- Email: [email protected]
Understanding nationalism
Book reviews / Political Geography 22 (2003) 917–930
919
ways and raises many questions about the potentialities of national cultural narratives in the age of global technology. David Landrum Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 4QP, UK E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S0962-6298(02)00062-8
Understanding nationalism Montserrat Guibernau and John Hutchinson (Eds); Polity Press: Cambridge, 2001, pp. 304. ISBN 0-7456-2402-2 (paperback) and 0-7456-2401-4 (cloth) “Why yet another book on nationalism?” That the editor’s introduction begins with this very question is testament to the burgeoning scholarship on nationalism within the social sciences. Guibernau & Hutchinson offer two justifications for the existence of their collection: that it is timely to review the many emerging sub-fields within this scholarship and, given the momentous events and trends of the 1990s, that it is also timely to reconsider the state of play. True to their word, this collection of eleven chapters does indeed provide a useful and timely review of the study of nationalism. Published to mark the tenth anniversary of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN), this is not just another book on nationalism. For a start, the list of contributors to Understanding Nationalism - featuring names like Smith, Connor, Young, and Mann - reads like a veritable ‘who’s who’ of contemporary theorists in the area. Moreover, while most of the chapters are theoretical, covering major interpretative debates, they retain a refreshingly contemporary focus. From the outset, the reader is immersed in what is perhaps the most perennial of debates within this field: the divide between what the editors call ‘ethno-symbolists’ and ‘modernists’. Anthony D. Smith’s opening chapter defends the former position eloquently. Smith employs the French term ethnie to define a group’s common ancestry myths, historical memories and cultural traits, and explores the continuity between some historical ethnies and modern nations. In contrast, the second chapter presents a modernist position through John Breuilly’s consideration of the relationship between the state and nationalism. Breuilly contends that nationalism as politics is distinctively modern, emerging in the context of modern state institutions, and suggests that further research in comparative history will reveal the recurring features that accompany nationalism. Perhaps of most interest to geographers will be Walker Connor’s chapter on the psychology of homeland. For Connor, modern nationalist movements cannot be disassociated from the fundamental ethno-territorial attachments that lie at their heart and remain invulnerable to time, place or culture. These ties, which transform land
920
Book reviews / Political Geography 22 (2003) 917–930
into homeland, delimit and shape nationalist movements but, Connor argues, are under-researched within the social sciences. Suggested topics for new research include outmigration, borders, and exile as well as the ex-Soviet countries as potentially rich case studies. Three more chapters deal with theorising nationalism. John Hutchinson, another contributor working from an ethno-symbolist perspective, explores how pre-modern ethnic loyalties are mobilised in innovative ways in the contemporary context. Michael Mann examines instances of ‘murderous ethnic cleansing’, arguing that such violence is usually motivated by the struggle for political sovereignty. Montserrat Guibernau’s concluding chapter examines the future of nationalism and the nationstate, dealing specifically with the various global pressures weakening the nationstate. Interspersed with the above six chapters are five more thematic contributions that highlight under-researched issues and/or case studies. Steven Grosby deals with the subtle conceptual distinctions between nationality and religion. Nira Yuval-Davis looks at the relationship between nationalist movements and feminist movements, highlighting the discrepancy between the central role played by women in the ‘production’ and ‘reproduction’ of the nation and the lack of attention paid to gender in studies of nationalism. Kosaku Yoshino provides an empirically rich case study of post-1945 Japanese nationalism, re-evaluating nihonjinron (the view that Japanese culture is unique) as ‘secondary nationalism’ aimed at the maintenance of identity in an established nation. Crawford Young, self-consciously moving from the empirical core of Europe to the periphery of Africa, provides a useful overview of the literature on African nationalism and explores the transition from ethnic rivalry to violence. Finally, John Armstrong presents a general overview of the literature on nationalism in post-communist societies, paying particular attention to research on Poland, Russia and the Ukraine. One of the primary purposes of Understanding Nationalism is to suggest a broader research agenda for those working in the field. However, as John Breuilly points out, it may be impossible “to have a satisfactory theory or even approach towards nationalism as a whole” (p.49, original emphasis). The editors come to a similar conclusion about the output of their book: “It will be clear from these chapters that some of the major disagreements between scholars of nationalism remain unresolved” (p.6). Nevertheless, dwelling on the recurring concerns that emerge through the chapters, they suggest that a broader research agenda in the study of nationalism needs to look at several general issues. This agenda includes the history and psychology of nation-formation, the consequences of democratisation, the Eurocentric biases in the study of nations, and the impact of global forces on nationalism. For political geographers working in this area, this list and the specific concerns raised by Connor certainly point to the particular relevance of spatial issues in future research on nationalism. The need for empirical and comparative research in the historical blind spots outside the West is also an invitation to political geographers with this experience. Perhaps the collection’s most refreshing feature is its versatility. For those new to the study of nationalism, this book should serve as a useful introductory reader.
