1. Geographies of the National Question
Dr. Zoltán Grossman Geography/World Indigenous Peoples Studies,
The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wash.

4. (Catholics vs. Protestants)
Northern Ireland
(Catholics vs. Protestants)
Same race, language
Different religion
(and class, ethnic group?)
Protestant Ulster majority
loyal to U.K.
Poorer Catholic minority
for joining Ireland.
Loyalist
(Protestant)
and Republican
(Catholic) murals
in Belfast

5. Rwanda (Hutus vs. Tutsis) Same race, language, religion
Different ethnic group;
one favored by Belgian
colonialists
Genocide against
Tutsi minority and
moderate Hutus, 1994.
War against Hutu refugees
in Congo, 2000s.

6. (Orthodox Serbs vs. Muslim Bosniaks vs. Catholic Croats)
Same race, spoken language
Different religion,
script, “ethnic” group
Intermarried, cooperated,
1950s-80s; at war 1990s
Muslim and
Serb refugees
from Sarajevo

7. Somalia Same race, language, religion, and ethnic group !
Yet 1990s civil war
between clan militias

8. Contending theories Ethnic hatred is ancient,
always there; politics
can keep a “lid” on it
Ethnic hatred is modern tool
used for political and
economic power
Bosnia
partition plan
Communism collapses in
Eastern Europe, 1989
Croatian and Serbian leaders
stoke ethnic hatred after 1989

9. Explaining interethnic cooperation
(Fearon/Laitin)
Cooperation is more the norm than conflict;
Prejudice always exists but crisis of economy or power turns it into violence
Macedonian Slav and Albanian kids in Open Fun
Football School

11. Territoriality Control people by controlling space:
Classification (boundaries for ease of control),
Communication (of in/out rules),
Enforcement (to punish transgression)

12. Types of territoriality
State
Ethnic
Religious
Fears of
Balkanization
(splitting state into ethnic or religious parts)

13. Types of territoriality
State
(patriotism)
Ethnic
(nationalism)
Religious
Racial

14. Place identity based on political unit
State territoriality
(“patriotism”)
Place identity based on political unit
(Serbian, Croatian)
“I am an American.”
(Civil wars)
“I am a Nigerian.”

15. State Sovereignty Exercise of power over people and territory.
Boundaries recognized
by other states.
Global system of sovereign states

16. NATION Not a state: A cultural group with a territorial identity;
stitching together many local identities
Over 5,000 ethnic
“nations” cannot all
become states, yet
many are large
enough to survive
(larger than some states).

17. Theories of European nationhood
Primordialism
(nation is essential/family, in the “blood”)
Instrumentalism
(nation is top-down, self-serving project of elites)
Constructivism
(nation is constructed both by elites and masses)

18. Urbanization Transmission Belt for nationalism
(Ernest Gellner)
Constructed in urban areas
by intellectual elites
but extols rural peasantry

19. Local to National Identity (Eugèn Weber)
Nations patched together
from local dialects
Central dialect selected
as standard
(Parisian, Queen’s English)
Construct national identity
through education, print
Notes

20. Local-Scale Identities
Identity of multiethnic region
(Carpathian Rus, Vojvodina, Transylvania)
Identity of town, city or valley (Pec, Kosovo)
Local scale seen as provincial, but can be inclusive (Iraqi tribe can be Shia and Sunni together)
Expanding scale seen as cosmopolitan (Tuan), but can be more exclusive (Greater Serbia, Greater Albania)
Notes

21. Ethnic territoriality (“nationalism”)
Place identity based on ethnicity
(Serb, Croat)
Basques in Spain/France
Québécois in Canada

22. Social and Territorial Definitions of Place
Defines place as belonging
to one ethnic or racial group
(Jus Sanguinis: “Law of the Blood”)
TERRITORIAL
Defines place/state geographically
as home for all who live there
(Jus Soli: “Law of the Soil”)
So-called “ethnic cleansing”
to match ethnic, state boundaries
Bosnian
Serb
ethnic flag
Bosnia
multiethnic
state flag

23. Homeland: Territorialization of national identity
Past:
Golden Age
Past independence/autonomy of
(usually larger) territory
Present:
Cohesion/Security
Cultural, Linguistic, Territorial
Future:
Prosperity /Glory
Economic viability, preferably political
viability (autonomy or independence)

24. Battle of Kosovo Polje
(Blackbird Field), 1389

25. Battle of Kosovo Polje (Blackbird Field), 1389 Muslim Turks defeat
Serbian (and Albanian!)
Christians under
Prince Lazar.
Knights’ blood
“turns into” red poppies.
Sacred site for
Serbian nationalism vs.
Albanian nationalism,

26. NATION-STATE State with one nation Nearly all states multiethnic
(none “pure” but some close)
Nearly all states multiethnic
(more than one nation)

