A Theory On Nation Building Politics Essay

A Theory On Nation Building authorities EssayThere argon distinguishable theories of nation- construct and press out- build that explain how a state and nation should be built. Most of the theories take their demonstrate of departure from Western models of state that is often inappropriate for Afri batch countries.1Nation-building has emerged in 19th century from nationalism in Italy and Germany and continued by external actors in post-WWII2in Germany and Japan. However, it is difficult to mouth about nation-building in those two countries, as their nations with strong cultural and cultural bonds, already existed and foc spendd more on building of democratic institutions. The conditions for nation-building, including homogeneity of the population, were lots more official than they ar in Africa.3Due to this fact, this model is insufficient to explain the complexity of the situation in Somalia. Therefore we have decided to use a theory that encompasses as well as importance o f element of nation, national identity and its integrity together with state-building.On the ace hand, nation-building is a surgical process of socio-political development. This, at to the lowest degree likinglly, shall bring loosely linked communities together, becoming one society. This process green goddess start off of political, economical, social, cultural or early(a) reasons. As this process plunder involve extremely different dimensions, positively (economical integrating) as well as negatively (repressions want ethnic cleansing) it is not clear that nation-building genuinely is boffo.4On the other hand, it is a political mark as well as a strategy. This means that either inbred or external players try to create a system that is constituted under a nation-state. Then, the term nation-building has a rather programmatic or conceptional character and backsidenot be used for analysing the political and social process. Therefore, this objective or strategy is mainly used in a development strategy in order to serve nation-building.5However different these two definitions are, on that point are three core elements counting for bothintegrative political theory, integration of a society and development of a functional state (state-building).For a successful nation-building, this results in a triangle, Hippler argues, having state-building, social integration and ideological legitimacy at its corners, of which all corners regard to be fulfilled. Some aspects of the elements can be introduced and provided from outside, while others can unaccompanied be built from inside, such as ideological legitimacy.6Now we will describe different element in their theoretical perspective.Integrative ideologyTo begin with, in that respect is a need to stem from an integrative ideology in order to build up a national feeling and recall the people, through this, a national identity. Therefore, a common ground for all different groups in this emerging nation po stulate to be found. This could be, for example, piety, language or bill. Obviously, the more in common, the bigger is the chance to build up one society. It is important to state, that, in this case, ideology should be understood in neutral equipment casualty as systems of thought and total philosophies that explain the past, present and future according to certain value models.7When we look closer on the national identity, we can determine several definitions. We have decided to connect two of them theoretically. One describes juvenile approach critically and It is as well as very important that this ideology comprises ideas applicable to everyone and idea of national cohesion must be stronger than the idea of separation.8Connecting ideology with national identity, different people have their own individual identities. As eagle-eyed as the primary identity and loyalty lies with the tribe, clan or an ethnic or ethnoreligious group and the national identity level remains su bordinate or missing, a nation-state will continue to be precarious.9Crucial role in the formation of nation is played by government, elite or ruler. There are different criteria that government has to meet in the process of nation-building. First of all, government has to examine what has been done in the past, to be able to make people believe in better future. For example if the collapsed ruling regime left people hurt and full of distrust in the government, this fact has to be taken into considerations when building a nation. Therefore confidence in state institutions destroyed10should be prognosis for better future. Another influential element is population actually has to be ordain to cooperate, to be motivated in creating, supporting and shaping the nation.11Finally, concept of nation has to fulfill different criteria in the perception of the peoplecentrality and extent nation-building shouldoccupy a central position in peoples everyday political and social lives?associatio n with other issues on the agenda connecting with the experiences of the target groupsnarrative familiarityflexibility and openness to channelizeWith clever policies and respect for the differences between different social groups in the nation, government can successfully develop a strong national identity and nation-building process. integrating of societyIntegration of society in the nation is very important element of nation-building. In post-colonial states it is usually understood in connection with democracy and ternary wave of democratisation. The nation-building was accompanied by high expectations