MUN Briefing Paper Isolation Gam e, the grow th of nationalism
Hello, my name is Julia Ocytko and this year I will be chairing the Political 1
Committee with Cameron Currie. I have chaired at the conference and the
school club before and have been going to MUN since my first year of high
school so you will be in good hands. I look forward to meeting you all at the
conference in March where I hope you will all participate in the debates as you
enjoy and learn more from taking part. One of the topics for debate this year in
the political committees is the growth of nationalism, which this briefing paper
will go on to discuss along with the issues surrounding it, as a starting point for
your own research into the issue.
Firstly, nationalism is defined as “patriotic feelings, principles or efforts” and in
more extreme cases as “an extreme form of patriotism marked by a feeling of
superiority over other countries”.
Over the course of recent years, nationalistic sentiments have developed into
the extreme form, these becoming increasingly widespread and prominent in
politics as a result of events and ongoing issues such as immigration and
frustration with international organisations. The vote in favour of ‘Brexit’ in the
UK was a manifestation of such extreme nationalistic sentiments where many
“British people wanted their country back”. Nationalism also played a large part
in the basis of the support for Trump in his bid for the White House, which he
subsequently won. Such goings-on are caused in part by mass migration. People
feel that there is no longer a unified national identity and that the culture of their
country is being diluted or lost by large influxes of immigrants and the increasing
pace of globalisation. Globalisation has caused a positive growth in
multiculturalism as well as the devaluation of regional and national languages
that are not spoken by many people but play significant roles in many cultures
around the world. This has led to many countries, especially smaller nations, not
feeling noticed or visible on the world stage which in turn has increased patriotic
feelings in defiance of being ‘forgotten’ or ‘left behind’.
It is, however, important to note that nationalistic feelings of superiority do not
simply occur overnight. Instead, they are brought about by a long series of
events that make the citizens of a country feel dissatisfied with their
governments as well as with international institutions. This leads to support for
extremist candidates and parties, a memorable example of such occurrences
being the rise of the Nazi party back in the 1930s, a phenomenon that is reemerging with support for parties such as UKIP, the Northern League and the
‘Front National’. Historically, there is one glaring example of the most extreme
nationalism that will never be forgotten- that of Nazi Germany. The Third Reich
was full of militaristic nationalism, evident through the mass support for
Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia and annexation of Austria. This is a prime
example of nationalism in its most extreme form and allows us to see just how
far simple patriotic feelings can escalate. It serves as a reminder that extremes
of any kind can be bad.
George W atson’s College MUN 2017
MUN Briefing Paper Moreover, nationalism is not just people feeling that their country is superior, it
is also a way of shutting the rest of the world out and isolating one’s country. As
well as preserving a country’s identity and uniqueness, extreme nationalism
perpetuates a culture of ignorance, fear and hatred due to such feelings of
superiority. It encourages a system of belief where anything foreign is
considered as the enemy and other countries are not as important as one’s own.
Extreme nationalism impedes international co-operation and makes it harder for
organisations such as the UN to function.
Despite all this, nationalism in its simplest form of pride in one’s country is not a
bad thing. Indeed, it is a positive thing for countries in several respects.
Nationalism develops the infrastructure of a nation. The global demand for
natural resources continues seemingly without stopping. As revenues increase
and profits rise dramatically due to the high demand, there has been a resurge
in 'resource nationalism' with countries with many natural resources seeking
greater control or a larger share of the revenue generated from its resources.
This revenue from natural resources plays an important role in the development
of resource rich countries, including the construction or renewal of key
infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, harbours, airports, hospitals and
schools.
The 'American Dream' is also a form of nationalism. For many people it is
connected to becoming wealthy and being able to achieve everything if you work
hard enough for it. Yet for others it represents so much more than materialism,
such as living a simple, happy fulfilling life of which faith and equality would be
key features. Furthermore, the American Dream also symbolises America being
the land of liberty and opportunity. Some people believe that the American
Dream was founded by the Declaration of Independence, thereby making it one
of the oldest and most enduring forms of nationalism. The Declaration of
Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed."
Rapid change gives people the need to affirm a definite identity, with nationalism
being the most popular. During changes in government, protest movements or
demonstrations, a country can lose its way in terms of the direction it is heading
in and the best policies for its people. This is particularly true if a country is
perceived to be moving away from key traditions or cultural aspects such as
language. Thanks to nationalism, people with a shared cultural or national
identity can preserve those traditions and essential aspects of their culture that
are being lost.
Another definition of nationalism is 'loyalty and devotion to a nation'. Much like
extreme militaristic nationalism was essential to Nazi Germany starting the
Second World War, this nationalism of loyalty and devotion was essential to
winning World War 2. It was loyalty and devotion that led to 100,000s of
George W atson’s College MUN 2017
MUN Briefing Paper soldiers sacrificing everything for their respective countries. Without their
massive sacrifices made out of tremendous loyalty and devotion it is likely that
the outcome of the war would have been incredibly different and the world could
have been in a completely unpredictable situation.
In addition to all this, nationalism means caring for what belongs to you. It also
inspires people to succeed, an example of this being (the aforementioned
‘American dream’ being an example of this), and gives a nation a position of
strength by strengthening the sense of community and common goals within a
country which can lead to more global negotiating power.
The key question to consider in the debate about nationalism is, can a balance
be struck to promote ‘good’ nationalism, or is nationalism an ‘evil’ ideology that
must be denounced?
If you would like to be considered for an award at the conference you should
submit a position paper for this topic (around 50 words detailing your country’s
views on the issue) to me at [email protected] by Friday 24th February
2017.
I hope you are all looking forward to the conference.
To find out more about this issue:
http://thediplomat.com/2014/01/the-new-age-of-nationalism/
https://nationalismwatch.com/
http://www.economist.com/news/21631966-bad-news-international-cooperation-nationalism-back
For Country Profiles and lots of other useful information:
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
For issues of current international debate:
http://www.newint.org/
http://www.idebate.org/
http://www.amnesty.org/
George W atson’s College MUN 2017
George W atson’s College MUN 2017
MUN Briefing Paper