Introduction

Abstract

No matter how many times a country has been conquered, subjugated and even destroyed by enemies, there is always a certain national core preserved in its character, and, before you are aware of it, a long-familiar popular phenomenon has emerged. (Goethe, 1998: 139) Nationalism is not the awakening of the nation to self-consciousness; it invents nations where they do not exist. (Gellner, 1964: 169) The quotations above reflect two opposing views of the nation and nationalism. Their implications need to be examined. But before doing this, we must first introduce the concept of an ethnic group and examine its relationship to the nation. Ethnicity and nationhood, though closely related, are distinct. Ethnicity is a set of features characteristic of a given ethnic group. It has long been disputed whether they are inseparably part of the human character (this has been described as the ‘primordialist’ view), or constructed by elite groups for economic and political reasons (this has been described as the ‘constructionist’ view). Various views intermediate between these two extremes have also been put forward.

No matter how many times a country has been conquered, subjugated and even destroyed by enemies, there is always a certain national core preserved in its character, and, before you are aware of it, a long-familiar popular phenomenon has emerged. (Goethe, 1998: 139)

Nationalism is not the awakening of the nation to self-consciousness; it invents nations where they do not exist. (Gellner, 1964: 169)