from the West and in many post-colonial countries different ethnic groups are gaining meaning in the changing institutional system.12Generally, we set three models of national unity, that will help us to understand how in divided societies nation-building can take place. Those are Imperium, Culturally homogenous nation of modern age and Pluricultural integration. In the imperiu m, there is a set hierarchy, while religion is dominated by the ruling elite. There is no necessary desire for coordinated culture and communication. Integration is achieved through differences.13Looking at culturally homogenous nation of modern age, we can see patterns of secularisation keeping culture and religion apart from the state. Culture of the major(ip)ity or elite is, again, supported. Nation-building processes are underpinned by regulated norms.14In the last model, the pluricultural integration, minorities are oppressed and discriminated and have to struggle for citation of their rights. This is aroundly a case in multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies that are taking account of cultural and religious diversity.15The evolution of democracy in developing countries is thought-provoking and demands of different ethnic leaders make processes of nation-building in these countries horizontal more fragile. But very important fact that there are efforts for building swee t architecture of democracy16That means that there are bigger emphasis on the ethnicity and ethnic equality and therefore these ideas counteract centralist/assimilatory tendencies17 four-spot democratic innovations for states in inner conflict concordance, local anesthetic representation, federalism and cultural autonomy.Concordance is a model that allows representatives of all important groups to participate in the political decision-making process18, offering large variety of institutional forms. Advantage of this form is creation of coalitions, where different groups have to cooperate to reach their goals. This model is of use when there is no strong majority to rule, because otherwise there is no need for coalition.Local representation represents most diverse representation of minorities possible19. It is also significant in the way that minorities are usually represented by their own representatives. In the elections, ethnic groups are finding coalitions and ways to cooperate and to enforce their interests. However, this model can deepen ethnic differences and policies business leader be strongly influences by individual ethnic interests instead of the ones of whole society.20Federalism offers different groups equal power but also identical rules to be followed. Groups deal with their matters individually, what makes system more flexible, decentralized and minorities more secure. On the other side, there is a danger of secession, where demands for greater autonomy can be continually rising.21FIND MOREThe last model, cultural autonomy, is very focused to preserve and strengthen the identity of minorities22. There is emphasis on local languages and religions that are also considered to be official languages. That gives minorities ability to take care of their affairs individually, but on the other side, to deepen the differences between the groups (might not be an issue deals with minority language, legal pluralism)However, although state-building being a part of nation-building, it is important to distinguish between both of them While state-building is focused only if on building state institutions etcetera a functional state apparatus nation-building is in many states a pre-requirement needed to be fulfilled before.23Especially in European countries, where a national identity already exists, only the state take to be built around it. We can also observe this phenomenon, when we look upon the history of the modern (and in this case European) nation-state, where first a nation existed from which then a nation-state emerged.In post-colonial countries, in opposite, demarcations were made by the former colonial powers on interest lines and not according to ethnic groups, tribes or similar communities. This means in many cases, that a commonwealth either includes many different ethnic groups with different backgrounds, or that one ethnic group is spread in more than one country. This leads to arguments how a state should be gove rned and, through this, to weak states or weak state institutions.The political elements contain the nation-state and a high level of social mobilisation and political integration, which are, although not the central elements, any(prenominal) of the most important. Therefore, methods like material incentives (e.g. public service employment), cultural means (e.g. educational system and language policy) and compulsion need to be applied. Furthermore, when a government is finally introduced, it needs to consolidate its own position in the society.24The social mobility also needs to be built up, either in a bottom-up or top-down model. This implements that all members of society need to be involved, especially in the political and ideological process of shaping the nation. This is often a big change, as most weak states were formerly governed by only one part of the society which excluded/repressed the rest of the population. As everyone is supposed to participate, in this period of ti me, at least(prenominal) some democratic dialogue will take place. However, it is possible that the newly formed nation will in this dialogue agree on some authoritarian or totalitarian form of nerve.25In this dialogue of constituting