Geographies of the National QuestionGeographies of the National Question

Dr. Zoltán GrossmanDr. Zoltán GrossmanGeography/World Indigenous Peoples Studies, Geography/World Indigenous Peoples Studies, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wash.The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wash.

Northern Ireland (Catholics vs. Protestants)

Same race, language

Different religion(and class, ethnic group?)

Protestant Ulster majorityloyal to U.K.Poorer Catholic minorityfor joining Ireland.

Loyalist(Protestant)

and Republican(Catholic) murals

in Belfast

Rwanda(Hutus vs. Tutsis)

Same race, language,religion

Different ethnic group;one favored by Belgiancolonialists

Genocide againstTutsi minority andmoderate Hutus, 1994.War against Hutu refugees in Congo, 2000s.

Bosnia(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 andSerb refugeesfrom Sarajevo

Somalia

Same race, language,religion, and ethnic group !

Yet 1990s civil warbetween clan militias

Contending theories

Ethnic hatred is ancient,always there; politics can keep a “lid” on it

Croatian and Serbian leadersstoke ethnic hatred after 1989

Ethnic hatred is modern toolused for political and

economic power

Communism collapses inEastern Europe, 1989

Bosniapartition plan

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 FunFootball School

Territoriality

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

Types of territoriality

State

Ethnic

Religious

Fears ofBalkanization(splitting state into ethnic or

religious parts)

Types of territoriality

State(patriotism)

Ethnic(nationalism)

Religious

Racial

State territorialityState territoriality(“patriotism”)

Place identity based on political unit(Serbian, Croatian)

“I am an American.” “I am a Nigerian.”(Civil wars)

Exercise of powerover people and territory.

Boundaries recognizedby other states.

Global system of sovereign states

State Sovereignty

NATIONNATION

Not a state: A cultural group with a territorial identity; stitching together many local identities

Over 5,000 ethnic “nations” cannot allbecome states, yetmany are large enough to survive(larger than some states).

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)

Urbanization

Transmission Belt for nationalism(Ernest Gellner)

Constructed in urban areasby intellectual elites

but extols rural peasantry

Local to National IdentityLocal to National Identity(Eugèn Weber)(Eugèn Weber)

• Nations patched together from local dialects

• Central dialect selected as standard (Parisian, Queen’s English)

• Construct national identity through education, print

Local-Scale IdentitiesLocal-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)

Basques in Spain/France Québécois in Canada

Ethnic territorialityEthnic territoriality(“nationalism”)

Place identity based on ethnicity(Serb, Croat)

Social and Territorial Definitions of Place

• SOCIAL 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

BosnianSerb

ethnic flag

Bosniamultiethnic

state flag

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)

Battle of Kosovo Polje(Blackbird Field), 1389

Battle of Kosovo Polje(Blackbird Field), 1389

Muslim Turks defeatSerbian (and Albanian!)Christians under Prince Lazar.

Knights’ blood “turns into” red poppies.

Sacred site for Serbian nationalism vs.Albanian nationalism,1989-1999

NATION-STATE

State with one nation(none “pure” but some close)

Nearly all states multiethnic(more than one nation)

Nation-States and Multiethnic States

National Congruence

Desire for nation-state(state boundaries to matchethnic boundaries)

* If minority wants self-determination-- declare independence or autonomy (limited self-rule)

* If majority does not want minority—assimilate, kill or expel themBoundaries of Albania

in different eras

Ethnic Territory TypologyEthnic Territory Typology(John Coakley)(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)

Kurds

Ethnic group in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria.

Many Kurdsfor independence of Kurdistan(autonomy in Iraq)

States pit Kurdsagainst each other(state territoriality wins)

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)

Activation of ethnic territoriality

Religious TerritorialityReligious Territoriality

States defined by religion

IranIran

VaticanCity

IsraelIsrael

SaudiSaudiArabiaArabia

VaticanVaticanCityCity

Israelis

Zionism:Jewish (religious) territoriality

Israelis are multiethnicEuropean, Middle Eastern,Newer Russian, Ethiopian immigrants

Arab Israeli minority

Palestinians (in West Bank, E. Jerusalem, Gaza Strip)

Arab (ethnic) territoriality

Palestinians are multireligiousMuslims and Christians

Ethnic nationalist movement, but later Islamist groups

Iraq

Ethnic:Arabs vs.Kurds

Religion:Sunnis vs.Shi’as

Rulers wereSunni Arab,now Shia

IRAN (Shi’a Persian) vs.IRAQ (Sunni Arab)

Yet Iraqi Shi’as fought for Iraq,Iranian Arabs fought for Iran

(State territoriality won)

Iran-Iraq War, 1980-88

Iranians

Iraqis

ARMENIA (Christian) vs.AZERBAIJAN (Shi’a Muslim)

Yet Shi’a Iran stayed neutral,fearing ethnic Azeris in NW Iran (Ethnic territoriality won)

Armenia-AzerbaijanWar, 1988-94

Armenian (above) and Azeri views

Racial TerritorialityRacial Territoriality

States defined by race

South Africa’s Whiteand Black areas under

Apartheid (racial separation)

White supremacist map for a racial partition of the U.S.

