Geographies of the National Question

1. Geographies of the National Question Dr. Zoltán GrossmanGeography/World Indigenous Peoples Studies, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wash.

4. Northern Ireland (Catholics vs. Protestants) Same race, language Different religion (and class, ethnic group?) Protestant Ulster majority loyal to U.K. Poorer Catholic minority for joining Ireland. Loyalist (Protestant) and Republican (Catholic) murals in Belfast

5. Rwanda (Hutus vs. Tutsis) Same race, language, religion Different ethnic group; one favored by Belgian colonialists Genocide against Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus, 1994. War against Hutu refugees in Congo, 2000s.

6. Bosnia (Orthodox Serbs vs. Muslim Bosniaks vs. Catholic Croats) Same race, spoken language Different religion, script, “ethnic” group Intermarried, cooperated, 1950s-80s; at war 1990s Muslim and Serb refugees from Sarajevo

7. Somalia Same race, language, religion, and ethnic group ! Yet 1990s civil war between clan militias

8. Contending theories Ethnic hatred is ancient, always there; politics can keep a “lid” on it Ethnic hatred is modern tool used for political and economic power Bosnia partition plan Communism collapses in Eastern Europe, 1989 Croatian and Serbian leaders stoke ethnic hatred after 1989

9. Explaining interethnic cooperation (Fearon/Laitin) Cooperation is more the norm than conflict; Prejudice always exists but crisis of economy or power turns it into violence Macedonian Slav and Albanian kids in Open Fun Football School

11. Territoriality Control people by controlling space: Classification (boundaries for ease of control), Communication (of in/out rules), Enforcement (to punish transgression)

12. Types of territoriality State Ethnic Religious Fears of Balkanization (splitting state into ethnic or religious parts)

13. Types of territoriality State (patriotism) Ethnic (nationalism) Religious Racial

14. State territoriality (“patriotism”) Place identity based on political unit (Serbian, Croatian) “I am an American.” “I am a Nigerian.” (Civil wars)

15. State Sovereignty Exercise of power over people and territory. Boundaries recognized by other states. Global system of sovereign states

16. NATION Not a state: A cultural group with a territorial identity; stitching together many local identities Over 5,000 ethnic “nations” cannot all become states, yet many are large enough to survive (larger than some states).

17. Theories of European nationhood Primordialism (nation is essential/family, in the “blood”) Instrumentalism (nation is top-down, self-serving project of elites) Constructivism (nation is constructed both by elites and masses)

18. Urbanization Transmission Belt for nationalism (Ernest Gellner) Constructed in urban areas by intellectual elites but extols rural peasantry

19. Local to National Identity(Eugèn Weber) • Nations patched together from local dialects • Central dialect selected as standard (Parisian, Queen’s English) • Construct national identity through education, print

20. Local-Scale Identities • Identity of multiethnic region (Carpathian Rus, Vojvodina, Transylvania) • Identity of town, city or valley (Pec, Kosovo) Local scale seen as provincial, but can be inclusive (Iraqi tribe can be Shia and Sunni together) Expanding scale seen as cosmopolitan (Tuan), but can be more exclusive (Greater Serbia, Greater Albania)

21. Ethnic territoriality (“nationalism”) Place identity based on ethnicity (Serb, Croat) Québécois in Canada Basques in Spain/France

22. Social and Territorial Definitions of Place Bosnian Serb ethnic flag • SOCIAL Defines place as belonging to one ethnic or racial group (Jus Sanguinis: “Law of the Blood”) • TERRITORIAL Defines place/state geographically as home for all who live there (Jus Soli: “Law of the Soil”) So-called “ethnic cleansing” to match ethnic, state boundaries Bosnia multiethnic state flag

23. Homeland: Territorialization of national identity Past: Golden Age Past independence/autonomy of (usually larger) territory Present: Cohesion/Security Cultural, Linguistic, Territorial Future: Prosperity /Glory Economic viability, preferably political viability (autonomy or independence)

24. Battle of Kosovo Polje (Blackbird Field), 1389

25. Battle of Kosovo Polje (Blackbird Field), 1389 Muslim Turks defeat Serbian (and Albanian!) Christians under Prince Lazar. Knights’ blood “turns into” red poppies. Sacred site for Serbian nationalism vs. Albanian nationalism, 1989-1999

