Nationalism

Nationalism

In 1389 on Kosovo Polje, the Field of Blackbirds, the Ottoman Turks defeated the Serbs, overtaking the land the Serbs saw as the birthplace of their nation. Already important to the Serbs, the status of the battlefield and Kosovo elevated in the minds of the Serbian nation, who infused the hallowed ground with the emotion of losing the battle and stories of Serbian leaders, including Tsar Lazar, who fought to maintain the Serbian state. Through epic poems such as “The Battle of Kosovo,” Tsar Lazar took on hero status and came to represent the greatness of the Serbian state and the resiliency of the Serbian nation. The territory of Kosovo has changed hands several times since 1389, and throughout this time the Serbian nation has passed down stories about the importance of the place to their people. In 2008, Kosovo claimed independence, and today, more than 70 countries in the world, including the United States, recognize Kosovo as an independent state. However, the Battle of Kosovo, more than 600 years ago, is an integral part of Serbian nationalism and identity, and the country of Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

In the United States, history books and newspaper articles often use the terms nation, state, and country interchangeably. They are not. A nation is a group of people who are culturally linked and who relate to a particular territory and who have political goals. In the case outlined in the opening paragraph, the Serbs are a nation who relate to the territory of Kosovo and have the political goal of maintaining Kosovo as part of the Serbian state. Country and state are synonyms and can be used interchangeably, as each refers to the territorial entity with a government, a population, and defined boundaries that is recognized by other states or countries as being sovereign. Serbia is recognized as sovereign and is a member of the United Nations, but not all states recognize Kosovo as sovereign. Political geographers prefer the term state over country. Although the term state can be confusing because the United States calls each of its 50 substates “states,” political geographers use the term state because it is a legal term in international law and is used commonly among global actors.

This chapter explores nationalism in the context of the importance of place and the shared territories of nations, states, and nation-states. Through a discussion of types of nationalism, the place of nationalism in the 21st century is outlined.