South African Black Homelands

76% of populationgiven 13%of land;deniedcitizenshipin rest(ethnocide)

“Bantustans” forced on Blacks

South African Apartheid (racial separation), 1948-94

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

Majority nationalism Equating “patriotism” with “nationalism”

German skinheadsattack TurksKKK rally against immigrants, 1925

Hindu mobs attack IndianMuslim neighborhood

State usually represents core group, but also concedes to minoritiesso they will be loyal, not rebel

English attack immigrants

Minority nationalism

For “self-determination”Not only secession but autonomy

Reaction to majority nationalism?

What if minority becomes majority?

LithuaniaEast Timor

PuertoRico

Secession

Separation from state(independence)

Autonomy (self-rule)not offered, or not enough

Recognized by other states

Irredentism

Joining ethnic minority with acountry where they are majority,To form Greater________

Germany annexes ethnic German region of Czechoslovakia, 1938

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)

Ethnic cleansingForced removal of

an ethnic group

Serbs expelledfrom Krajina(Croatia), 1995

Albaniansexpelled

from Kosovo (Serbia), 1999

To match ethnic, state boundaries;

increase majority percentage

State response: Unitary system

Central government holds power;No autonomy for ethnic minorities

State response: Autonomy

Ethnic minoritiescan rule themselves in special regionswithin the state

Autonomousregions of Spain.Flag of Catalonia

alongside Spainand EU flags

China settlingethnic Chinese in

“autonomous”regions

Indian Reservations (autonomy)

Inuit (Eskimo) territory of Nunavut

Canada

1999

State response: Ethnic Federalism

Territorial unitsrepresent differentethnic groups

Other large multiethnicfederations have failed(Yugoslavia, USSR)

Languages and states of India

Confederalism

Devolution (transfer)of most power from centralgovernment to regions

Confederacydeclared, 1861.“States’ Rights” after Civil Warended in 1865.

Bosnia after civil war ended in 1995,

dividedinto strong Serb and

Muslim-Croat regions

Nationalism in the Former Soviet BlocNationalism in the Former Soviet Bloc

Growth of Russian Empire

Lenin on national self-determinationLenin 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

Stalin on nationalismStalin on nationalism• Ethnic Georgian (Dzhugashvili) but pro-Russian

• Feared, repressed ethnic minorities & religions

• Russification of minorities (Cyrillic)

• Ruled republics through Russified elites, money

Stalin on nationalismStalin 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

Russian nationalism in WWIIRussian 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.

Dominant (titular)Dominant (titular)groups in 15groups in 15

Soviet republicsSoviet republics

All had minorities

14 republics outside Russia

(“Near Abroad”) haveRussian minorities

Ethnic minority areas within S.S.R.sEthnic minority areas within S.S.R.s

Nagorno-KarabakhNagorno-Karabakh Ethnic Armenian region, but part of Azerbaijan

(booby trap); War in 1988-94

Chechnya• Muslim region of Russia declared independence; beat Russians in 1990, 1994-96

• Putin fears Kosovo precedent; flattens Grozny, 2000

RUSSIANS OUTSIDE RUSSIARUSSIANS OUTSIDE RUSSIA

Fears that Russianethnicterritorialitywould turnirredentist

25 millionpeople(17% of allRussians)

• 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 UkraineRussians in Ukraine

Russians in lighter greenin east, south

• Crimea former homeland of Crimean Tatars (removed by Stalin)

• Was part of RSFSR; given to Ukrainian SSR as Khrushchev’s 1954 birthday present

Russians in Crimea (Ukraine)Russians in Crimea (Ukraine)

CrimeaCrimea

Russians 70% ofpopulation, electedseparatist leader 1994

Crisis over splittingBlack Sea Fleet betweenRussia and Ukraine

Reconciliation 1997-2000

Simferopol parliamentSimferopol parliament

• 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”)

Russians in KazakhstanRussians in Kazakhstan

• 29% Estonia(42% Tallinn,

95% Narva)

• 33% Latvia (47% Riga)

• 8% Lithuania (20% Vilnius)

BalticBalticRussiansRussians

• 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

Russians in Baltic StatesRussians in Baltic States

• 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

Russians/Ukrainians in MoldovaRussians/Ukrainians in Moldova

• Declared independence 1992 (also Gagauz Turks in south)

• Russian Gen. Lebed’s 14th Army aided secessionists

• Lebed relieved 1994, but troops stay

Russians/UkrainiansRussians/Ukrainiansin Moldovain Moldova

(Transdniestria)(Transdniestria)

Modernizers vs. Slavophiles

Westernizers:Lean to Europe

Pro-industrial

Capitalists & Socialists

Russia as state

Eurasianists:

Europe-Asia bridge

Pro-peasantry

Royalists & populists

Russia as ethnic nation

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

What is Russia?What is Russia?State State vsvs. Ethnic Territoriality. Ethnic Territoriality

Dominant capitalBelgrade, Serbia Moscow, Russia

IrredentismOrthodox Serbs Orthodox Russians outside Serbia outside Russia

SecessionKosovo Muslims Chechen Muslims in Serbia in Russia

Yugoslavia-USSR parallelsYugoslavia-USSR parallels

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