Nation-building Policies Research Articles

The role of the “Madeni Mura” Program in the context of the nation-building policy of Kazakhstan

The article provides a comprehensive historical analysis of the history of the origin of the state program “cultural heritage” adopted by the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2004, the search for valuable documents, manuscripts, books, information related to the history of Kazakhstan from foreign archives and libraries, which became one of the most important areas within the framework of the program, their copying and import into the country, thereby enriching our spiritual and cultural heritage. This program was accepted by Kazakhstanis with great pleasure. Cultural heritage is a sign of a civilized society. The program consists of spiritual and moral values, as well as a comprehensive work taken to pass on the rich historical heritage of our people from generation to generation. The preservation of cultural heritage is of great importance for each of the peoples of the world. The program is aimed at developing and consolidating the national consciousness of Kazakhstanis. The purpose of writing the article by the authors is to determine the role of the Mindeni Mura program in considering the state-building policy of Kazakhstan over the years of independence, and to conduct a historical analysis.The relevance of the article lies in the fact that in the history of an independent country, the adoption of state programs in this direction is very important. Within the framework of the state program “Madeni Mura”, the rich historical heritage of our people was enriched with valuable relics from foreign archives. This program was the beginning of the subsequent programs “People in the Stream of History”, “Archive-2025”. The authors conclude that the study and introduction into scientific circulation of valuable documents brought to the country through the Madeni Mura Heritage program was a great step in the development of Kazakhstan's State-Building policy.

Российская политика нациестроительства и историческая память городской молодёжи Арктической зоны РФ (по данным соцопросов в Поморье)

The article examines data from sociological surveys of young residents in the Arkhangelsk agglomeration (Pomorye, territory of the Arctic zone of Russia). Particular emphasis is made on indicators characterizing the state of historical memory and assessments in relation to the historical education of persons aged 18–25. The materials are presented in the context of the fundamental provisions of the Russian nation-building policy of the early 2020s and in their connection with modern concepts of patriotism and civic identity. The data is also compared with nationwide surveys on similar topics during the same period. In general, the trend towards strengthening the all-Russian civic identity of young people is confirmed, parallel to the trend towards a decrease in «regional» patriotism. However, there is no unity among young people in understanding the very concept of a civil nation and the foundations of its formation. It is also confirmed that the identified trend is one of the foundations of the problematic state of basic historical education of young people, and especially acute in terms of knowledge of regional history. At the same time, the youth of the region are, on the one hand, the bearer of a potentially high interest in the history of the country and region, and on the other hand, they realize it at the basic level of historical memory, i.e. at the level of family history. The results of the study indicate that young people will objectively demand a more active use of such tools for stimulating, supporting and satisfying interest in history, such as museum projects and cinema. These industries, along with historical education at school, are considered as the main tools for the formation of emotionally charged historical memory as the basis for a developed civic identity and «active patriotism» among the generation that in the next decade will form the basis of the political, economic, scientific and cultural elite of the Russian Federation.

CIVIC IDENTITY AND FAMILY MEMORY OF THE URBAN YOUTH IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC ZONE (ON SOCIOLOGICAL SURVEYS IN POMORIE)

The article represents data from sociological research held in 2021–2023 among the youth of the Arkhangelsk region (Pomorie), characterizing the state and characteristics of civic identity, its relationship to family history, which, in its turn, is treated as the basic level of historical memory. The specificity of the indicators is determined, among other, by the fact that they were obtained in the most ethnically homogeneous region of the Russia with the largest proportion of ethnic Russians in the population. Surveys of people, primarily aged 18–25 are, are presented in comparison with data from projects on similar topics implemented by leading sociological centers in Russia. Materials from Pomorie, i.e. in one of the bearing regions of the Russian Arctic zone, indicate that representatives of the post-Soviet generation in the Arkhangelsk agglomeration have a generally formed identity, based on the awareness of the legal connection with the state, as states by the novels in Russian Constitution from 2020 and the principles of current Russian nation-building policy. Another significant trend is changes in young people’s interpretation of ethnicity is performed in increasing importance of culture and language as its main criteria. Surveys also have confirmed the growing interest of young people to family history, with an average level of knowledge, as well as the presence of a personal, emotionally charged attitude towards the main events of Russian history. The presented results indicate the demand for new tools for stimulating, supporting and satisfying youth’s interest in history, which prospectively is an effective factor in the formation of a stable civic identity among a generation that in the next decade will form the majority in the political, economic, scientific and cultural elite of the Russian Federation.

