review of nationalism reader

[davidmci@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (David McInerney)]

Here is a copy of a 'research note' written by me which is to appear in the
next _Political Theory Newsletter_ (Vol. 7, No. 2, December 1995).


---------------

Omar Dahbour and Micheline R. Ishay (eds.), The Nationalism Reader,
Humanities Press, New Jersey, 1995.  ISBN 0-391-03867-2 (pbk.)  US$18.50

This reader is arranged in a series of sections dealing with nationalism as
it appears in liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and fascism.  It aims to
depict

>the historical evolution of nationalist thought in the words of leading
>political actors and thinkers.  In that sense it can serve as a primary
>source supplement to historical interpretations of nationalism =8A This
>reader, however, is more than merely a useful reference book for students.
>It also proposes to explain nationalism in ideological terms.  The issue
>here is not whether nationalism is itself an ideology =8A or a sentiment =
=8A
>What is crucial is how different historical manifestations of nationalism
>can be better understood by placing them in the context of major political
>traditions such as liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. (p. 1)

The editors also provide a section containing texts from the Enlightenment
to give readers a feel for the political-intellectual milieu out of which
these various movements arose.  Their intention is to provide a summary
knowledge of the role that nationalism has played in modern politics,
rather than to present the various theories of nationalism which are part
of the current academic debates.

However, the sections entitled 'Anticolonialism and National Liberation
Movements' and 'American Perspectives on Nationalism' seem out of place for
a reader designed to locate nationalism within the 'context of major
political traditions'.  Indeed, these sections seem to place a number of
political positions within the context of specific (temporally and
spatially) nationalisms (e.g. Jawarhalal Nehru and Frantz Fanon; Woodrow
Wilson and Marcus Garvey).  Why couldn't these be located, rather, as
representatives of particular political traditions?

Similarly, it is unclear why Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 1991 article should
be located in the 'Conservatism and Nationalism' section while
contemporaneous material by Michael Walzer, J=FCrgen Habermas, Jeremy
Brecher, and Eric Hobsbawm have been placed in 'The Contemporary Debate on
Nationalism.'  The reason appears to be that the latter section is
restricted to academic work on nationalism, whereas Solzhenitzyn's
intervention is considered 'political'.  But these academic works come from
within political traditions and are political interventions, albeit from a
narrow range of political traditions.  Indeed, it would seem that the
interventions of all three come from one sort or another of left-liberal
internationalism - not withstanding the editors' attempt to portray Eric
Hobsbawm as the 'token Marxist' (allusions to Hobsbawm's intervention being
'in the spirit of Marx' seem unconvincing - Hobsbawm's work on nationalism
is in the Weberian tradition of Ernest Gellner).  This narrowness seems
particularly inappropriate considering the editors' point that

>[T]here is neither widespread awareness nor expert consensus on the
>meaning and origins of nationalism.  Past and contemporary literature on
>nationalism shows that there are many conceptions and types of
>nationalism, and hence more than one way to understand the origins of this
>phenomenon. (p. 1)

Why not, then, include the writings of post-war Communists or fascists on
these issues - Etienne Balibar versus Jean-Marie Le Pen on French
nationalism and the issue of immigration, for example?  The editors'
limited conception of 'the contemporary debate on nationalism' is the main
flaw in the collection.  That said, this reader provides a useful
collection of political texts, despite flaws in structuring the
presentation of those texts.


Mr. David McInerney,
Political Science Program, Research School of Social Sciences,
The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T., AUSTRALIA  0200.
e-mail: davidmci@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; ph: (06) 249 2134; fax: (06) 249 3051




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