Questions for discussion:

1)Where do nations come from?Are they natural or artificial formation?

2)Why have national pride and patriotic loyality been valued?

3)Does cultural nationalism merely imprison a nation in its past?

4)Why has nationalism proved to be such a potent political force?

5)does nationalism inevitably breed insularity and conflict?

6)Is the nation-state the role legitimate unit of political rule?

7)Is a postnationalist world possible?

Rey issues:
1)What is a nation? Nations are defined by a combination of cultural and political factors plus the psychological elements.Culturally they are groups of people who are born together by a common language,religion,history and traditions.Nations define themselves through the existence of a shared civic consciousness, classically expressed as the desire to achieve or maintain statehood. Nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent or history. 2)How do cultural nationalism and political nationalism differ? Cultural nationalism emphasises the regeneration of the nation as a distinctive civilization on the basis of a belief in the nation as a unique,historical and organic whole but political nationalism on the other hand recognisesthe nation as a discrete political community and is thus linked with ideas such as sovereignty and self-determination. 3)How can the emergence and growth of nationalism be explained? The emergence and growth of nationalism can be explained by the need to preserve and promote the language, traditions, culture and maintain a strong national state.Nationalism that emerged

from French Revolution therefore embodied a vision of a people or nation governing it self and was linked to the principles of liberty,equality and fraternity. 4)What political forms has nationalism assumed?What causes has it articulated? The forms of political nationalism are 1)Liberal nationalism is based on a belief in a universal right to self-determination 2)Conservative nationalism values the capacity of cohesion and political unity. 3)Expansionst nationalism is a vehicle for aggression and imperial conquest. 4)Anticolonial nationalism is associated with the struggle for national liberation often fused with the quest for social development. 5)What are the attractions or strength of the nation-state ? The strength of the nation-state is offer the prospect of both cultural cohesion and political unity thus allowing those who share a common cultural or ethnic identity to exercise the right to independence and self-government. 6)Does the nation-state have a future? The nation-state confronts a number of challenges. Nation-states have been subject to centrifugal pressures generated by the growth in ethnic politics. Externally they have confront challenges from the growing power of supranational bodies,the advance of economic and cultural globalization and the need to find international solutions to the environmental crisis.