On the origins of national identity. German nation-building after Napoleon

What are the origins of national identity? We investigate the success of propaganda as one the first nation-building policies conducted in the German lands around 1815. To elicit identity changes at the level of individuals we use data on first names across German cities and villages. To validate the approach of using first names, we show that soldiers with national names had a higher likelihood to be honored for bravery during the German-French War. Exploiting unanticipated border changes together with variation within the same families over time, i.e., family fixed effects, we find that parents in treated cities responded by choosing national (rather than ruler) first names for their children. We do not find a corresponding increase in villages suggesting that national identity was more prevalent among the urban population, in particular the elite, during this period.

Representations of the Quebec nation through reactions to Bills 21 and 96: an analysis of editorials and Op-eds in English-language media

This article examines the representations of the Quebec nation in English-language media, specifically focusing on editorials and Op-eds which discuss Bill 21 An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State and Bill 96 An Act Respecting French, the Official and Common Language of Quebec. The study explores the perspectives expressed by members of the dominant English-speaking group in response to these nation-building policies introduced by Quebec public officials between 2019 and 2023. Specifically, it asks: How do editorials and Op-eds in established English-language newspapers represent the Quebec nation in response to Bill 21 and 96? In doing so, the research uncovers how the Quebec nation and its nation-building enterprises are portrayed in the media by examining four established newspapers: the Globe and Mail, the Winnipeg Free Press, the Montreal Gazette, and the Calgary Herald. Mobilizing a qualitative and inductive critical content analysis approach, it highlights core common themes and key normative and regional variations in the perspective advanced by the media outlets.

Middle class nation building through immigration?

ABSTRACT This special issue examines the increase in scale and intensity of merit-based (im)migration policies as a means to revive aging populations and boost national economies in countries around the world. It proposes the idea of ‘middle class nation building through immigration’ to characterize this phenomenon, to relate it to previous versions of nation building and (im)migration policies, and to highlight the puzzle of middle class (im)migration at times of increasing socio-political polarization in receiving societies. In this foundational introduction, I define the three concepts at stake, situate them within their respective bodies of literature, and address the following three questions: How to characterize the type of nation building at stake in today’s democracies? Who gets to belong to the new educated middle class? Can we still speak of immigration or do we, instead, observe an end of settlement policies? This allows me to sketch-out the contours of ‘middle class nation building through immigration’ as an ideal-type: a heuristic theoretical construct (not to be found empirically in its pure form) that kindles our imagination, allows us to examine empirical cases, and invites debate.

The wheel of history and minorities’ ‘self-sacrifice’ for the Chinese nation

ABSTRACT This article offers a theoretical intervention in new and emergent approaches to analysing China’s coercive nation-building policies under Xi Jinping. The author contends that the recent Western framing of CCP policies as genocidal or necropolitical, predicated on notions of settler colonialism and indigeneity, not only strips minority nationalities of their political agency but also prevents them from pursuing anti-colonial self-determination. By delving into the extensive scholarly work within Chinese anthropology, history, and philosophy that contributes to the reconstruction of a retrotopian Chinese nation with non-Han minority groups at its core, this article argues that the ongoing effort to build a revitalised Chinese national community requires more than merely overcoming obstacles related to minority cultures and identities. It entails actively reimagining the role and participation of minorities in ‘self-sacrifice’ for the Chinese national community, implying their voluntary relinquishment of identities and rights in order to align with the Chinese nation.

Plan Colombia: Towards New US State Building Policy

The article discusses the evolution of US policy toward the Colombian crisis. The policy and Plan Colombia are studied in the context of US nation building and state building policy. The article shows whether Plan Colombia referred to previous experiences of US nation or state building policy and how that policy evolved. The case study of Colombia allows for a general reflection on the evolution of US policy after the Cold War.

Некоторые аспекты легитимации политики строительства национально-государственной идентичности

The article discusses some mechanisms of nation-state building legitimization, including the identity, national memory and symbolic policy used by modern states. The application of these mechanisms is demonstrated on the example of the Republic of Belarus. Finally the author makes a conclusion about the imminent by historical standards transition of the nation-building policy of Belarus from the stage that began in 2020 to a new one based on the synthesis of its own and pro-European identity.

