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{{Short description|Nationalist political movements which see revolution as the method to achieve their goals}}
{{Short description|Philosophy of nationalist political movements}}
{{Original research|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{nationalism sidebar|types}}
{{nationalism sidebar|types}}
'''Revolutionary nationalism''' is a name that has been applied to the [[political philosophy]] of many [[types of nationalism|different types]] of [[nationalism|nationalist]] political [[Political movement|movements]] that wish to achieve their goals through a [[revolution]] against the [[Status quo|established order]]. Individuals and organizations described as being revolutionary nationalist include<!--The following list is chronological, older movements go first, see sources in the article below.--> some political currents within the [[French Revolution]], [[Irish republicanism|Irish republicans]] engaged in armed struggle against the [[British crown]], the [[Cần Vương movement]] against [[French Indochina|French rule in Vietnam]], the [[Indian independence movement]] in the 20th century, some participants in the [[Mexican Revolution]], [[Benito Mussolini]] and the [[Italian Fascism|Italian Fascists]], the [[Autonomous Government of Khorasan]] in 1920s [[Iran]], [[Augusto Cesar Sandino]], the [[Revolutionary Nationalist Movement]] in Bolivia, [[black nationalism]] in the United States, and some [[African independence movements]].

The term of '''revolutionary nationalism''' is a term that can refer to:

• Different ideologies and doctrines which differ strongly from traditional [[nationalism]], in the sense that it is more involved in the social question, involved geopolitically<ref name="ariannaeditrice">{{cite web|url=http://www.ariannaeditrice.it/articolo.php?id_articolo=46669|title=Ribelli e borghesi|website=Ariannaeditrice.it|language=it|access-date=2019-09-07}}</ref> whose political references are multiple and sometimes selective, strongly characterized by [[eclecticism]]. We then speak of a ''national-revolutionary'' movement.

• A term applied to the political philosophy of many different types of nationalist political movements that wish to achieve their goals through revolution against the established order.

== Terminology ==
The term revolutionary nationalism basically refers to nationalist movements using violence as a means in the name of national liberation and social justice in the face of the established order (against colonial powers, dominant foreigners with more privileges than locals or a government considered puppet or illegitimate) with the aim of establishing an independent [[nation-state]].

Several nationalist movements in [[Ireland]] and [[India]] formed in reaction to British rule and the local bourgeoisies who actively collaborated with the occupiers to establish their privileges in these two countries have been described as ''revolutionary nationalists''<ref>Brian Jenkins, Irish Nationalism and the British State: From Repeal to Revolutionary Nationalism, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006, p. 255</ref>{{,}}.<ref>L.N. Rana, "Revolutionary Nationalism in Jharkhand" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', 2000–2001, Vol. 61, Part One, p. 719</ref>

== Ideology ==
As distinct ideologies, ''revolutionary nationalisms'' appear at different times and in different ways, are characterized by their common positions but paradoxically have no direct link between them.

The term revolutionary nationalism or ''national-revolutionary'' generally designates a form of populist and socialistic nationalism with an identitarianism linked to the idea of ​​localism, [[protectionism]], self-sufficiency, [[anti-imperialism]] (pushed towards [[anti-Zionism]], [[anti-Americanism]] and opposition to globalization), protection of traditions and customs and also emphasizes the idea of preserving the concept of the [[nation-state]] as an antidote to the globalist outpost, in order to guarantee in all countries maximum social well-being of the population and absolute respect for the integrity of the environment.

Supporters of ''national-revolutionary'' see in [[liberalism]], materialism, the consumer society, mass immigration and [[globalization]] the main causes of the social decline of the nation and cultural identity, they reject [[capitalism]], classical [[conservatism]], [[social-liberalism]], [[Orthodox marxism|orthodox Marxism]] and more generally, the classic [[right-wing]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Algazy|date=1989|editor=Éditions L'Harmattan|id=[[BNF (identifier)|BNF]]:&nbsp;[http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb36638062b.public 36638062b]|isbn=978-2-7384-0229-5|title=L'extrême-droite en France de 1965 à 1984}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> and [[left-wing]] in general.