27. Nation-States and Multiethnic States

28. National Congruence Desire for nation-state (state boundaries to match
ethnic boundaries)
* If minority wants
self-determination--
declare independence or
autonomy (limited self-rule)
* If majority does not
want minority—assimilate,
kill or expel them
Boundaries of Albania
in different eras

29. Ethnic Territory Typology (John Coakley)
Cohesiveness (size) within territory
Concentration of total members in territory
1. Strong majority/High concentration (Slovenia)
2. Strong majority/Low concentration (Aland Swedes)
3. Weak plurality/High concentration (Bosnia)
4. Weak plurality/Low concentration (Birobijan Jews)
Notes

30. Kurds Ethnic group in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria. Many Kurds
for independence
of Kurdistan
(autonomy in Iraq)
States pit Kurds
against each other
(state territoriality wins)

31. Activation of ethnic territoriality
Demographic trends
(shrinking or growing relative to other groups)
Cultural trends
(language use lessening
or growing)
Economic trends
(getting poorer or better off)
Political trends
(getting repressed or
gaining autonomy/
rising expectations)

32. Religious Territoriality
States defined by religion
Saudi
Arabia
Vatican
City
Vatican
City
Israel
Iran

34. Israelis Zionism: Jewish (religious) territoriality
Israelis are multiethnic
European, Middle Eastern,
Newer Russian, Ethiopian immigrants
Arab Israeli minority

35. Palestinians Arab (ethnic) territoriality
(in West Bank, E. Jerusalem, Gaza Strip)
Arab (ethnic) territoriality
Palestinians are multireligious
Muslims and Christians
Ethnic nationalist movement,
but later Islamist groups

37. Iraq Ethnic: Arabs vs. Kurds Religion: Sunnis vs. Shi’as Rulers were
Sunni Arab,
now Shia

38. Iran-Iraq War, 1980-88 IRAN (Shi’a Persian) vs. IRAQ (Sunni Arab)
Iranians
Iran-Iraq War,
IRAN (Shi’a Persian) vs.
IRAQ (Sunni Arab)
Yet Iraqi Shi’as fought for Iraq,
Iranian Arabs fought for Iran
(State territoriality won)
Iraqis

39. Armenia-Azerbaijan War, 1988-94 ARMENIA (Christian) vs.
AZERBAIJAN (Shi’a Muslim)
Yet Shi’a Iran stayed neutral,
fearing ethnic Azeris in NW Iran
(Ethnic territoriality won)
Armenian (above)
and Azeri views

40. Racial Territoriality
States defined by race
White supremacist map for
a racial partition of the U.S.
South Africa’s White
and Black areas under
Apartheid (racial
separation)

41. South African Black Homelands
“Bantustans” forced on Blacks
76% of
population
given 13%
of land;
denied
citizenship
in rest
(ethnocide)

42. South African Apartheid
(racial separation),

43. Russians in U.S.S.R. & Russia
Core group
States are constructed around a
dominant ethnic, racial or religious group
English in U.K.
Whites in U.S.
Russians in U.S.S.R. & Russia

44. Majority nationalism Equating “patriotism” with “nationalism”
State usually represents core group,
but also concedes to minorities
so they will be loyal, not rebel
Hindu mobs attack Indian
Muslim neighborhood
English attack
immigrants
German skinheads
attack Turks
KKK rally against immigrants, 1925

45. Minority nationalism For “self-determination”
Not only secession but autonomy
Reaction to majority nationalism?
What if minority becomes majority?
Puerto
Rico
East Timor
Lithuania

46. Secession Separation from state (independence) Autonomy (self-rule)
not offered, or not
enough
Recognized by
other states

47. Germany annexes ethnic German region of Czechoslovakia, 1938
Irredentism
Joining ethnic minority with a
country where they are majority,
To form Greater________
Germany annexes ethnic German region of Czechoslovakia, 1938

48. State response to minority: Coercion
Ethnocide
(forced assimilation)
Hungarian sign defaced in Romania.
Turks forced to
change names in Bulgaria. =
”Kill the Indian, not the man”
in boarding schools
Genocide
(extermination)
Holocaust in Europe
(Not only Germany)

49. Ethnic cleansing Forced removal of an ethnic group
To match ethnic, state boundaries;
increase majority percentage
Serbs expelled
from Krajina
(Croatia), 1995
Albanians
expelled
from Kosovo
(Serbia), 1999

50. State response: Unitary system Central government holds power;
No autonomy for ethnic minorities

51. State response: Autonomy Ethnic minorities can rule themselves
in special regions
within the state
China settling
ethnic Chinese in
“autonomous”
regions
Autonomous
regions of Spain.
Flag of Catalonia
alongside Spain
and EU flags

52. Indian Reservations (autonomy)

53. Inuit (Eskimo) territory of Nunavut
1999
Canada

54. Languages and states of India
State response:
Ethnic Federalism
Territorial units
represent different
ethnic groups
Other large multiethnic
federations have failed
(Yugoslavia, USSR)
Languages and states of India

55. Confederalism Devolution (transfer) of most power from central
government to regions
Bosnia after civil war
ended in 1995, divided
into strong Serb and
Muslim-Croat regions
Confederacy
declared, 1861.
“States’ Rights”
after Civil War
ended in 1865.

