Country is often so used, yes, and in most cases it fits, and we did work it over pretty good, yes ... definitions of it, nation, and state are fundamental to a discussion of nationality, though ... here's a rough outline of how that could go [in the twelve minutes of typing time available, then back much later] -
Nationalism as we know it was brought to us by Napoleon ... unintentionally, still very effectively, as he united peoples against his rule
The basis for nationalism, the nation-state, was invented only at the peace of Westphalia, not that long before Napoleon
Another necessary was mass media, first form being that brought by Gutenberg
Another was liberal thought, the idea that kings didn't really have a divine right after all, and that there just might be alternatives to be ruled by them
Entirely different forms of self-identity of peoples existed before Napoleon ... trivia point - in a great many languages of indigenous the name they use to describe their tribe means 'human beings' ... to distinguish themselves from all others, humanoid-appearing or otherwise ... in the same style, most religions pretty much divide the species into believers, and heathens, Us Good, and Them Bad
Nationalism rolled back empires, stopped the age of empires
There are healthy, benign, mediocre, unhealthy, and positively evil forms of nationalism .... ethnic nationalisms can fall into the latter class, to the extent that they promote the establishment of Excludostaats |