''Revolutionary nationalist'' movements are characterized by their common positions and not by their positioning on the political spectrum, indeed, depending on the country, they are classified on the right or on the left but their doctrines are very close.

However, revolutionary nationalism is not a uniform movement, if we note that revolutionary nationalisms all share in their ideological DNA [[anti-capitalism]], [[identitarianism]], [[Left-wing nationalism|social-nationalism]] as well as [[anti-Americanism]] and [[anti-Zionism]] and that they have common references, they may differ on other points, in particular the form of [[socialism]] or [[solidarism]] to be adapted and the religious question. Although classified on the [[Far-right]] on the French political spectrum, most of these movements are historically unclassifiable because they are characterized by increased ideological syncretism. It is therefore not a uniform movement, since it differs according to the countries and continents.

Common main ideas are:

• [[Social-nationalism]] with a populist variant.

• The defense of the [[nation-state]]<ref>Uwe Sauermann: ''Ernst Niekisch. Zwischen allen Fronten. Mit einem bio-bibliographischen Anhang von Armin Mohler''. München, Berlin: Herbig, 1980, 236 S., (ISBN 3-7766-1013-1) S. 219 – 236)</ref>

• [[Communitarianism]], the nation is based on a shared destiny.

• The rejection of what can be perceived as societal excesses of modernity.

• Application of proper [[socialism]] in the homeland.

• [[Ethno-pluralism]] as a defense of ethno-cultural identities on an ancestral land which would belong to them "by right". Differentialism is thus an idea that defends [[Opposition to immigration]], [[anti-colonialism]] and [[anti-globalism]].

• The protection of the country's culture, religion and traditions.

• The revolution as a social avant-garde [[Leitmotiv]] of its ideology.

• The defense of the unity of the regions as popular communities.

• [[Anti-globalism]] as a refusal to accept the world hegemony of an external power and the rejection of ideologies aimed at extending and standardizing the world ([[Americanism]], [[Wahhabism]], [[Communism]] etc...).

• [[Anti-Americanism]] and [[anti-Zionism]] based on the rejection of "American-Zionist" imperialism and the imposition of world hegemony, as well as by rejection of the values ​​advocated by the [[United States]] and support for nationalist movements in the [[Third World]]

• Anti-system, understood as a fight against current systems that they understand to be corrupt.

=== Sub-groups ===

The national-revolutionary movement is highly diversified and is also made up of several sub-groups:

• The Tercerists, national-populists and who oppose “totalitarian [[Marxism]]” and “international [[Capitalism]]”.

• Revolutionary-traditionalists, elitists who emphasize spirituality.<ref>http://agarttha.canalblog.com/archives/2011/05/19/21180392.html</ref>

• The National-Communitarians, Pan-Europeans and Jacobins.<ref name=":JThiriart">Yannick Sauveur, ''Jean Thiriart et le national Communautarisme européen'', Mémoire présenté devant l'Institut d'études politiques de l'Université de Paris, {{2e}} édition, Ed. Machiavel, Charleroi, 1983.</ref>

• The “red-browns”, closer to [[Left-wing Nationalism]] but also traditionalists and ethno-differentialists.

=== The Tercerists ===
The Tercerists designate the national-revolutionaries in favor of a [[Third Way]] for transversal political positions committed to the development of a modern intermediate position between right and left. Supporter of nationalistic socialism or [[Solidarism]]. They oppose capitalism, liberalism and Marxism.<ref>Nicolas Lebourg, [http://tempspresents.com/2013/06/07/nicolas-lebourg-definir-le-nationalisme-revolutionnaire-2/ Qu’est ce que le nationalisme-révolutionnaire ?], Fragments sur les Temps Présents, 2009.</ref> The discourse of these movements includes the defense of workers, workers, craftsmen, small traders, a social tendency to concretely build an economic organism based on solidarity with members of the same nation. It appeared as a heterogeneous element, difficult to classify in the political field. But this was due both to its originality, to an extremely fluctuating political line.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://identites.nationales.free.fr/Dos/Dossiers/MSF.htm|title=Le Mouvement Solidariste Français|website=Institut d'histoire des identités nationale et régional}}.</ref>

==== The revolutionary-traditionalists ====

The revolutionary-traditionalists form a particular movement in the sense that it differs from the classical national-revolutionaries in many respects, for example, the elitism and the aristocratic vision of the Revolutionary-traditionalists are contrary to the classical national-revolutionary movements. However, these movements come from a mixture between the theories of national-revolutionary and perennialism.

