Negative Effects of Nationalism

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Negative Effects of Nationalism Nationalism is when a country considers itself superior in comparison to other countries. It is a devotion to ones culture and beliefs. Nationalism began in the 17th and 18th century, simply because there was no such thing as loyalty to ones country but only loyalty to the “crown”. Although nationalism is a force that gives people a sense of community and inspires love for ones country, it is dangerous and can also inspire malicious acts. The main type of nationalism is ethnocentric nationalism, the idea that a certain nation is of higher rank over other nations and races. The development of Nationalism began in the 19th century and reached its climax in the 20th century, near the time of World War I. If ethnocentric nationalism is ever combined with other types of nationalism such as expansionist nationalism it can motivate war and genocide. Undoubtedly one of the most important causes of World War I was nationalism. Nationalism provoked revolutions and strong nationalist’s movements in the 19th century, where the unification of Germany, and Italy, and the independence of Belgium came about. Although there were many successful acts, many nationalistic conflicts were still unresolved, resulting in tensions between various regions within Europe. From 1848-1914, the years before World War I, and the period when Nationalism began, each country was unifying their states. During the 1800’s, nationalism took hold among people who shared a common language, history, or culture. Otto von Bismark was the German unifier and chancellor of Persia. Bismark was extremely powerful and was able to unify Germany in three steps. The first step was the war he won against Denmark in 1864, then he won the Autro/Prussian war in 1866, and won the war of 1871, finally unifying the country on January 18, 1871. The murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and
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