Blood and Belonging: Journeys Into the New Nationalism

by Michael Ignatieff

Book Overview

Until the end of the Cold War, the politics of national identity was confined to isolated incidents of ethnics strife and civil war in distant countries. Now, with the collapse of Communist regimes across Europe and the loosening pf the Cold War'd clamp on East-West relations, a surge of nationalism has swept the world stage. In Blood and Belonging , Ignatieff makes a thorough examination of why blood ties--inplaces as diverse as Yugoslavia, Kurdistan,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374524483
• ISBN13: 9780374524487
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A revealing and relevant work!

First published in 1993, Michael Ignatieff's work focuses on nationalism in the post-Cold War world and identifies a crucial trend that is still encompassing every continent: where new nation-states are being forged and born, nationalism is the driving force, the backbone of this trend. It is far from being outdated or irrelevant in any way, and although nationalism brings identity and belonging, Ignatieff argues, it also is a harbinger of bloodshed. To demonstrate, he has taken a personal journey throughout the world and homed in on six separate nations in which nationalism is an issue, perhaps a rampant one. Each of these six case studies is a detailed chapter, a portrait of nationalism in practice. To use Ignatieff's own definition: "As a political doctrine, nationalism is the belief that the world's peoples are divided into nations, and that each of these nations has the right of self-determination, either as self-governing units within existing nation states or as nation states of their own" (p. 3). Culturally, nationalism provides men and women "with their primary form of belonging" (Ibid.). Morally, it can serve to be an "ethic of heroic sacrifice, justifying the use of violence in the defense of one's nation against enemies, internal or external" (Ibid.). In his Introduction, Ignatieff identifies two types of nationalism: (1) Civic nationalism, in which the predominant belief is that all those within a nation who subscribe to the nation's political creed should be its citizens; and (2) Ethnic nationalism, in contrast, holds to the idea that belonging and attachment to a nation is inherited, not chosen; "It is the national community which defines the individual, not the individuals who define the national community" (p. 5). As the book is from Ignatieff's personal perspective, it becomes all the more interesting; part-memoir, part-journalism. His journey in examining and chronicling instances of nationalism in practice begins in the former Yugoslavia, where Croat and Serb nationalism is the backbone behind the creation of two new Balkan states, and a host of highly-destructive and de-stabilizing warfare, committed in the name of preservation and righteousness of Serbia and Croatia. From there he moves on to a newly-reunified Germany, and shows the reactions of a reunified East and West, two peoples that share a common blood and identity, yet were separated for nearly fifty years as two separate countries. In that time, separate growth of identity, outlook (and nationalism) entrenched itself on both sides...so what is the reaction of the two, who overnight, are back together again, after fifty dark years? Germany is confronted with either turning toward a civic nationalist future, or returning to its ethnic nationalist past while trying to contain a virulent nationalism known to many as Neo-Nazism. A similar scenario can be found in the Ukraine, Ignatieff's third destination, where for the majority of the 20th Century, its people lived und

A redefinition of nationalism?

Ignatieff makes a clear difference between the ethnic and civic nationalisms. While praising the latter, the author explains the roots and the consequences of the politics of ethnicity and belonging. He rightly points out that ethnic nationalism is based on division, while civic nationalism is based on the union of different peoples (such as the case in the United States). But what Ignatieff fails to realize is that civic nationalism can be as dangerous, cruel and vicious as ethnic nationalism. Another weakness of the book is that its six examples, except Kurdistan, reflect conspicuously the purely European views and practices of nationalism. It is true that "nationalism" as a political ideology was developed by the German romantics, but the essence of nationalism has its roots since times immemorial. Finally, the book contains a couple of factual mistakes: Iranian Air Force does not have Mirages!

A must read!

It has been awhile since I have read this book so I will be unable to give too many details. The one thing I remember is the clarity with which Ignatieff writes and the myths he is able to dispel about some of these troubled countries. Despite the depth of the topic I believe that the book is accessable to the researcher and lay reader alike. His easy writing style makes this an easy book to sit down and enjoy. It was the first one that I had read by Ignatieff but I enjoyed it so much that I went on to read both his other ones.(The Needs of Strangers and The Warriors Code) This one is indeed a rare find. A book that has depth of topic yet easily understandable. An important read for anyone who is even remotely interested in these countries or the impact of modern day nationalism.