Sacred Language in the Borderlands: Discussions on the Language of Belarusian Catholicism

Abstract This article considers in detail the choosing of a language for the liturgy and sermons in Roman Catholic parishes in Belarus. The choice of the Belarusian language is part of a deliberate nation-building policy by the Catholic Church. Moreover, a whole network of local peculiarities, historical stereotypes, and political attitudes is concealed beneath the unified cover of a preference for the use of the Belarusian language. Based on interviews with clergy and religious activists, the article shows that the Roman Catholic Church repeatedly works out compromise solutions that allow it to adapt to the pressures of the state and believers going through a process of contradictory and conflicting nation-building.

Teaching nation-building and nationalism: a critical perspective of Turkish academia

The process of nation-building can be seen as a never-ending attempt for a considerable number of nation-states. Education has been one of the primary tools in this process. It can be argued that nation-building policies should be seen as aspects of an attempt rather than a project that can be realized successfully in all terms. Following this argument, this study has two main objectives: to draw a detailed literature review addressing the dynamics, actors and stages of the nation-building process and nationalism and to critically analyze how Turkish academia has dealt with nationalism education. This study will proceed via the following sections: Firstly, the main theoretical discussions concerning nationalism will be covered. In this regard, ethnic/civic nationalism and other types of nationalism, including the concept of “banal nationalism” coined by Michael Billig (1995) will be under scrutiny. Secondly, the state-formation process from a cultural viewpoint will be analyzed. In this part, the works of thinkers such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault and Antonio Gramsci will be referred to. Next, ‘the nation-building process as a never-ending attempt’ will be addressed. Finally, the teaching of nationalism in Turkish academia will be discussed from a historical viewpoint.

The crux of agitations in Nigeria a striking danger to economic development: A philosophical purview

Too many agitations leading to civil disobedience and violent protest from diverse groups have arisen in Nigeria. Recently, there were EndSARS (nationwide), the Revolution-Now (West), protest by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) (South-East) and Amotekun in the West. These agitations and their consequences are inimical to national development. This study in consideration of the failing state of affairs in Nigeria explored lack of national political philosophy as the primary cause of the agitations and highlighted critical elements of lack of political philosophy to include; marginalization of all sorts, abuse of human rights, brazen disregard to institutionalized federal character principles, corruption of all sorts, and insecurity as the most critical elements depicting lack of political philosophy. Anchored on Prebendal theory or prebendalism and Frustration-Aggression theory, the study contends that when approach to leadership sacrifices meritocracy in the management of her resources in such that the “want-get-ratio” falls, the consequent frustration which erupts in the catalyzing agent of agitations. The finding from the study exploration is indicative that the current presidential system which concentrated power at the center is ill-fated political philosophy judging from ethnic and religious diversities of Nigera. The study recommends that the clamour for restructuring should be promoted as it will define Nigeria’s political philosophy along conflict areas which will determine her nation building policies and socio-economic development.

Modernization, social identity, and ethnic conflict

The lack of a shared national identity is often blamed for ethnic conflict and low economic development. This raises the question: does a society’s modernization (in particular, industrialization) lead to a shared identity, thereby bringing good outcomes in conflict and development? This paper theoretically examines the question using a contest model of conflict augmented with multiple production sectors and social identification.The analysis shows that as modernization proceeds, a society shifts to an equilibrium with a universal national identity, a low level of conflict, and high output if national pride is high, ethnic differences are not salient in people’s minds, resources are not abundant, or institutions are of good quality. Otherwise, the society shifts to an equilibrium with a universal ethnic identity and worse economic and political outcomes. The analysis suggests that nation-building policies play a critical role in overcoming the negative effects of modernization under the latter situation.

Ation-building in Postcolonial States: Examining the Effects of Successive Nation-Building Policies in Pakistan

The primary goal of this research is to ascertain which nation-building approach is suitable for dealing with diversity in Pakistan. Historically, the State has adopted various policies such as assimilation, coercion, and accommodation. This study employs the historical-analytical method to investigate the effects of these policies in the case of Pakistan. The findings suggest that the State’s assimilative and coercive policies continued to be unsuccessful in merging the weaker peripheral identities into the dominant core national identity. Therefore, autonomy movements continued to flourish over the course of time in many regions. However, despite being a federation, for most of the period, the accommodative policy has been ignored to address the persistent identity challenges in Pakistan. The evidence shows that the post-18th amendment period has witnessed some inclusive governance and politics of accommodation that have effectively contributed to the nation-building process. Hence, this paper argues that this approach is more appropriate to deal with diversity.

