Blood And Belonging Essay Research Paper Politics

Blood And Belonging Essay, Research Paper

Politics of Western EuropeNovember 17, 1994Politics of Western EuropeBLOOD AND BELONGINGThis is a critique of the book, Blood and Belonging, by MichaelIgnatieff. This paper will explain the subject of the book and itsrelevance, discuss Michael Ignatieff’s methods and conclusions on thesubject and finally include a personal critique of the book by theauthor of this paper.The author of the book travels on what he terms “the sixjourneys.” On these “journeys” he encounters different cultures, as he travels to six different coinciding areas of the world. He examinesthe unique expression of nationalism that each populace displays byinterviewing various members of that particular society. The six areasthat he travels to are specifically chosen for the clarity whichnationalism is expressed in society. Nationalism is a factorcontributing toward both present possible future instability in theseareas. These areas are former Yugoslavia (specifically Croatia andSerbia), Germany, Ukraine, Quebec, Kurdistan and Northern Ireland. According to Ignatieff, in Croatia and Serbia there is a desire for aseparate identity between the two nations. The fear of losing one’snational identity has caused ethnic hatred. A terror so strong andhistorically persistent, it has driven people to a desperate state todo anything. This is a large contributor to the reasons for the extremeviolence present there today. The author states, “A Croat, thus, issomeone who is not a Serb. A Serb is someone who is not a Croat.” This quotation profoundly expresses the short-sighted mentality presentin their conflict. In his travels in Germany, the author points out an importantquestion. Does the nation make the state, or the state the nation. This question by far does not stop here, especially when Germany is thesubject. The essence of the German people is seen by some as aggressiveand offensive, thus the existence of the German problem. If the nationmakes the state then Germany will always be a threat. If the statemakes the nation, then the aggressive nature of the German nation, whichlead the world into two global wars, can be harnessed and redirected. The question has its roots and answers in the recent reunification ofGermany. The Ukraine is concerned with not being Russian. It is hereIgnatieff receives a complete vision of what nationalism is. He states,”I understand what nationalism really is: the dream that a whole nationcould be like a congregation; singing the same hymns, listening to thesame gospel, sharing the same emotions, linked not only to each otherbut to the dead buried beneath their feet.”Quebec is a model that presents a possible future of the statesystem. Ignatieff uses the example of Quebec to illustrate therelationship between nationalism and federalism. He implies that “iffederalism fails in Canada it can fail anywhere.” If the balancebetween “ethnic and civil principles” is not maintained in Canada, whois not an impoverished country and has a large, successful economy; thenperhaps the modern world has not transcended the grasps of nationalism. The Kurds represent a nation without a state, who findthemselves surrounded by other nations who are more aggressivenationalists. The term Kurdistan is a definition of the areas used byIgnatieff to explain the area of major Kurdish populace concentration. There is no real borders, no flag, no government and Kurds mustacknowledge the state in which they reside (i.e., – Syria, Turkey, Iranand Iraq), of which, is not Kurdistan. Finally, the sixth journey ends in Northern Ireland. He makesthe observation that this is the ideal place to conclude his project. Northern Ireland contains a recurrence of the themes that seemed soprevalent in the other journeys. In Ireland ethnicity, religion andpolitics are all bound into one expression or identity. These are alsoevident in the five previous studies. Is Michael Ignatieff’s work relevant. The answer to thisquestion is, yes it is. The issue is important. Nationalism presentsitself as a phenomenon. The questions of why people need to retain acultural identity and the way they go about preserving it is stillunanswerable. Evermore unfathomable is the violence permeated throughnationalistic expressions, which are “necessary” by the partiesinvolved. The very existence of the enigma created by nationalismdictates the need to explore the subject in more depth. The situations in the book are not isolated events. Nationalismexists in every state all over the world. There is a dichotomypresented by Ignatieff between nationalism and federalism. He explainsthe political doctrine of nationalism by stating “(1)that the world’speoples are divided into nations, (2) that these nations should have theright of self-determination, and (3) that the full self-determinationrequires statehood.” Federalism, though not a particular ideology, is ameans of sharing political power among different peoples within a state. The various systems of government which fall under the definition offederalism are not problematic to the people; unless, of course, theyare not completely legitimate. If the government is illegitimate, thenideally nationalism steps in to demand a completely self-determinedgovernment, which renders proper representation to its populace. Despite the diversity of a state’s population, theoretically, harmony is

maintained since the people are properly represented or controlled. This situation with