The world after the end of the Cold War has witnessed a phenomenon generally termed ‘the resurgence of nationalism’. All aspects of minority, irredentist, secessionist or anti-migration movements or post-communist nationalism have been identified as evidence of a new rise of nationalism across the world. While some have brought significant changes on politics of well-established democracies in Europe or America such as the recent electoral gains of nationalist and far-right parties in France, Hungary or Sweden, especially the triumphs of Trump, the UK’s leaving the EU known as ‘Brexit’, others have resulted in bloody war or violent conflicts such as those in Bosnia, Chechnya, Congo, Kosovo, Rwanda or Sudan. That makes nationalist conflict a major issue in international relations.
Nationalism, together with its myriad manifestations, is still a potent force in the modern world. However, it is noticed that the existing theories of nationalism developed in the context of nineteen- and twenty-centuries politics seem inadequate in addressing nationalism in contemporary settings. This has led to a requirement of re-investigating nationalism within the context of twenty-first-century international politics. Thus, how can we conceptualise the nationalist phenomenon as well as understand its persistence? How can we examine the different types of nationalism? The seminar will provide a broad overview of the different approaches to the study of nationalism; it will explore related concepts such as ‘nation-state’; ‘national identity’; ‘nationalist ideology’ or ‘patriotism’; and unpack the relationship between nationalism and certain important contemporary issues like regional integration or inter-state conflict. Students therefore will be able to acquaint the key political terms such as ‘ethnicity’, ‘nation’ and ‘nation-state’ as well as grasp the main theories and debates in the study of nationalism. In addition, students can promote their own understanding of different political and international dimensions of nationalism.- Lehrende/r: Tra Thi Khanh Tra