A world of nation-states

Since the 1700s, the nation-state has been a driving force in international relations. In our globalized world, billions of people may use the same social media networks. They listen to the same hit songs and wear the same style jeans. They even play the same video games. Yet almost everybody is still a citizen of a nation-state, and national identity still motivates people. In fact, nationalism may be on the rise.

Sports is an interesting vantage point from which to consider nationalism and the role of the nation-state. The two biggest international sporting events are the Olympics and the Football (Soccer) World Cup. Each pits teams of the different nation-states against each other. They pursue victories and medals. They also promote national pride. Some scholars study how sports reflect the importance people place on identifying with a group.

However, sports also show the complexity of nation-states. For example, the United Nations recognizes 195 independent nation-states. The FIFA World Cup only allows those 195 to show their flags. However, 211 teams can participate in the qualifying games. Some of these teams represent communities that aren’t fully recognized as independent countries. These communities include Kosovo (claimed by Serbia) and Taiwan (claimed by China).

The Olympic Games faces similar issues. Since 1992, the Olympic committee has permitted stateless people to compete. In 2016, Brazil hosted the games. The first-ever Refugee Olympic Team took part, represented by the Olympic flag itself. Its ten athletes had fled war-torn countries such as Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo.

What does it really mean to have a nation-state? Why are some countries only partially recognized? What role does nationalism play in the lives of people and nations? These questions help us understand the state of the world’s nations today.

Transnationalism

The First World War (1914–1918) and Second World War (1939–1945) were years of violence and terror. In the aftermath, nationalism was regarded by many as a destructive mentality. It had contributed to widespread fighting and death. In the post-war years, there was a growth in internationalism. It promoted the idea that the nation-states of the world must cooperate. They could work together to prevent war and address the world’s most difficult problems. More recently, economic globalization has become a powerful factor in the way people and nations interact. Products made in one country are sold in another, and the world’s economies have become increasingly interwoven. Such international systems seemed to control aggressive nationalism.

In recent years, some scholars of globalization make the case that we have entered an era of “transnationalism.” They argue that the globalized economy has contributed to new concepts of identity. Technology and media are connecting people like never before. They allow far-flung groups to share interests and culture. More people have come to consider their personal identities to be independent of their national identities. Transnationalism is also reinforced by migrations of people to other nation-states.

The resurgence of nationalism

Not everybody thinks nationalism is disappearing, or even a bad thing. Gustavo de las Casas is a foreign relations expert. He believes that nationalism can unite members of a nation-state. A common national identity can motivate them to work together towards a common good.

Rwanda is one country where leaders have tried to use nationalism to rebuild. In 1994, hundreds of thousands of people were murdered there. This genocide mainly targeted the Tutsi people. Afterward, Rwanda’s new government promoted a program of “everyone is Rwandan.” It was an effort to promote healing between two communities— Hutu and Tutsi—in hopes of preventing future violence. The government banned people from speaking about their ethnic identity. The program also has promoted a set of values the government wants all Rwandans to share.

The “everyone is Rwandan” program has its critics, though. Some argue that its emphasis on obedience to the government creates other problems. It discourages open discussion of the painful past. Some say it favors Tutsi people over Hutu people. Certainly, Rwanda’s history demonstrates how difficult it is for people to balance their different identities.

Nationalism based on race rather than state

As demonstrated in Rwanda, ethnic nationalism can be powerful and dangerous. It is not based on belonging to the same nation-state. Rather, it relates to shared race or ethnicity.¹ In many cases, it often becomes an excuse for violence. In the United States, the most prominent example is white nationalism.

In August 2017, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, became a battleground. White supremacists were confronted by activists defending racial equality. Some demonstrators carried Confederate flags. It had been the battle flag of Southern states during the Civil War (1861–1865). More recently, it has come to represent opposition to racial equality. The marchers also carried tiki torches. They were reminders of the torches the Ku Klux Klan have used to terrorize African American communities.² At one point, a white supremacist drove a car into a group of marchers. An activist, Heidi Heyer, was killed.

Ironically, modern white nationalism is very transnational. These nationalists use it to recruit supporters in various countries. Most share a resentment towards those they see as outsiders. Minorities, refugees, and immigrants are common targets of their hostility.

Citizens of no nation

Nationalism often rejects people who are not citizens. Outsiders may be especially suspect if they do not belong to the dominant ethnic group. The government may block their paths toward citizenship.

By law, anyone born in the United States becomes a citizen. This system is called birthright citizenship. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees this right. However, some opponents have argued that it should be eliminated. Birthright citizenship is the law in only 39 other countries. In most countries, citizenship is only granted to newborns who have at least one parent who holds citizenship.

When a person is denied a citizenship, their basic rights are often limited. They may be denied public education and health care. They may be banned from working, buying a house, or even getting married. They also are denied freedom of movement. Without citizenship, they cannot get a passport. Without a passport they may not be allowed to leave the country and return.

In Europe, for example, the Roma people have routinely been denied citizenship and basic rights.³ Many of them fled the Balkans in the 1990s. They were forced to leave the region during a nationalist war. Some lost their documentation in the process. Others never were allowed citizenship to begin with. Many Roma children remain unable to gain citizenship in any European state.

Sometimes, groups within a country only have limited citizenship rights. This is the case of the Palestinian people living in Israel. Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have Israeli passports. However, they do not have the same rights as Israeli citizens and are forced to live under military occupation. In 2018, Israel passed a new law. It declared the country the “nation-state for the Jewish people.” The law noted that “The exercise of the right to national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish People.” This leaves the Palestinian people as outsiders in the country in which they live. They are not allowed to have a state of their own.

Further discussion

So what does the future hold? Are we in an increasingly transnational world where our identities as members of a nation-state are becoming less important? Or is nationalism making a comeback? A complex shift is underway, whichever direction the world turns.

1 As you already know, “race” is not grounded in scientific evidence of shared background. Rather, it is a category that people largely invented based on just a few biological factors, especially skin color.
2 In fact, tiki torches come from Polynesia society. They represent how much even these white supremacists rely on global ideas and technologies!
3 “Roma” describes the same ethnic group who were sometimes referred to by the racist pejorative “gypsies.”