In modern society, nationalism has been much emphasized.
As Hans Kohn, the prominent scholar of modem nationalism, said modern nationalism is "one of driving forces of the modem society", and another great scholar of this field, proffessor Carlton Ha...
In modern society, nationalism has been much emphasized.
As Hans Kohn, the prominent scholar of modem nationalism, said modern nationalism is "one of driving forces of the modem society", and another great scholar of this field, proffessor Carlton Hayes, said that modern nationalism is "the obvious driving movement of the modern and contemporary world".
The nationalism was first sprouted in the 17th century England and Landed in Western Europe in the enlightement period of the 18th century and spread all over the Europe in the 19th century and all over the world in the 20th century.
The nationalism has been modified in the course of historical stages and has acquired its present various characteristics and dominates the modern society.
Therefore it is very difficult to difine the modern nationalism in simple terms.
As Hans Kohn said in his book "nationalism" because nationalism is the product of history's vital forces, and so is continuously changing and does not assume a difinite form, but a collective body with various characteristics, it involves multiple significances in it.
Of course, the nationalism has many factors in its making, that is, race, language, religion, history, tradition, custom and locality.
These are important factors in the making of nationalism, but they are not absolutely indispensable.
Generally speaking, in the western societies, nationalism is natural, while in the underdeveloped countries in Asia and Africa, it assumes the form of racial nationalism to oppose the imperialistic aggression of developed countries.
Therefore, the modern nationalism has undergone many changed in the course of historical stages and has acquired diverse characteristics.
So in order to understand modern nationalism, one should scrutinize each period, each locality and each country.
But in this paper, the author has put emphasis on the European nationalism, its origin, character, historical background and developments.