26. NATION-STATE State with one nation (none “pure” but some close) Nearly all states multiethnic (more than one nation)

27. Nation-States and Multiethnic States

28. National Congruence Desire for nation-state (state boundaries to match ethnic boundaries) * If minority wants self-determination-- declare independence or autonomy (limited self-rule) * If majority does not want minority—assimilate, kill or expel them Boundaries of Albania in different eras

29. Ethnic Territory Typology(John Coakley) • Cohesiveness (size) within territory • Concentration of total members in territory 1. Strong majority/High concentration (Slovenia) 2. Strong majority/Low concentration (Aland Swedes) 3. Weak plurality/High concentration (Bosnia) 4. Weak plurality/Low concentration (Birobijan Jews)

30. Kurds Ethnic group in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria. Many Kurds for independence of Kurdistan (autonomy in Iraq) States pit Kurds against each other (state territoriality wins)

31. Activation of ethnic territoriality Demographic trends (shrinking or growing relative to other groups) Cultural trends (language use lessening or growing) Economic trends (getting poorer or better off) Political trends (getting repressed or gaining autonomy/ rising expectations)

32. Religious Territoriality States defined by religion Saudi Arabia Vatican City Vatican City Israel Iran

34. Israelis Zionism: Jewish (religious) territoriality Israelis are multiethnic European, Middle Eastern, Newer Russian, Ethiopian immigrants Arab Israeli minority

35. Palestinians (in West Bank, E. Jerusalem, Gaza Strip) Arab (ethnic) territoriality Palestinians are multireligious Muslims and Christians Ethnic nationalist movement, but later Islamist groups

37. Iraq Ethnic: Arabs vs. Kurds Religion: Sunnis vs. Shi’as Rulers were Sunni Arab, now Shia

38. Iranians Iran-Iraq War, 1980-88 IRAN (Shi’a Persian) vs. IRAQ (Sunni Arab) Yet Iraqi Shi’as fought for Iraq, Iranian Arabs fought for Iran (State territoriality won) Iraqis

39. Armenia-Azerbaijan War, 1988-94 ARMENIA (Christian) vs. AZERBAIJAN (Shi’a Muslim) Yet Shi’a Iran stayed neutral, fearing ethnic Azeris in NW Iran (Ethnic territoriality won) Armenian (above) and Azeri views

40. Racial Territoriality States defined by race White supremacist map for a racial partition of the U.S. South Africa’s White and Black areas under Apartheid (racial separation)

41. South African Black Homelands “Bantustans” forced on Blacks 76% of population given 13% of land; denied citizenship in rest (ethnocide)

42. South African Apartheid (racial separation), 1948-94

43. Core group States are constructed around a dominant ethnic, racial or religious group English in U.K. Whites in U.S. Russians in U.S.S.R. & Russia

44. Majority nationalism Equating “patriotism” with “nationalism” State usually represents core group, but also concedes to minorities so they will be loyal, not rebel Hindu mobs attack Indian Muslim neighborhood English attack immigrants German skinheads attack Turks KKK rally against immigrants, 1925

45. Minority nationalism For “self-determination” Not only secession but autonomy Reaction to majority nationalism? What if minority becomes majority? Puerto Rico East Timor Lithuania

46. Secession Separation from state (independence) Autonomy (self-rule) not offered, or not enough Recognized by other states

47. Irredentism Joining ethnic minority with a country where they are majority, To form Greater________ Germany annexes ethnic German region of Czechoslovakia, 1938

48. State response to minority: Coercion Ethnocide (forced assimilation) Hungarian sign defaced in Romania. Turks forced to change names in Bulgaria. = ”Kill the Indian, not the man” in boarding schools Genocide (extermination) Holocaust in Europe (Not only Germany)

49. Ethnic cleansing • Forced removal of • an ethnic group To match ethnic, state boundaries; increase majority percentage Serbs expelled from Krajina (Croatia), 1995 Albanians expelled from Kosovo (Serbia), 1999

50. State response: Unitary system Central government holds power; No autonomy for ethnic minorities