questions allowed for the determination of the Ottoman Empire/Turkey to rank first and Mexico to rank last.  The choice of first place in successful nationalism is the Ottoman Empire/Turkey. The reasons I chose Turkey over India are the unity of the Turkish people, the lasting government established by the Turks after the end of the Ottoman Empire, the classlessness imposed by Ataturk, and the reduction of religious influence in the government. After most of the ethnic Turks were gathered under Turkish rule, without all the minorities to cause confusion, nationalism began to take place. This unity helped the Turks establish a government that is still around today in Ankara. The government still has a Grand National Assembly and President. Although based on Western governments, the new Turkish government made it a Turkish democracy. Another reason for the success of nationalism would be the classlessness imposed by Ataturk. No gap between rich, middle class or poor was felt among the Turks. All Turks wanted what was best for Turkey, not for their individual opinion or class. Finally, the reduction of religious symbols, especially Islamic, helped pull the Turks together despite religious differences. All of these reasons contributed to the success of the Turkish nation.
India had success through nationalism, but not on the scale of Turkey. India’s problems with nationalism were religious and class differences between the Indians. Gandhi was a good national symbol and leader, but he was not enough to create India as a whole self-ruling nation. India became self-ruling but lost a portion of territory that became Pakistan in the process. The Hindu and Muslims could not figure out a government together. For Hindu Indians being from India was totally different than a Muslim Indian from India. The two identities could not mesh into a single national movement. The lower and upper classes also create problems with India’s nationalism process. This problem was eventually overcome. However today India is still a hotbed of unrest between the Hindu and Muslim. Still, India is a thriving country with a proud nationalism among the surviving government.
Iran ranks third on my list. This might seem strange given the government that was created during the first of the twentieth century did not survive. Also, Iran has a religious government based on Islam, which makes this seem like an odd choice above China, Japan, and Mexico. Iran is my third choice due to the devoutness Iranians show toward their country. Iranians nationalism really began when the Shah was overthrown. The Iranian revolution against ways of the Western world really made all Iranians feel a national pride in their country. This pride is still shown today. Iran is for Iranians, not all Arabs, Western oppressors, or others. Iran has a distinct nationalism based on the Muslim religion and the government based on this religion.
China ranks fourth on my list because of the struggle to unite all the warlords and differences between feudal tribes. Chinese nationalism is not based on true Chinese tradition today. Today Chinese nationalism is based on a foreign concept of Marxism. The only thing that united the nation was communism. The individuality of a national ideal based on traditional customs was ignored. As a result during the period around WWI when nationalism should have been at the highest, infighting allowed Japan to occupy Manchuria and other territories. It took WWII to invite communism in before true nationalism as seen today came into effect.
Japan is listed fifth due to the separation in classes, military nationalism, and the effects of WWII. Japan had and still has a ruling class. Royal orders were to be obeyed, especially before WWI. Overlords and peasants also made up Japanese culture. This class separation created friction which led to a military government. This military government created an emerging nationalism that struck deep into the Japanese culture. This military government was a great source of pride, especially when comparing themselves to the Chinese. When the Japanese were conquering and ruling the Japanese, nationalism was strong. However after the Allies defeated Japan during WWII, Japanese nationalism took on a new meaning. Instead of basing their nationalism in a military government, a new nationalism had to form. While Japan is strong today, many of the aspects of what happened before and after the war affected their nationalism negatively.
Mexico ranks last due to the failure of nationalism. Mexicans do not refer to themselves as Mexicans but as Latinos. Pride is not present. As a result, the economy has failed, corruption rules and many Mexicans have crossed the border into the USA legally and illegally to make a better life for themselves. The lack of resources, abundant peasants, and the land is owned by only a thousand individuals. Mexico is enjoyed by few, while others suffer. So Mexican nationalism has failed.
Nationalism can only work if a group of people feels they belong together. Classes, religious differences, lack or abundance of resources, opposing agendas, and outside interference can all cause nationalism to fail. The countries listed above were ranked on these criteria. All of these countries still exist. Their nationalism has helped or hurt the positions they have today. Nationalism differs from culture to culture and region to region.