a nation, dormant conflicts will wake up, especially in the former excluded part of society. This might turn out to be more serious, when it is not clear who belongs to the nation. The problem arises especially, when the conflict is ethnically motivated (for instance because of the language or religion). Then, nation-building easy becomes restrictive and lowers the social participation in the political discourse.There is also a need for the redistribution of power old social and political structures will be (need to be?) destroyed, while new ones will be built up. This means, that, where local governments had most power, Hippler argues, a centralised government with a good local anchoring might be an advantage, as this ensures that new persons will take over.26As nation-building needs at least to some extend external help, especially in regards of providing security and building up a functioning infrastructure, the countrys government either needs to invite the international community, or this needs to intervene.27However, as the states of the international community will only act in a failing state if they see some advantage in it, there needs to be a trigger. This trigger could be for economic (the intervention of the regular army to Iraq in 2003), security (the intervention of the NATO to Afghanistan in 2001) or for political and historical reasons (the intervention of the NATO in the Former Yugoslavian Republics in the 1990s).28The goal for intervene is not or not primarily nation-building it needs to be seen as a necessity for reaching another goal. For example did the USA plan to leave Iraq after half a year and only realised after the end of the (official) war that it will take several age to build a nation and rebui ld institutions.29This explains, why nation-building in many cases is only improvised, incontinent and lacks of preparation, as the war does not only destroy the eternal rest of power in the intervened country but also entails a clash of power politics between internal and external players.30As it is the interference into the domestic help politics of another country, Ignatieff stresses, nation-building has also imperial approaches.31A shift in the international discourse about an allowance of these imperial actions by putting them in the UN charter is discussed in the international community, as there is no dominant public position.But there can also be external efforts to internal nation-building that can be very helpful for the built state. A good example therefore was the nation-building in Afghanistan with the help of the USSR. Here, processes are supported from outside with positive efforts in political, social, security-policy and other domains. This is also possible in cou ntries with different political embedding. However, then there is a greater emphasis on development and recreation policies, although also other aid can be provided for a long term stabilisation.32In the case of external efforts for internal nation-building, it is important to see for the step in state that often an area of conflict arises between the internal processes promoted and the often contradictory political objectives.33Internal nation-building should promote human rights, social equalisation, good governance and participative democracy.Imperial nation-building must recreate a nation-state and sometimes even the corresponding society. The desire to bring this about external players is the creation of an enormous dimension. However, the external governments are often not entirely conscientious of their action as they want/need to work economically and have a limited budget, while recreating a whole nation-state is financially very expensive, takes a lot of time it is calc ulated to take one or two generations, and is very personnel-intensive. If the intervening countries cannot fulfil these variables fully, they are likely to fail. This mostly happens in a change of government, what most likely occurs during the time frame of such an operation.34There are several fundamental problems that easily arise by imperial nation-building, meaning that one country intervenes another one and then rebuilds the nation35Firstly, at the intervention but also passim the whole process, there is a security problem Usually, there is no real army to fight against, or it is just one part, but as the country is fragmented, the war is as well Opponents are often warlords, terrorists and militias which fighters can be hardly recognised from civilians. Furthermore, their buildings are closely linked to civilians and common dungeon spaces.(quote?) However, an army is only prepared to fight against clearly recognisable enemies and has in this case either only little power or civilian causalities need to be acceptable. The latter is usually not an option, as this is not only problematic in terms of ethics and international law but also contradictory to the overall bring forth, as the local people would not understand it.The second problem is the political problem of local rulers and warlords As security is one of the major aims, for the intervening power as well as for the local population, a cooperation on the spot is often implemented. This can easily contradict to the aim of nation-building, because it usually means a cooperation with old local structures which are usually meant to be disband or with the use of other local power structures, militias, warlords and even criminal gangs as accompaniment troops. This was done by actors such as the UN (cooperation with a militia in Kosovo) and the USA (cooperation with warlords