Alternative views to the modernist theory of nationalism
Basque national flag.
Whilst the modernist view of nationalism has become the dominant one, there still have been challenges to these theories. Perhaps one of the most prevalent is the alternative view held by Anthony D. Smith. Smith was once a student of Ernest Gellner but their views later diverged. Whereas Gellner and others of his ilk saw nationalism evolve from modern historical developments, Smith believed ethnic origins also played a part in nation building.
In his seminal work The Ethnic Origins of Nations, Smith talks about “historical ethno-symbolism” wherein communities are formed on the kinship of shared ethnic and historical ties. These earlier groups of people are defined as “ethnie” and can be further categorised as “lateral ethnies” and “vertical ethnies”. The lateral ethnie tends to be associated with the ruling classes of a country and it is the cultures and traditions of this group which are passed down the general population. Within this ethnie there is often a highly-developed bureaucracy which is used to promote the myths, traditions, symbols and values of the state. In the Warwick Debate Smiths says that this type of civic nationalism is “a nationalism of order and control”.
The vertical ethnie could be considered a more organic development of national associations based on a shared ethnic culture and history. If the lateral ethnie is concerned with the elite, the vertical ethnie is more concerned with the general populace. This also contains groups of people who may have been subjugated by the elite’s, what Smith describes as “submerged ethnic minorities”. In a vertical ethnie, the role of the bureaucracy in promoting ideas is replaced with an intelligentsia who bring together the shared values of disparate groups and forge them into a national identity.
Smith does not totally discount Gellner’s ideas and agreed that nationalism is a relativity new phenomenon. He would probably concede that nineteenth century European nationalism was driven by the move from an agrarian to industrial society where this more integrated but socially diverse society needed some way of bringing it together but felt that the modernists tended to ignore any earlier origins of nationalism. We should see Smith as holding the middle ground between modernists like Gellner and the perennialist’s, who believed that nationalism had been around far before the industrial revolution.
(Photo) An example of regional nationalism at a football match at FC Barcelona
The type of ethno-nationalism espoused by Smith is very evident in the regional nationalist struggles we have seen in Spain. The success of such movements are proof for some that Spanish nationalism was not as all-encompassing as in many other European states. In his book Nationalism, Violence and Democracy Ludger Mees quotes Juan Linz who says;
“Spain (…) is a case of early state-building where the political, social and cultural integration of its territorial components-nation building-was not fully accomplished” [1]
The Galician, Basque and Catalan regions all have strong regional identities, cultures and languages which had developed over many years. Regional nationalist movements had begun to evolve in the early years of the twentieth century but were later brutally repressed by Franco who sought to build a more centralized Spanish nation. One of the ways in which he did this was to outlaw the speaking of regional languages though this would still take place in private.
Graffiti supporting ETA
The Basque struggle for political autonomy is long and based around a strong sense of a distinct racial group and a reverence for its own history. Anthony Smith may have seen the basque people as a vertical ethnie.
It did not link itself to either the nineteenth century or Franco’s version of Spain but rather derived its sense of self from a much older heritage. Although much of Basque regional nationalism is based in a strong Carlist tradition later Basque separatist’s may have found themselves in unlikely alliances with Marxist based organisations like E.T.A. It would seem that regional nationalism is a powerful force to be reckoned with if it can bring this about.
[1] Nationalism, Violence and Democracy Ludger Mees p5
Nationalism in spain 