The article discusses how nationalism emerged in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, highlighting the construction of national identities through mythologies that often led to exclusion.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the concept of nationality became a central theme in European thought. As the Age of Enlightenment concluded and Romanticism emerged, aspirations for universal brotherhood were often replaced by a strong sense of nationalism. This shift prompted countries to assert their ethnic, linguistic, and mythical uniqueness, sometimes recovering existing national mythologies and other times creating new ones to foster collective belonging and a shared fate.
These national mythologies served as guiding fictions that encouraged citizens to identify with their national identities, such as the French feeling French, the English feeling English, and the Germans feeling German. However, the article also cautions that nationalism could lead to exclusionary practices, whereby certain groups were marginalized or deemed unworthy of belonging to the national community, essentially being de-nationalized by the dominant narratives.
The implications of this exploration raise questions about the nature of national identities today and the potential for nationalism to foster division rather than unity. The discussion on the myths of innocence regarding the United States can also be seen as a reflection on how such narratives can obscure more complex historical realities and perils, leading to a simplified perception of national character.
