Ethnicity and Ideology

Abstract

The prior existence of some kind of ethnic consciousness among a substantial proportion of the target population is critical for the emergence of ethnic nationalism. The exploitation of ethnic links via nationalist ideology necessarily draws on various historical, cultural and religious elements related to ethnic identity. Accordingly, the most important initial requirement of a nationalist movement is the construction and dissemination of a suitable ideological foundation for nurturing national sentiment and executing the political struggle of national independence. This chapter shows how ethnic nationalism first arose in each country and examines each movement’s early attempts at political mobilisation. It argues that while these efforts manage to win over a committed core of support, ultimately each movement was fundamentally handicapped by the structural limitations of its nascent national organisation. It shows that while the development of a nationalist ideology grounded in language, culture and religion was essential to the establishment and early development of each movement, it was not nearly sufficient to meet the goal of taking control of the state.