Book reviews / Political Geography 22 (2003) 917–930
921
For a more seasoned traveller, the collection is a handy survey of some of the important themes and prominent authors in the area. For the established researcher, the collection highlights several issues that need further exploration. Of course, despite its grandiloquent title, Understanding Nationalism cannot and does not claim to be a thorough survey of the entire field of nationalism. Nor does it present a cogent framework to understand nationalism. Instead, the book reaffirms the differences in opinion that permeate the ‘industry’ (as the editors label it). As that industry continues to expand, the value of contributions - such as this - that seek to review the state of play cannot be underestimated. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah University of Oxford, School of Geography and the Environment, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB, UK E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S0962-6298(02)00063-X
Victims, perpetrators or actors? Gender, armed conflict and political violence Caroline O. N. Moser and Fiona C. Clark (eds), 2001, Zed Books This book is a must for anyone with an interest in violence, repression, gender or social change. In an examination of separate case-studies (covering Colombia, El Salvador, the Former Yugoslavia, Guatemala, India, Israel-Palestine, Mozambique, Northern Ireland, Peru, Rwanda and South Africa), the authors pull together a gendered analyses of conflict, violence and peace-building. The text illustrates the personal experiences of conflict. However, authors are careful to contextualise individual relations within an overarching framework of institutional procedures, societal processes and structural conditions. Hence, the casestudies are built with reference to, for example, governmental bodies, the media and religious organisations. Further, all cases are linked to the everyday practices that embody capitalist, neo-colonial and patriarchal relations. To this end, Caroline Moser’s perspective on a continuum of gendered violence sets out an overarching theme of the book: that the wider resonance of violence and oppression impacts distinctly on everyday lived relations. Throughout the chapters, authors detail that power is acted out and maintained through personal, community, institutional and structural violence. At the same time, it is clear that individual experiences of violence are distinct; the issues of time, geographical space and identity politics personally impact on how violence is inflicted, resisted, sustained and stopped. As literature on gender and armed conflict continues to grow, there is still a preoccupation with dichotomous roles; women are repeatedly designated as ‘victims’ and men are sustained as ‘perpetrators’. No doubt, these identifications do reflect
919
ways and raises many questions about the potentialities of national cultural narratives in the age of global technology. David Landrum Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 4QP, UK E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S0962-6298(02)00062-8
Understanding nationalism Montserrat Guibernau and John Hutchinson (Eds); Polity Press: Cambridge, 2001, pp. 304. ISBN 0-7456-2402-2 (paperback) and 0-7456-2401-4 (cloth) “Why yet another book on nationalism?” That the editor’s introduction begins with this very question is testament to the burgeoning scholarship on nationalism within the social sciences. Guibernau & Hutchinson offer two justifications for the existence of their collection: that it is timely to review the many emerging sub-fields within this scholarship and, given the momentous events and trends of the 1990s, that it is also timely to reconsider the state of play. True to their word, this collection of eleven chapters does indeed provide a useful and timely review of the study of nationalism. Published to mark the tenth anniversary of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN), this is not just another book on nationalism. For a start, the list of contributors to Understanding Nationalism - featuring names like Smith, Connor, Young, and Mann - reads like a veritable ‘who’s who’ of contemporary theorists in the area. Moreover, while most of the chapters are theoretical, covering major interpretative debates, they retain a refreshingly contemporary focus. From the outset, the reader is immersed in what is perhaps the most perennial of debates within this field: the divide between what the editors call ‘ethno-symbolists’ and ‘modernists’. Anthony D. Smith’s opening chapter defends the former position eloquently. Smith employs the French term ethnie to define a group’s common ancestry myths, historical memories and cultural traits, and explores the continuity between some historical ethnies and modern nations. In contrast, the second chapter presents a modernist position through John Breuilly’s consideration of the relationship between the state and nationalism. Breuilly contends that nationalism as politics is distinctively modern, emerging in the context of modern state institutions, and suggests that further research in comparative history will reveal the recurring features that accompany nationalism. Perhaps of most interest to geographers will be Walker Connor’s chapter on the psychology of homeland. For Connor, modern nationalist movements cannot be disassociated from the fundamental ethno-territorial attachments that lie at their heart and remain invulnerable to time, place or culture. These ties, which transform land
920
Book reviews / Political Geography 22 (2003) 917–930
