Compare Research Paper: Anti-Nationalism Movements in Ny and Hong Kong

Anti-Nationalism Movements in New York and Hong Kong

Nationalism has been present in the planet societies for years and years, ever since the development of the independent nations has begun. It really is named to be probably one of the most powerful vehicles of social change and is an indispensable part of nearly every nation’s way to independence and identity. As a historical, cultural and political phenomenon, it finds its different representations and variants in accordance with a number of facets such as location, period, society, etc . Naturally, similar to any social phenomenon, nationalism has caused the emergence of varied anti-movements referred to as anti-nationalist movements. The opposition between the two continues until this day, with many historians and analysts making attempts to interpret the role and the importance of these opposing movements in the development of the present day society. Anti-nationalist movements in america and China serve as a lucrative ground of comparison with regards to social order of both countries, which paper attempts to do so based on the anti-nationalist movements existing in New York and Hong Kong.

Nationalism as a social movement has emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and contains persisted since. As demonstrated by historians, it is the most powerful movement which has no efficient alternatives, because it has been “the principal vehicle both for aspiration and for ruling ideology”(Goodman, James) in the society throughout the whole period of its existence. The many nationalist movements which exist at a particular point in the history of different nations have both common features and certain distinctive elements which make these movements different or even completely opposite to other nationalist movements. In accordance with Goodman, the idea of nationalism should really be regarded through the prism of its plurality, since nationalism can reemerge as a totally different phenomenon based on the historical and social setting. As it is, the feature that divides nationalist movements from any social movements is the central role which nationalism attributes to the notions of nation and national identity. As Goodman states, nationalism sets out to divide all the people in the world in to different nations which exist in their own geographical, cultural, political, and social dimension, and establish nation above any other social factor which might play a role in the life of an individual in the society. Namely, national identity is given priority over such social divisions as gender, class, ethnicity, etc . (Goodman, James). Ergo, it is unsurprising that in the modern world which historians and sociologists attended to define with the help of the notions of pluralism and multimodality, nationalist agenda, aimed to distinguish different nations and their identity, is given so much importance.

Rather than permanent feature, many world societies have observed nationalism as a passing stage within their social and historical development (Goodman, James). Especially it had been true for the nations previously beneath the regimes of colonial and communist orders. Postcolonial and post-communist nationalist movements have emerged in the wake of the newly established independent countries, for which nationalism presented the ideological framework to resuscitate, develop, and keep maintaining the social, cultural and historical role and need for the nation and its own people, in addition to place them as respectable players on the international arena. In this regard, the United States has been mainly viewed as a post-nationalist community (Goodman, James). The rise of globalization has caused the nationalism perspective to subside and lose its hang on the American society, and Goodman claims this latest change is connected with the complex political contexts and the newly-emergent social and religious movements which operated on the transnational level.

In the current-world perspective, nationalism in the United States is especially identified in combination or within still another certain social movement. Because of the recent events in the social and political life of the nation, there is a specific movement which is often named for instance of the modern-day nationalism. Namely, the thought of white nationalism has been actively circulating the media ever since the usa presidential election of 2016. According to The Nyc Times, the movement is motivated and draws its inspiration from the ideology of racial and ethnic supremacy (Taub, Amanda). Namely, states Taub, it shares its common nature with white supremacy and racism, which are among the social phenomena that have been present, albeit distinctly frowned upon in the modern-day democratic society of the usa. And yet, the thought of white nationalism has been given much scrutiny within the recent period. Especially from the time the self-proclaimed followers of the social movement took to claiming that victory of Donald Trump as a new president-elect of the usa translates into the triumph and the advancement of political and social agenda of the white nationalists (Taub, Amanda). In line with the research of the New York Times, white nationalism has been defined by politics and social studies specialists as “the belief that national identity should be built around white identity” (Taub, Amanda) with the white Americans while the population given the most prevalence and importance in the society demographically, socially and culturally.

Because of the distinctly traceable idea of racial or ethnic predominance rooted in the ideology of current-day nationalist movements such as for example white nationalism, they are mostly regarded as a threat to the views of diversity and equality that your U. S. democracy is made upon. But in view of the recent changes and tendencies in the social and political sphere of the country as demonstrated by the presidential elections of 2016, American nationalism is identified by many as a serious problem, which undermines the melting pot nature of American society (Gaddie, Keith, and Kirby Goidel). According to Peter Bloom of The Open University, nationalist movements have observed success in the modern times due to the selection of problems that your nations have already been confronting, caused by the failure of anti-globalization politics. Nationalism, he states, seems like the only real effective solution to maintain the identity and independence of a nation contrary to the force of internationalism (Bloom, Peter). Therefore, the operation of such movements persists, and because of the strong associations they have with racism and arguably dangerous for the U. S. democracy radical right some ideas, they can be regarded as a set back the development of the American community.

