Nationalism and the First World War Carolyn P. Boyd Professor Emerita of History University of California Irvine
What is nationalism? Nationalism: two interpretations “Constructed” vs. innate Modern vs. primordial The “nation” and nationalism: which comes first? “Civic” vs. “ethnocultural” Voluntary vs. involuntary Inclusion vs. exclusion
What is nationalism? Political and social functions of nationalism Integration and control: political, economic and social The “imagined community” Boundary maintenance Who is a citizen? “Us” vs. “them”
Nationalism and the origins of the First World War Development of the “nation-state” in 19th century Europe Economic integration Political and administrative centralization Democratization Nationalization of the masses Germany and Italy and the European balance of power
Europe in 1813
Europe 1850
Europe 1871
Europe 1913
International conflict, Pre-1914 Wars of national unification Imperial expansion and rivalries Nationalist movements in old empires (Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, British) Nationalization of the masses, “jingoism”
Wars and Alliances Pre 1914 Wars, Conflicts, and Crises, 1859-1913 War of Italian Liberation, 1859 Austro-Prussian War, 1866 Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71 Russo-Turkish War, 1875-78 Fashoda, 1894 Sino-Japanese War, 1895 Spanish-American War, 1898 Boer War, 1902 Russo-Japanese War, 1904 Moroccan Crises of 1905, 1911 Balkan Crises and Wars, 1908-9, 1911-12, 1913
Imperial Rivalries Colonial Empires 1914
Colonial Africa 1920
The Ottoman Empire
Balkans 1912-13
Ethnic Groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1910
The Search for Stability, 1871-1914 The Alliance System Three Emperors’ League, 1872 (Germany, A-H, Russia) Triple Alliance, 1882 (Germany, A-H, Italy) Franco-Russian Dual Alliance, 1894 Entente Cordiale, 1904, 1907 (France, Russia, Great Britain)
Military Alliances on the Eve of the Great War
Nationalization, militarism, and militarization in Europe before 1914 War or peace? Debates on ideological and economic grounds General F. von Bernhardi, Germany and the Next War (1911) Preparations for war Expansion of armies and navies Universal conscription Erosion of civil supremacy (militarism) Strategic doctrine: the triumph of the offensive Militarization of society and culture
The Outbreak of War, 1914 The Third Balkan War The weakness of Austria-Hungary The imperatives of military planning and the alliance system Popular enthusiasm for war
Franz Ferdinand
Gavrilo Princip
Nationalism and the War Effort Mobilization of soldiers and civilians (the “home front”) Justifying the sacrifices of war Defense of the “homeland” Demonization of the enemy
Nationalism and mobilization
Nationalism and mobilization
Patriotic idealization of the “homeland”
Patriotic idealization of the homeland
Patriotic idealization
“Us vs. them:” Demonization of the enemy
“Us vs. them:” Demonization of the enemy
Nationalism and the Post-War Settlement Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points The Peace of Paris and the “Twenty Year Truce”
Wilson’s Fourteen Points -Synopsis 1. Open covenants, openly arrived at 2. Freedom of the seas 3. Free trade 4. Arms reduction consistent with domestic security 5. Adjustment of colonial claims, taking into account interests of the populations concerned 6. Evacuation of Russian territory; independent determination of its own political development 7. Evacuation of Belgium and restoration of its sovereignty 8. Evacuation of French territory and restoration of Alsace-Lorraine 9. Readjustment of Italian frontiers along lines of nationality 10. Autonomous development of peoples of Austria-Hungary; preservation of Empire 11. International settlement of Balkan conflicts; Serbian access to sea 12. Autonomous development of peoples under Turkish rule; free passage through Dardanelles 13. Independent Polish state, with access to sea 14. League of Nations