is Afghanistan and Iraq) for different interests On the one hand, these auxiliary troops often find support in the local populat ion and are therefore helpful, on the other hand they are potential enemies which are, at least for the time of cooperation, eliminated. This cooperation is built upon the proliferation of weapons and money towards these troops. But especially the latter becomes a problem in the further process. When peace and order are established, warlords, militias, etc. are supposed to be disarmed, what is very risky and needs a lot of money as well as personnel.A third fundamental problem is the question of resources As already stated earlier, a nation-building process usually takes several years, a lot of money and personnel. The expected numbers are usually topped by the actual needs. A good example for this is the US intervention in Iraq, now going on for seven years instead of a supposed short-term mission by using almost double of the costs calculated.36Fourth, there is the internal political factor of the intervening state for a long term commitment. Especially in the Western world, the sentiency of the mission in regards of financial and human costs will be questioned after a short time. Also, due to the rise of interventions after the end of the Cold War, many states reach their military capacities by supporting one or two nation respective state-buildings (e.g. Germany with its soldiers in Kosovo and Afghanistan, the USA being in Iraq on top of its other operations).As a fifth fundamental problem, there should be mentioned conflicts of objective and means, as there is most often a conflict between the interest in actual nation-building and the interest of break. The latter needs certainly be focused on security reasons, because it can otherwise fall apart easily. In this context, nation-building becomes a means for social and political control of the country. That means that it is not any more an objective but becomes an instrument for other purposes. This comes, according to Hippler, down to three points describing the goals of imperial nation-building (i) a n emphasis on military, natural law and intelligence resources (ii) appropriate infrastructure measures and (iii) strictly regulated democratisation and participation possibilities in order to include local political forces in the administration of the country and be better accepted among the public at large .37The opposite of imperial nation-building is non-imperial or development policy nation-building. Its biggest argument is that nation-building must not be seen as a blueprint of Western democracies which shall be projected on Third World countries, including economy and democratic institutions being also a major reason for the failure in Afghanistan. Rather it should have a sound and workable concept that suits the countrys nation to be built. An example for failing on this context is the Iraq, where the USA did not have a suitable plan at all.38Best prospects nation-building has when fulfilling certain functions for the society affected. These should be articulated by socio -economic and political groups. However, nation-building is little likely to be affective after current crises, as the society is already too split. Easier it is when the society is not split yet, meaning usually a solution before a crisis starts off. While for the latter a short-term solution is likely to solve the prospects of nation-building, the former means because of the great experience of fierceness a more important role of control and security for the (re-)integration of society.When talking about integration, the question of a targeted disintegration may arise in the sense of ethnic cleaning in order of building separate nation states. A central argument of supporters of this thought is that in countries where is, due to e.g. a genocide, only little chance of an integration of the enemy factions and that it is close to impossible to bring integration if not wanted by any of the parties. Opponents may reply that greater trouble will occur by displacing people what defin itely would need to happen in border regions, but is also likely to happen in other regions. A separation would neither solve the problem entirely as the factions are like to start a new war afterwards.39Nation-building is a painful, contradictory and complex process which promises only success, when the affected populations living standards are improved and the population connects it to nation-building. If the living circumstances stay the same in the long term it is perceived to be artificial and more and more opposition will rise. However, over a short term, nation-building is tolerated when it arouses hope for the future instead of actually bringing improvements.40As a starting point, the new nation must have the feeling that the new nation-state is and will be capable of solving problems in the populations interest. This normally includes economic and socio-political components such as a safeguarding food supply, healthcare, jobs and accommodation, but should also contain perso nal security and infrastructure. But cultural symbols are for the integration of a nation equally important.41Another step to be made in connection to the improvement of living standards is the implementation of politicostructural changes. An optimal starting point for these are the internal cultural and political conditions in the newly built nation. However, although it should create the prerequisites of it equality, a fair fiscal system, education, etc., it should not form democracy itself.42