Canada and the World Backgrounder articles from January 1997

Canada and the World Backgrounder archives from January 1997

A rag on a stick. (editorial on how nationalists utilize flags as symbols for political causes)
January 1, 1997... Nations are big on symbols. Everybody has a coat of arms, usually with a lofty principle expressed in a motto. This is often written in Latin, a language understood by only a tiny number of people. Flowers are popular symbols for nations...

Vexillology. (the study of flags)
January 1, 1997... Roman soldiers carried a banner called a vexillu. In 1957, a Dr. Whitney Smith took that word and tacked the Greek word "logy" (the study of) onto it to create "Vexillology" -- the study of flags. To Dr. Smith flags were way more than just a...

Changing loyalties. (how European nationalism developed)
January 1, 1997... Before there were nations, there were people. And, it was to people, not nations, that the masses owed allegiance. In medieval Europe, states usually were based on religious or dynastic ties; citizens owed loyalty to their church or ruling...

It's a guy thing. (the role of male dominance in the creation of European nationalism)
January 1, 1997... The idea of the nation-state seems to have been a mostly male invention. A large number of nations forged their identities in the battlefield; an occupation from which women were, mostly, excluded. When the first nation-states developed, women...

Imagined communities. (the sociology of nationalism is examined through various countries)
January 1, 1997... Almost everyone has an opinion about nationalism, and most of them are negative. Some of the world's greatest minds have opposed nationalism. The English writer George Orwell defined nationalism as "power-hunger, tempered by self-deception."...

No man's land.(Antarctica is the only section of the world that is not part of a nation-state)
January 1, 1997... Every square centimetre of the planet's land surface, with the exception of Antartica, is part of one nation-state or another. Seven countries -- Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom -- claim part of...

Songs of glory. (patriotic verses from some national anthems)
January 1, 1997... National anthems are strong symbols of nationalism. Official national songs often honour the spirit of the native land. Some anthems celebrate an historical person or event, frequently involving the shedding of blood. France's La Marseillaise...

Out of chaos and charisma. (how political leaders use nationalism to stir up support for militaristic and genocidal causes)
January 1, 1997... Some qualities of nationalism, such as pride, patriotism, and loyalty are fine ones. As with aspirin, however, they are valuable in moderation, but dangerous in large doses. The extremist has swallowed too much of these qualities, he is...

The other extreme. (isolationism)
January 1, 1997... Most extreme nationalism is expansionist; it aims to conquer and control neighbours. However, there is another kind of extreme nationalism that is inward-looking. Isolationism shuns contact with other nations. For centuries, China was...

Out from under. (nationalists around the world used the notion of self-determination as a rallying cry to escape the control of the colonial powers)
January 1, 1997... World War I was a watershed. It brought on the collapse of the old imperial dynasties of Europe, and it marked the start of nationalist movements all over the world. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson...

Still at it. (the problems of creating countries with diverse ethnic and religious populations)
January 1, 1997... Liberal, democratic politicians in the Western world can't resist the temptation to remake the world in an image that they find more comfortable. So it is that in the Dayton Peace Accord (1995), Bosnia has been cobbled together in the form of...

A new world order. (nationalistic movements divide nations along ethnic and religious lines, recreating geographic boundaries)
January 1, 1997... All over the world, ethnic groups ranging in size from a few thousands to tens of millions are demanding their own national turf. And, increasingly, they are getting what they want, complete with their own flag, currency, army, and seat in the...

Smaller and smaller. (the ethnic conflicts in Moldova)
January 1, 1997... Moldova, with 4.5 million people, is already small. Yet, it shows signs of becoming smaller still. A large community of ethnic Romanians, about two thirds of Moldova's population, wants to join Romania. This has really upset the 1.2 million...

Multiculturalism and democracy.
January 1, 1997... John Stuart Mill, the British philosopher and economist, believed that democracy could not exist in a multicultural society. Gains for minorities must inevitably mean losses for majorities. Some experts are concerned that Mr. Mill's beliefs...

Stateless nations. (how large ethnic groups have successfully created separate nations within nations)
January 1, 1997... Nationalism is a force that's very difficult to stop. Time and again, governments have tried to stamp out nationalist movements. Time and again, they've failed. Politicians and diplomats go to enormous lengths trying to keep existing...

Scottish nationalism. (20% of people polled in Scotland want a separate state)
January 1, 1997... A public opinion poll in 1996, found that 20% of Scots favour outright separation from England. The same poll found that the vast majority of Scots take a more moderate view, but only if the United Kingdom transfer most of its powers to...

The melting pot. (ethnic minority assimilation in multicultural countries)
January 1, 1997... Canada and the United States are both examples of multi-ethnic states that work. Few eyebrows are raised if a Canadian has one grandparent from each of say Scotland, Germany, Lebanon, and Brazil. More than four million Canadians were born...

Doubly wrong. (predictions made by Karl Marx and Adam Smith regarding the importance and relevancy of ethnic identity within nations were proven wrong)
January 1, 1997... For a century, two dominant philosophical ideas have duked it out in the world stage. Karl Marx, whose ideas gave life to communism, believed that conflict over ethnic identity would give way to battles over the ownership of the means of...

Pourquoi Lucien? (nationalism in Quebec)
January 1, 1997... Rene Levesque was the first leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois. In 1976, he became the first separatist premier of Quebec. Mr. Levesque wrote that "Throughout its history, Quebec never was anything but a colony. First of the founding...

Divisible or indivisible? (native peoples in Quebec want to regain their ancestoral land)
January 1, 1997... There are 80,000 Native People in Quebec. The Crees have lived in northern Quebec for 9,000 years and have strong treaty claims to two-thirds of the province. In their own referendum, they have voted overwhelmingly to stay with Canada if...

Two views. (the Quebec independence movement of October, 1970 is characterized differently by French and English speaking Canadians)
January 1, 1997... In October 1070, the campaign for Quebec's independence took a new twist. Members of the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) kidnapped a British diplomat, James Cross. A few days later, the FLQ abducted, and murdered, Quebec's Labour Minister...

A kinder, gentler ethnic cleansing. (English speaking residents of Quebec are increasingly moving out of the French speaking province)
January 1, 1997... By making anglophones and allophones feel unwelcome in Quebec, the province's nationalists are achieving their goals. English-speaking Quebeckers are leaving the province in droves. A survey in 1996, found that almost one third of Quebec's...

A borderless world. (how would a supranational government body address world problems while respecting religious, ethnic, and cultural differences)
January 1, 1997... For most of the 20th century, scholars have been predicting that the nation-state is about to disappear. As recently as 1990, the historian Eric Hobsbawm in his book Nations and Nationalism since 1780 argued that nationalism was once again on...

Global neighbourhood. (an organization was established to further the cause of peace among nations)
January 1, 1997... In 1992, a group of people from many backgrounds was appointed to develop a vision of how the world could make the journey from the Cold War to the 21st century. Two years later, the Commission on Global Governance issued its report. The...

Too many nations? (in civil wars, each group wants its own country)
January 1, 1997... Former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali looked at the splitting up of Yugoslavia and didn't like what he saw. In a 1992 interview, the UN chief said the country's breakup set an awesome example for the 21st century. "The...