==== The national-communitarians ====
The national-communitarians form a wing favorable to the creation of a unitary Europe from Iceland to Russia. The theorist of this ideology is [[Jean-François Thiriart]] who campaigned for a European, unitary and Jacobin state, favorable to the national-community appeal of [[Europe]]. This ideology combines [[pan-European nationalism]] and [[National communism|national-communism]] based on the welfare state. This movement is exclusive to Europe.<ref>J.Thiriart, L'Europa un impero da 400 milioni di uomini, Volpe 1965 (Avatar editions, Dublin, 2011) ISBN 9781907847042</ref>

==== The "red-brown" ====
The "red-brown" or "national-bolsheviks" (terms not used by those concerned) are accompanied by an overall vision which accentuates a realism and thus designs politics within the Eurasian "continent", which includes all of [[Europe]], [[Russia]] and part of [[Asia]]. This idea first appeared in Germany in the 1920s. Programmatically national-revolutionary, traditionalist, [[Anti-americanism|anti-American]] and [[Anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]], they reconciled materialist and spiritual revolutionary conceptions. Reference figures are borrowed from 20th century political revolutionaries, socialist theorists and many national-revolutionary theorists like [[Ernst Niekisch]] and [[Georges Sorel]]. The idealist references are inspired by [[Hegel]] and other philosophers, while economically they support a mixture between the economic reforms of [[communism]] and various syndicalist theories of a socializing character within the [[Third Way]], but always emphasizing the spirituality of action<ref>Franco Milanesi, Ribelli e borghesi, Nazionalbolscevismo e rivoluzione conservatrice. 1914-1933, Aracne, Roma, 2011.</ref>

== Revolutionary nationalism by country ==
=== Germany ===
Revolutionary nationalism is one of the main currents of the German conservative Revolution, according to the typology given to it by [[Armin Mohler]].

It was in [[Weimar Germany]], when the theories of the Konservative Revolution (a phrase popularized by [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal]]) came to notice. The [[conservative revolution]] had five currents, the third current was that of the "national-revolutionaries" (Nationalrevolutionäre) appears, this current whose main theoreticians are [[Ernst Niekisch]], [[Ernst Jünger]], [[Franz Schauwecker]] or [[Werner Beumelburg]], [[Karl Otto Paetel]]<ref>Louis Dupeux, Communist Strategy and Conservative Dynamics. Essay on the different meanings of the expression "National-Bolshevism" in Germany, under the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) , (Lille, University Theses Reproduction Service) Paris, Librairie H. Champion, 1976, 627p.</ref> whose one said they were the "left people of the right" (Linke Leute von rechts)<ref>Schüddekopf, Otto Ernst., Nationalbolschewismus in Deutschland 1918-1933, Ullstein, 1973</ref> There are other authors and theoreticians whom Armin Mohler considers close to the National Revolutionaries but who were not totally part of them, such as [[Friedrich Hielscher]]<ref>Armin Mohler, La Révolution conservatrice en Allemagne, 1918-1932, Pardès, Puiseaux, 1993, 894 p. ((ISBN 2-86714-095-1)), p. 585-586.</ref>

Returning from the Baltikum , [[Ernst von Salomon]] declares: "We wanted to save the citizens, we saved the bourgeois". From now on, [[nationalism]] can only be revolutionary, in the sense of a total upheaval of German society. This turn is radical. This is the reason why some will call them the "left people of the right" (Linke Leute von rechts)

For them, the "nation" is the Volk gathered and "set in motion" by war. The National Revolutionaries accept technical progress, not because they yield to "the dangerous temptation to admire it", but because they want "to dominate it, and nothing more". It is for them, says one of their leaders, Franz Schauwecker, to “finish with linear time”. Living in the interregnum, they consider that the time for positive nihilism has come. Their revolutionary impetus and their Prussian training combine to support their desire to destroy the “bourgeois order”; their "soldier nationalism" became one with the "socialism of comrades." A sharp tragic sense of history and life forms the backdrop, dark and bright at the same time,

