The Rise of Nationalism in Europe: A Blessing and a Curse

Beginning in the late seventieth century, the Age of Enlightenment set in motion revolutionary ideals that would eventually destroy the traditional feudal system and initiate the rise of nationalism in Europe. This “rise of nationalism” would span over three hundred years, from the birth of the French revolution, to the outbreak of WW2. During this span, the hostilities and violence between European nations would increase, due to their respected people’s willingness to support their given nation’s aspiration’s of territorial conquest and economic domination, which were seen as assurances of economic prosperity and the invocation of national pride. Subsequently, the European peoples ferocious defense of their homeland would have both proactive and destructive repercussions throughout history.

The French economy in the eighteenth century was on the brink of collapse, due to two costly interventions in colonial wars across the Atlantic. The Third Estate, which constituted the majority of the French population, received horrendous taxation rates in order to save the floundering French government, which desperately needed funds to pay off the nation’s debt. Accordingly, Rousseau's vision of government in which "a people could only be free if it ruled itself" became incredibly popular amongst the French populace, due to the appealing idea of the French citizens controlling the government rather than an absolute monarch. However, even though Rousseau did not directly prefer a republic, (for he saw representatives as the removal of power amongst the non representative population) his ideas regarding the people's rights to create their own laws and effectively control the government, indirectly spurred on the creation of the French repub...

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...ise of nationalism in Europe could be identified as both a blessing and curse, due to its constructive and destructive characteristics. In terms of proactivity, the nationalistic upheavals against monarchial rule in the eighteenth and nineteenth century (French Revolution) enabled the acquisition of civil rights and liberties amongst the people of Europe. On the other hand, catastrophes such as WW1 and WW2 were sparked by deeply nationalistic nations, who sought the preservation of their culture through the conquering of their enemies. Ultimately, the drive to preserve their respected cultures enabled the European people to perform extraordinary achievements that led to modernization of Europe, as well as execute unimaginable catastrophes whose carnage witnessed by those who survived caused them to question the very principles of nationalism that once united them.