There clearly was little evidence or details about the existing anti-nationalism movements in New York. Because it is, the nationalist a few ideas taking hold in the recent years have attracted the interest of anti-racism and anti-fascism movements and organizations, which associate the supporters of nationalist a few ideas with white supremacy. Furthermore, since the stated previously white nationalists have given their support to Donald Trump’s presidency, the opposition to the current nationalist movements is also represented by the radical “alt-left” movements such as for instance Antifa (Gitlin, Todd). In line with the New York Times, Antifa, mainly represented by locally organized groups around the world, aim to “confront, expose, shame – and sometimes convert – white supremacists” (Gitlin, Todd). That being said, despite the laudable anti-Nazi claims, the efficiency of the movement’s radical and potentially violent practices is placed under question.

The existence of anti-nationalist movements in Hong Kong, China, proves to be always a much more explainable phenomenon because of the fact that the town has been the center of ongoing debates concerning its controversy in terms of national identity (Han, Enze). At risk between the post-colonial mentality of these who found refuge in Hong Kong during the times of it being area of the British Empire and the communist regimen of China with its totalitarian control on the society, the town has been caught in the never-ending progression of protests and clashes of opposing forces ever since the previous few decades of the 20th century and going on still. As Enze Han writes in his post about the city’s predicament, all of the historical and social facets at war have caused the Hong Kong citizens to develop a “strong local Hong Kong identity, one close to a complete rejection to be Chinese at all” (Han, Enze). Because of this, the activity of such social movements as Occupy Central, striving for the achievement of democracy for Hong Kong and also keep the mainland Chinese from the city (Han, Enze) could be proof of the attraction of anti-nationalism rather than the order which places national identity above all. As mentioned in the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s radical localism is a potential threat to the city’s cosmopolitan values (Lam, Jeffie). The main huge difference as presented by the comparison of Hong Kong’s Occupy Central with the Antifa movement in Ny, U. S. is that such protests are less politically fueled and place historical context as the key of their existence.

The current presence of nationalist some ideas in the modern-day Usa is impossible to be ignored because of the growing influence the nationalist movements have attained in the modern times following the U. S. presidential elections of 2016. The so-called white nationalist movement has been gaining popularity and media coverage in connection with its association with Donald Trump’s presidency. Naturally, ideas of white supremacy and racial predominance usually do not sit well with the agents of democratic America and have caused a backlash in the form of continuous protests, a lot of which carry the anti-nationalist nature. In comparison to those seen in the controversial community of Hong Kong, social movements in Ny, supporting some ideas against nationalism, prove to be radical in their approach to operation, in addition to politically driven. Historical perspective is attributed greater meaning in the context of Hong Kong’s localism because of the clash of two systems and the city’s colonial past. With that said, the social movements which represent anti-nationalism in both cities share a common feature which is their radical disposition. Considering the claims of each party about the democratic principles at the forefront of their ideology, whether such movements could bring benefit or pose a threat to the multicultural and diversity values of the American society and the international status of Hong Kong remains to be observed.

Works Cited

Bloom, Peter. “As Anti-Globalisation Politics Fail, Nationalism Sweeps The planet. ” The Conversation, 2014, http://theconversation.com/as-anti-globalisation-politics-fail-nationalism-sweeps-the-world-33102.
Gaddie, Keith, and Kirby Goidel. “The American Nationalism Problem. ” HuffPost, 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-gaddie/the-american-nation-probl_b_8733102.html.
Gitlin, Todd. “Opinion | Who’S Afraid Of Antifa?. ” Nytimes.com, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/opinion/antifa-trump-charlottesville.html.
Goodman, James. “Nationalism As A Social Movement. ” Internationalstudies.Oxfordre.com, 2010, http://internationalstudies.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.001.0001/acrefore-9780190846626-e-267?rskey=5Yk0OV& result=9.
Han, Enze. “Hong Kong Democracy Protesters Worry about Their Own Future, Not The Mainland’s. ” The Conversation, 2014, https://theconversation.com/hong-kong-democracy-protesters-care-about-their-own-future-not-the-mainlands-32769.
Lam, Jeffie. “Is The Rise Of Localism A Threat To Hong Kong’s Cosmopolitan Values? ” South China Morning Post, 2016, http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1814676/rise-localism-threat-hong-kongs-cosmopolitan-values.
Taub, Amanda. “White Nationalism, ’ Explained. ” Nytimes.com, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/world/americas/white-nationalism-explained.html.