Week 1 discussion 1

Nationalism

Discuss how dominance from imperialist powers contributed to the rise of Asian nations with
reference to the readings for this week. Please identify and explain one factor other than
nationalism that led to the rise of identity in the Asian nations discussed. Does country need
nationalism in order to be powerful? What nationalist factors are most important to a country?

The term nationalism normally refers to the outlook of members of a nation that they have when
they are concerned about their national identity. For this, they take strong actions to achieve self
determination and make sincere efforts to sustain it. The concept of national identity is defined in
terms of common origin, ethnicity or cultural ties that they have. An individual involuntarily
regards himself as a member of a nation he is associated with in terms of commonality of these
factors. Nationalism is basically a shared state of mind or consciousness in which people of a
particular nation believe that their primary duty and loyalty is towards the nation- state. Quite
often, nationalism implies glorifies several national virtues and love of nation may be over
emphasized and this may lead to international conflict. Nationalism is extremely important in
forming bonds that hold modern nations together. It provides a lot of cohesiveness and order that
is necessary for the existence of the modern nation-state.

Asians revolted against the dominance of imperialist powers. Intellectuals and reformers like
Mahatma Gandhi used non- violence as a tool for gaining freedom from the British. Nationalist
factors such as religion or common language and some such bond are necessary to bring people
together and make them unified. Many westerners believed that Christian duty was to be set as
an example for education. With this intention, British educated Indians and Asians where they
ruled with English language. The idea was accepted initially but later on people realized that it
broke their bonds with native nationalism. This was one of the factors that bonded them.

Week 1 discussion 2

Imperial economies

How did imperialism in Asia affect the economies of Western countries? Is it possible for a
strong country to trade with a weaker country without being in control of that weaker entity?
What are some benefits for the strong country if it does not use force to control the economies of
its weaker trading partners? If a nations population increases, needs natural resources, or
outgrows its boundaries, does it have the right to acquire resources through imperialism? Why
or why not?

It is widely believed that western colonialism and imperialism greatly contributed to the
civilizing of the backward people and also contributed to their living standards. This is especially
true for Asian and African countries. These colonial powers set up schools and colleges,
constructed roads and railways ,built canals and bridges ; provided law and order , improved
sanitation and health , promoted trade and commerce and thus contributed to the welfare of the
native people . However, in many scholars associate imperialism with exploitation, misery,
poverty, cruelty, forced conversion, degradation and racial segregation of the native people.
Imperialism is also considered as immoral and predatory.

A strong country can definitely trade with a weaker country but in all probability, it would try to
gain control of the weaker country. But if it does not use force to control the economies of its
weaker trading partner, then a feeling of trust will be developed and the trade relations would
flourish. When a nations population increases, its requirement would also increase. History has
proved that countries have exploited weaker nations and made use of their resources for home
country without contributing much to the progress of the weaker country. However such actions
have proved to be counterproductive and resulted in revolt against them. It is a question of
survival for the country that needs additional resources to take care of its growing population.
The ideal situation would be to strike a deal with the nations that have these resources and take
care of their needs. By adopting this approach, one would end up in a Win- Win situation that
would prove to be beneficial for all.

Reference

Hobson J.A. (2011) Imperialism Cambridge University Press,