Nation-Building and Education

AbstractDemocracies and dictatorships have different incentives when it comes to choosing how much and by what means to homogenise the population, i.e., ‘to build a nation’. We study and compare nation-building policies under the transition from dictatorship to democracy in a model where the type of government and borders of the country are endogenous. We find that the threat of democratisation provides the strongest incentive to homogenise. We focus upon a specific nation-building policy: mass primary education. We offer historical discussions of nation-building across time and space, and provide correlations for a large sample of countries over the 1925–2014 period.

Nested Nationalism: Making and Unmaking Nations in the Soviet Caucasus by Krista A. Goff

Reviewed by: Nested Nationalism: Making and Unmaking Nations in the Soviet Caucasus by Krista A. Goff Alexander Leslie (bio) Krista A. Goff, Nested Nationalism: Making and Unmaking Nations in the Soviet Caucasus (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2020). 319 pp., ill. Bibliography. Index. ISBN: 978-1-501-75327-5. Drawing on extensive archival and oral history research conducted in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Dagestan, and Moscow, the historian Krista A. Goff produces a ground-breaking work of historiography that examines Soviet nationality politics in the context of the "nontitular" ethnicities of the Caucasus, with particular attention given to minority groups in the Azerbaijan SSR. Nested Nationalism is an achievement in its own right, as Goff details how she was met with considerable resistance and accusations of fueling separatism from government officials, archivists, and fellow researchers in Azerbaijan as she attempted to uncover the lost history of the Talyshes, Georgian-Ingilois, and other groups that included the Soviet subaltern in the South Caucasus (P. 10). Although this monograph is the result of nearly thirteen years of archival research (beginning in 2007), its true contribution to the field is due to its unprecedented collection, compilation, and interpretation of over 120 oral interviews conducted throughout Azerbaijan and Georgia, in Makhachkala, in Moscow, and in the Netherlands with anonymous asylum seekers from Azerbaijan (P. 11). The lengths to which Goff goes in order to protect the identities of her interviewees speaks to the gravity of such interviews and to their potential political consequences back home. As one Lezgin interviewee states, "the less you say, the longer you live" (P. 14). This monograph consists of an introduction, five chapters, and a conclusion, along with a substantial seventy-eight pages of notes, figures, acknowledgments, and a bibliography. The introduction addresses the scope of the book, which "recovers the traces" of those who suffered as Soviet nationality policies and practices sought to paradoxically both promote and erase their identities through trauma (P. 18). Chapter 1 details the processes of korenizatsiia, minoritization, and nation building in the Soviet Caucasus in the 1920s and 1930s. Chapter 2 examines the influence of World War II on Soviet nationality politics and how the war intersected with national consciousness, thus igniting latent disputes among nontitular and titular ethnicities. Chapter 3 provides an in-depth, historiographical account of the postwar reassessment of identity, territorial disputes, and nation building in the Azerbaijan SSR in the 1950s, including a discussion of how nontitular groups were targeted by Soviet [End Page 287] authorities in order to "strengthen" the cohesion of the titular population. Chapter 4 focuses on the trajectory of the Talyshes – examining the work of minority rights activists in the 1950s – and their subsequent erasure from Soviet society. Chapter 5 more broadly examines the mission of minority activists during de-Stalinization and the Thaw and assesses the successes and failures of grassroots movements that sought rights negotiations with Moscow. The conclusion, set against the backdrop of the First World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku in 2011, applies Goff's arguments and observations to contemporary phenomena: addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Sadval movement, and the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic (P. 214). There is little ambiguity that many of the contemporary conflicts in Eurasia – whether they be separatist conflicts in the name of self-determination, insurgencies, territorial or resource disputes, or interstate military engagements meant to either liberate minority groups or preserve territorial integrity – are indirectly the result of Soviet nation-building policies such as korenizatsiia ("nativization"), national-territorial delimitation, or the processes of Russification and Sovietization (P. 220). Goff argues further that the forced assimilation and erasure of nontitular populations in the 1930s can be felt today not only in the form of intrastate and interstate armed conflict, such as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but also on a cultural level, manifesting in "microaggressions, overt acts of violence, structural inequalities … [that] generate frustration, embarrassment, resentment, and anger" (P. 216). Recent events in the Caucasus speak to the urgency of this book and its role in filling a knowledge gap crucial to understanding the historical roots of interstate disputes in the region. Goff begins the book with an anxious letter from Zulfugar Ahmedzade (1898–1942), one of...

