Paul Stein

2/2/16
HIST 491C
Nationalism: Importance and Value
Nationalism, though often without a concrete definition, has proven an extremely
powerful and enduring political ideology. Though absolute monarchy, totalitarianism, and
Marxism have shaped the course of world affairs, they are largely believed to be dead, at least as
political ideology. However, nationalism, despite its checkered past, continues to be a force to be
reckoned with. With current events in Europe, it seems likely that nationalism is here to stay. Of
course, all of this is useless without a concrete definition of nationalism. For the purpose of this
discussion, nationalism will be defined as an ideological movement for attaining and
maintaining autonomy, unity, and identity for a population which some of its members deem to
be an actual or potential nation.1 With this definition, a case can now proceed. Nationalism must
be studied in order to understand European history, specifically the First World War.
The First World War provides the best example of nationalism in European history and the best
argument for its study. Although the war guilt debate still continues among historians, it is
incontrovertible that nationalism was a significant cause of the war. While the Sonderweg Thesis
is still hotly debated, it provides a cogent explanation of how German nationalism led to the First
World War. German nationalism, especially based around its empire, fed public opinion that was
unwilling, in light of German industrial strength, to be subordinate to the United Kingdom,
United States, and Russia.2 In mainstream German society, nationalistic organizations such as the
German Defense League and the Navy League rapidly developed, finding heavy support among

1 Anthony D. Smith, Nationalism (Cambridge: Polity, 2010), 9.

2 Fritz Fischer, Germanys Aims in the First World War (New York: W.W. Norton and Company,
1967), 41.

Paul Stein
2/2/16
HIST 491C
middle-class voters.3 Moreover, German nationalism and European nationalism more generally4
evolved from a historically-based (however loosely) nationalism to an ethnically-based one.5
This evolution of nationalism has great implications for German foreign policy.
German foreign policy oriented towards a life or death struggle among the Teutons,
Gauls, and Slavs, as shown by General Frederich von Bernhardis Deutschland und der nachste
Krieg.6 All of this is directly tied to German nationalism. That is, the Teutonic people are
somehow special, and the Teutonic past helps form a collective national identity.7 This is
especially true in the case of the German position against the Russians, with the Germans often
referring to the Russians as a Slavic menace, and naming their early war victory near Allenstein,
East Prussia after the Battle of Tannenberg, where the Teutonic Knights suffered a crushing
defeat.8 This reshaping of a defeat into a victory further illustrates German nationalism- Germany
is now the victor at Tannenberg. Such a choice only makes sense in light of an ethnic-based
nationalism. Rather than simply a victory over the Russians, Tannenberg was a victory over the
Slavs. Germany saw itself not as only the Second Reich, the German Empire that had come

3 Ian Kershaw, To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949 (New York: Viking, 2015), 17.
4 See also French nationalism at this time.
5 Ibid, 19.
6 Fischer, 34-35.
7 Bernadotte Schmitt, The Coming of the War, 1914 (New York: Howard Fertig, 1966), 67.
8 Tannenberg proper is approximately 15 miles from the site of the 1914 battle.

Paul Stein
2/2/16
HIST 491C
together in bloody wars of unification, but also as a bulwark against the savagery of the Slavs. 9
Such a foreign policy, as well as a national identity, illuminates German militarism quite well.
German militarism can only be understood in light of German nationalism and foreign
policy. Although the Schlieffen Plan is rapidly modified to avoid an immediate attack in the East,
the war develops into a two front war rather quickly.10 Yet, this is not referring, surprisingly
enough, to the war against the Russian Empire. Instead, it refers to German antagonism of
Britain, largely through German naval and imperial aspirations. These German naval aspirations
come out of nationalism, primarily stemming from the Agadir Crisis, where a German gunboat
took up station in Agadir, Morocco, ostensibly to protect German business interests. The British
viewed such an action as an attempt to set up a rival base to Gibraltar. Regardless of how the
Germans and British viewed the situation at the time, it was resolved in a manner that most
Germans thought unfavorable. General Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, Oberste Heeresleitung
(OHL) commander, believed that the time had come for war. 11 Additionally, German
organizations, such as the Navy League, called for a navy on par with that of Great Britain. 12
After all, if Germany were to become a world power, it would need a powerful navy. The
upswing in national sentiment was far from positive. Besides demanding measures that would
only further isolate Germany, it rejected the idea that compromise and moderation could be
useful tools in world affairs. Rather, this national sentiment only further supported the views of
9 Fischer, 44
10 Fischer, 47
11 Fischer, 26.
12 Ibid., 26

Paul Stein
2/2/16
HIST 491C
leaders in the Foreign Ministry that German expansion was the only truly successful outcome.13
In short, German nationalism had played a large part in the escalation of a fairly minor event into
a full-fledged political crisis. German nationalism, in the process of providing a German identity,
had also sowed the seeds of the First World War. Rather than acknowledging that Germany was
far from ready to wage war against the rest of Europe, as Groadmiral Alfred von Tirpitz did,
German nationalists insisted upon revenge.14 Overall, this leads to three conclusions about
German nationalism and the coming of the First World War.
First, German nationalism evolved from a historically-based one to a racially-based one.
Second, racially-based nationalism played a key role in German foreign policy. Third, German
nationalism led to German diplomatic isolation and German militarism. But why does any of this
matter for why nationalism should be studied? The answer is actually fairly straightforward,
though it is not necessarily simple. Nationalism illustrates the causal chain of the First World
War. If one does not know nationalism and cannot see how it shaped every other proximate
cause, one cannot know the causes of the First World War, arguably the most important conflict
in the history of humanity. One cannot understand how the First World War shaped and continues
to shape European history. Nationalism is also important for understanding the past, so that the
mistakes of the past (in a presentist way, perhaps) will not be repeated in the future. At this point
in time, the Near East looks much like Europe before the First World War. Perhaps the study of
nationalism will allow the world community to avoid a similarly catastrophic war.

13 Ibid., 24.
14 Schmitt, 312

Paul Stein
2/2/16
HIST 491C
In summary, nationalism is key to understanding the causes of the First World War, as
well as the vast majority of history throughout the twentieth century. Nationalism is important
and valuable not only because of the lessons it imparts about the past, but potentially about the
future as well. It is the most enduring political philosophy in history because of its broad
applicability and historical importance. That is why it must be studied. That is why it is
important.

Bibliography
Fischer, Fritz. Germanys Aims in the First World War. New York: W.W. Norton and Company,
1967.
Kershaw, Ian. To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949. New York: Viking, 2015.
Schmitt, Bernadotte. The Coming of War, 1914. New York: Howard Fertig, 1966.
Smith, Anthony. Nationalism. Cambridge: Polity, 2010.