56. Nationalism in the Former Soviet Bloc

57. Growth of Russian Empire

58. Lenin on national self-determination
Nationalism of the oppressor vs.
Nationalism of the oppressed
Criticized Russian
majority nationalism
Independence for Poland,
Finland, Baltic states
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR), 1922
Notes

59. Stalin on nationalism Ethnic Georgian (Dzhugashvili) but pro-Russian
Feared, repressed ethnic
minorities & religions
Russification of
minorities (Cyrillic)
Ruled republics through
Russified elites, money
Notes

60. Stalin on nationalism Constructed ethnic groups from local identities
Divide-and-rule through ethnic boundaries
“Booby traps” of minorities within republics
Yet boundaries strengthened national identity of titular groups
Notes

61. Russian nationalism in WWII
Stalin used “Mother Russia” to rally USSR
“Traitorous” minority ethnic groups
Some initially welcomed
Germans (or outdid them)
But Nazis wanted
Lebensraum (Living Space)
Stalin relocates ethnic
Germans, Chechens, etc.
Notes

62. Dominant (titular) groups in 15 Soviet republics
All had minorities
14 republics
outside Russia
(“Near Abroad”) have
Russian minorities

63. Notes

64. Ethnic minority areas within S.S.R.s
Notes

65. Nagorno-Karabakh Ethnic Armenian region, but part of Azerbaijan
(booby trap); War in
Notes

66. Chechnya Muslim region of Russia declared independence; beat
Russians in 1990,
Putin fears Kosovo precedent;
flattens Grozny, 2000

67. RUSSIANS OUTSIDE RUSSIA
Fears that
Russian
ethnic
territoriality
would turn
irredentist
25 million
people
(17% of all
Russians)

68. Russians in Ukraine 22% of population (up from 10% in 1926)
Concentrated in cities east of
Dnieper River
(Donbass industrial region)
Also on Crimean Peninsula
in Black Sea
Ukraine, Russia mutually dependent
Russians in
lighter green
in east, south

69. Russians in Crimea (Ukraine)
Crimea former homeland of Crimean Tatars
(removed by Stalin)
Was part of RSFSR;
given to Ukrainian SSR
as Khrushchev’s
1954 birthday present

70. Simferopol parliament
Crimea
Simferopol parliament
Russians 70% of
population, elected
separatist leader 1994
Crisis over splitting
Black Sea Fleet between
Russia and Ukraine
Reconciliation

71. Russians in Kazakhstan
Russian 35%; only some have left
Mainly in northern steppe/
“Virgin Lands”
Also in cities (Almaty)
Capital shifted to northern city of
Aqmola, renamed Astana (“Capital”)

72. Baltic Russians 29% Estonia (42% Tallinn, 95% Narva) 33% Latvia
(47% Riga)
8% Lithuania
(20% Vilnius)

73. Russians in Baltic States
Have long history in Baltics
(part of Russian Empire)
Most settled after 1940
annexation (esp. officers)
Pre-1940 residency or language requirements for citizenship
Older Russians not learning,
younger people see as minority
apart from Russia

74. Russians/Ukrainians in Moldova
27% of Moldova (Bessarabia)
Concentrated in industrial zone
east of Dniester River (not Romanian)
Feared Moldova would
be part of Greater Romania
annexation like in WWII

75. Russians/Ukrainians in Moldova (Transdniestria)
Declared independence 1992
(also Gagauz Turks in south)
Russian Gen. Lebed’s 14th Army
aided secessionists
Lebed relieved 1994, but troops stay

76. Modernizers vs. Slavophiles
Eurasianists:
Europe-Asia bridge
Pro-peasantry
Royalists & populists
Russia as ethnic nation
Westernizers:
Lean to Europe
Pro-industrial
Capitalists & Socialists
Russia as state

77. What is Russia? State vs. Ethnic Territoriality
ETHNIC (Lebed, Slavophiles)
Bring all Russians into Russia,
but let Chechens go from Russia
STATE (Yeltsin, Modernizers)
Leave Russians outside Russia,
but keep Chechens in Russia by force

78. Yugoslavia-USSR parallels
Dominant capital
Belgrade, Serbia Moscow, Russia
Irredentism
Orthodox Serbs Orthodox Russians
outside Serbia outside Russia
Secession
Kosovo Muslims Chechen Muslims
in Serbia in Russia

79. Milosevic, Putin emphasize both ethnic and state territoriality;
Overextend reach of Serbia & Russia