Identity Politics in the Context of Nation Building and Integration-Oriented Interaction: The Case of the Union State of Belarus and Russia

Introduction. In the processes of nation building and integration, it is particularly important to increase the consolidation potential of emerging communities through identity politics. The totality of challenges, threats and risks determines the need for a balanced combination of its dimensions, taking into account national and common interests of countries. In the post-Soviet space, the Union State of Belarus and Russia acts as a platform for dialogue. The aim of the study is to outline the contours of the construct of supranational identity within the framework of the Union State and to define the degree of its conjugation with the category of “national identityˮ in the discursive practices of the political leadership of Russia and Belarus. Materials and Methods. The study is based on official documents representing the specifics of interpretation of identity politics by the presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, as well as on materials associated with the functioning of the Union State. Content analysis, the comparative method, and scenario analysis were employed when examining the documents. Results. The research and expert assessments of the internal and external dimensions of the identity politics of the member states, as well as the basic and derived categories of the official discourse have been analyzed; the constants and dominants, similarities and differences in the stands of Russia and Belarus have been revealed. It has also been demonstrated that there has been no fundamental contradiction in their understanding of the priorities of nation and Union building. At the same time, disagreements on a number of topical issues have been identified. The leitmotif of the official discourse is giving absolute priority to sovereignty, which has an ambiguous effect on the course of the integration of Russia and Belarus. Discussion and Conclusion. The conducted study has confirmed the hypothesis that identity politics is multilevel for the states involved in integration-oriented interaction; at the current stage, it remains complex and incomplete. The states demonstrate prevalence of the internal dimension of identity politics and “restrictiveˮ perception of its external dimension, which affects the prospects for promoting the construct of “dualˮ identity. At the same time, the Union State remains an essential integration format for Russia from the geopolitical and civilizational perspective. The approach proposed by the authors and the results obtained, which articulate the correlation of tasks in terms of nation building and integration policy, may help to improve the efficiency of political governance.

The Social, Cultural, and Political Value of Play: Singapore’s Postcolonial Playground System

In welfare-state urban renewal programs, playground systems are instruments used to advance social, educational, and political goals. However, literature focuses on playground’s implementation in western countries. Between the 1970s and 1990s, Singapore’s Housing and Development Board built a playground system in support of its vast postcolonial public housing program of new towns. While Singapore’s effort has not been placed in an historical perspective, in 2015 only sixteen “old Singapore playgrounds” were recorded on-site of the more than 1,160 originally built. Singaporean playgrounds were key elements of the ideology of building a new society. Their spatial tactics and aesthetics were strategized to redirect urban-social development. The article’s historical sequence reconstructs playground’s design and spatial planning as expressions of changing postcolonial political ideologies: tactical elements of urban planning, artworks, social tools, and pedagogical instruments, framing them within the broader western discourse that placed architectures of childhood at the center of welfare-state nationbuilding policies.

Migration and Migrants between the Favorable and the Problematic

Migration has significantly shaped the changing demographics of Turkey and the interplay between the self-image of the state and its citizens as elements of nation-building policies, dating back to the late Ottoman period. Although the effects of migration and its representations have been the subject of scholarly studies about collective memory, textbooks have largely been omitted from studies about migration. This article analyzes the topics and discursive strategies used to construct narratives of migration and migrants in secondary-level history textbooks by considering ways in which textbooks construct and transmit collective self-images. Adopting a critical discourse analysis approach, the author demonstrates how topoi are used to present a favorable or problematic image of migration.

The Double Logic of Internal Purges: New Evidence from Francoist Spain

States often engage in internal purges to eliminate political dissidents within their own ranks. However, partly because of the absence of reliable data, we know little about the logic and dynamics of these purges, particularly of lower-rank members of the state. Why do state authorities persecute these individuals when they do not entail a clear threat to the regime? We focus on the purges of public-school teachers during the early years of Francisco Franco’s regime in Spain. Using detailed historical sources, we explore whether teachers were more likely to be purged following the two main cleavages in 1930s Spain: the left-right divide and the center-periphery (i.e., nationalist) cleavage. Our results suggest that while the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) was still unfolding Francoist authorities targeted mainly teachers from leftist localities, thus focusing on potential security threats behind the frontlines. After winning the war, Francoists started to target more intensively teachers from national minority groups in order to promote nation-building policies leading to their assimilation. Our findings highlight the double logic of purging as both a preemptive measure against internal threats and as a nation-building tool.