The representatives of the National-Revolutionary Movement were generally younger and strongly influenced by the experiences of the front of the First World War and the defeat of 1918. The "revolutionary will" is most pronounced among them. In contrast, the conservative element recedes to the background. Of all the groups, they were the most willing to accept progress and technology to achieve their goals, but not as goals in themselves. Franz Schauwecker wrote in 1931:

<blockquote>Because this time is only worth destroying. But to destroy them, you must first know them. […] You had to completely master the technique by shaping it down to the smallest detail. […] The admiration of the camera, that was the dangerous thing. He deserved no admiration, he just needed to be used<ref>Franz Schauwecker: Deutsche allein – Schnitt durch die Zeit. S. 162.</ref></blockquote>

They are the only group with a strong affinity for social issues and socialism . They rejected a division in the usual "right and left" patterns. From their point of view, a non-capitalist order is desirable, but can only be created on the basis of the nation.

The teachings of Niekisch, fundamental to understanding the German national-revolutionary thought of the 1920s , whose movement considers that the conservative bourgeoisie has betrayed Germany and that statist German nationalism must be entrusted to the proletariat . For Niekisch, states behave like "living individuals" in the international sphere, "they act exactly like organic beings who pursue goals, deal with those around them, undergo a fate and desire to be recognized.", in which the only valid law is the "vital will" of each of them. He believed that "the fate of the state is the fate of the people".

Niekisch believed that the idea of ​​the state had been betrayed by both the conservative elites and the liberal bourgeoisie and therefore entrusted the proletariat with the task of building the real German state. In his book “The Political Space of the German Resistance”, he writes:

<blockquote>“The enslavement of Germany and the tributary plunder of her people. A German policy that wants to be just towards the vital needs of its people can only be anti-bourgeois, anti-capitalist and anti-Western; Otherwise, we will always remain in the hands of France."</blockquote>

He also believed in the need for a German-Soviet alliance against the "decadent West" and the [[Treaty of Versailles]].

For [[Ernst Niekisch]]:

<blockquote>To be a Westernist means: starting from deceit with this hollow formula of 'freedom', carrying out crimes by professing humanity and bringing down peoples by calling for the reconciliation of peoples<ref>Revolutionary Politics , 1926. Reprint: Ernst Niekisch, Widerstand , Sinus-Verlag, 1982.</ref>.</blockquote>

He will accept the use of "proletarian peoples". The nationalism of Niekisch and the German National-revolutionaries of the time was liberation nationalism and proposed the destruction of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and the [[League of Nations]].

In the geopolitical order, the revolutionary nationalism of Niekisch stands entirely in opposition to the West , then symbolized by the diktat of Versailles. Ernst Niekisch recalls the existence of a German-Russian community of destiny (Schicksalgemeinschaft). We know that orientation to the East (Ostorientierung) is a permanent feature of German history as a whole and a great theme of the conservative Revolution in particular. It finds in Niekisch new dimensions, "The orientation towards the East and the disembourgeoisement of Germany are on the same level" affirms Niekisch: strong and hierarchical State, mobilization of the people, call for heroism, suppression of parasitic classes, boarding of the technique put at the service of the development of the community and not only of the calculating profitability, etc.)

The German National Revolutionaries, unlike other factions of German Nationalists, but like most Revolutionary-Conservatives, do not rejoice in the victory of the NSDAP in Germany , but do not act directly, hoping that Hitler is overthrown within the party itself.

However, strong personal criticism of Hitler (“false revolutionary” according to Niekisch, “bourgeois agent” according to Paetel), will lead to repression<ref>Louis Dupeux, Pseudo "worker" against alleged "bourgeois state" - Hitlerism by Ernst Niekisch, in The Conservative Revolution in Weimar Germany, Ed. Kimé, 1992, p. 374</ref> Thus, the German national-revolutionary movement will be suppressed and silenced under the Nazi regime during the rise of [[Adolf Hitler]], a non-negligible part will join the [[German anti-Nazi resistance]] (such as [[Ernst Niekisch]], [[Karl Otto Paetel]] and [[Friedrich Hielscher]]) in response to persecution, Otto Strasser's [[Black Front]] was banned on Hitler's orders. The German national-revolutionaries, although being in favor of a strong state and a nationalist regime, remained distant from [[Nazism]].