into homeland, delimit and shape nationalist movements but, Connor argues, are under-researched within the social sciences. Suggested topics for new research include outmigration, borders, and exile as well as the ex-Soviet countries as potentially rich case studies. Three more chapters deal with theorising nationalism. John Hutchinson, another contributor working from an ethno-symbolist perspective, explores how pre-modern ethnic loyalties are mobilised in innovative ways in the contemporary context. Michael Mann examines instances of ‘murderous ethnic cleansing’, arguing that such violence is usually motivated by the struggle for political sovereignty. Montserrat Guibernau’s concluding chapter examines the future of nationalism and the nationstate, dealing specifically with the various global pressures weakening the nationstate. Interspersed with the above six chapters are five more thematic contributions that highlight under-researched issues and/or case studies. Steven Grosby deals with the subtle conceptual distinctions between nationality and religion. Nira Yuval-Davis looks at the relationship between nationalist movements and feminist movements, highlighting the discrepancy between the central role played by women in the ‘production’ and ‘reproduction’ of the nation and the lack of attention paid to gender in studies of nationalism. Kosaku Yoshino provides an empirically rich case study of post-1945 Japanese nationalism, re-evaluating nihonjinron (the view that Japanese culture is unique) as ‘secondary nationalism’ aimed at the maintenance of identity in an established nation. Crawford Young, self-consciously moving from the empirical core of Europe to the periphery of Africa, provides a useful overview of the literature on African nationalism and explores the transition from ethnic rivalry to violence. Finally, John Armstrong presents a general overview of the literature on nationalism in post-communist societies, paying particular attention to research on Poland, Russia and the Ukraine. One of the primary purposes of Understanding Nationalism is to suggest a broader research agenda for those working in the field. However, as John Breuilly points out, it may be impossible “to have a satisfactory theory or even approach towards nationalism as a whole” (p.49, original emphasis). The editors come to a similar conclusion about the output of their book: “It will be clear from these chapters that some of the major disagreements between scholars of nationalism remain unresolved” (p.6). Nevertheless, dwelling on the recurring concerns that emerge through the chapters, they suggest that a broader research agenda in the study of nationalism needs to look at several general issues. This agenda includes the history and psychology of nation-formation, the consequences of democratisation, the Eurocentric biases in the study of nations, and the impact of global forces on nationalism. For political geographers working in this area, this list and the specific concerns raised by Connor certainly point to the particular relevance of spatial issues in future research on nationalism. The need for empirical and comparative research in the historical blind spots outside the West is also an invitation to political geographers with this experience. Perhaps the collection’s most refreshing feature is its versatility. For those new to the study of nationalism, this book should serve as a useful introductory reader.
Book reviews / Political Geography 22 (2003) 917–930
921
For a more seasoned traveller, the collection is a handy survey of some of the important themes and prominent authors in the area. For the established researcher, the collection highlights several issues that need further exploration. Of course, despite its grandiloquent title, Understanding Nationalism cannot and does not claim to be a thorough survey of the entire field of nationalism. Nor does it present a cogent framework to understand nationalism. Instead, the book reaffirms the differences in opinion that permeate the ‘industry’ (as the editors label it). As that industry continues to expand, the value of contributions - such as this - that seek to review the state of play cannot be underestimated. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah University of Oxford, School of Geography and the Environment, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB, UK E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S0962-6298(02)00063-X
Victims, perpetrators or actors? Gender, armed conflict and political violence Caroline O. N. Moser and Fiona C. Clark (eds), 2001, Zed Books This book is a must for anyone with an interest in violence, repression, gender or social change. In an examination of separate case-studies (covering Colombia, El Salvador, the Former Yugoslavia, Guatemala, India, Israel-Palestine, Mozambique, Northern Ireland, Peru, Rwanda and South Africa), the authors pull together a gendered analyses of conflict, violence and peace-building. The text illustrates the personal experiences of conflict. However, authors are careful to contextualise individual relations within an overarching framework of institutional procedures, societal processes and structural conditions. Hence, the casestudies are built with reference to, for example, governmental bodies, the media and religious organisations. Further, all cases are linked to the everyday practices that embody capitalist, neo-colonial and patriarchal relations. To this end, Caroline Moser’s perspective on a continuum of gendered violence sets out an overarching theme of the book: that the wider resonance of violence and oppression impacts distinctly on everyday lived relations. Throughout the chapters, authors detail that power is acted out and maintained through personal, community, institutional and structural violence. At the same time, it is clear that individual experiences of violence are distinct; the issues of time, geographical space and identity politics personally impact on how violence is inflicted, resisted, sustained and stopped. As literature on gender and armed conflict continues to grow, there is still a preoccupation with dichotomous roles; women are repeatedly designated as ‘victims’ and men are sustained as ‘perpetrators’. No doubt, these identifications do reflect