Ernst Niekisch rejected the idea of ​​establishing fascism in Germany, according to him, copying fascism would lead to Germany 's loss, so a distinct ideology was needed and not a copy of a regime that could be acceptable to [[Italy]], but unacceptable in [[Germany]], what might be acceptable in a Latin country could not be so in a Germanic country. [[Fascism]] was therefore, according to Niekisch, the expression of Latinity, adapting it to Germany would be “the hara-kiri of the German man”<ref>Ibid. 1930, p. 80</ref> In his book Hitler a German fatality, he warns of the consequences of Hitler's seizure of power and calls him "an agent of German and foreign capital"<ref>Rechtsextremismus in der „zivilen“ Gesellschaft: „kein Spuk von gestern“, Arno Klönne, LIT-Verlag, Münster 200, p. 92</ref>

The national-revolutionaries undergoing political persecution carried out by the Hitlerian authorities pushes them to join the interior Resistance to Nazism before being decimated by the Nazi regime, the German national-revolutionaries were persecuted and reduced to silence, pushing them , basically indifferent on the fascist question to become resistancialists.

Karl Otto Paetel's organization , the [[Group of Social-Revolutionary Nationalists]] tried to take an active part in the German resistance, without success.

For Ernst Niekisch :
<blockquote>Fascism is the state of exception, the martial law of a liberal bourgeois society.</blockquote>

Thus, after 1945, the German national-revolutionary movement was practically decimated, the few rare survivors being those who put an end to their political activities after Hitler's seizure of power and those who survived in the camps or in exile, however, the German national-revolutionaries do not benefit from the tribute in honor of the resistance fighters, because of their past nationalism and their extremely radical writings, they were thus controversial figures in post-war West German public opinion .

Thus, among the National Revolutionary victims by the authorities of the Third Reich , we find National Revolutionary figures such as [[Ernst Niekisch]] (interned), [[Ernst Jünger]] and [[Ernst von Salomon]] (free but actively guarded), [[Fritz Wolffheim]] and [[Harro Schulze-Boysen]] (murdered).

It is basically in the idea of ''resistance'' that the whole life and work of Niekisch are held, in this appeal to the eternal “German protest” against occupations and colonizations. Resistance to [[Weimar Germany]], which imprisoned him, to [[Nazi Germany]], which deported him, to [[East Germany]], which turned him back, as to [[West Germany]], who hated it.<ref>Birgit Rätsch-Langejürgen, Das Prinzip Widerstand, Leben und Wirken von Ernst Niekisch (Le "principe résistance" chez Niekisch), Bouvier Verlag, Bonn, 1997.</ref>


== Africa ==
== Africa ==
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Certain aspects of the [[Mexican Revolution]] of 1910–1920 have been identified with revolutionary nationalism. For instance, according to Robert F. Alegre, Mexican railway workers "embraced revolutionary nationalism as an expression of their disapproval of foreign ownership of the railways, heightened no doubt by their contempt for foreign managers."<ref>Robert F. Alegre, ''Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory'', University of Nebraska Press, 2014, chapter: "'The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails': Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War," p. 29</ref> Alegre also argues that "revolutionary nationalism drew on and reinforced rielero masculinity – workers' view of themselves as distinctively strong, brave, and independent. Their participation in armed conflict placed these qualities into sharp relief."<ref>Robert F. Alegre, ''Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory'', University of Nebraska Press, 2014, chapter: "'The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails': Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War," p. 31</ref>
Certain aspects of the [[Mexican Revolution]] of 1910–1920 have been identified with revolutionary nationalism. For instance, according to Robert F. Alegre, Mexican railway workers "embraced revolutionary nationalism as an expression of their disapproval of foreign ownership of the railways, heightened no doubt by their contempt for foreign managers."<ref>Robert F. Alegre, ''Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory'', University of Nebraska Press, 2014, chapter: "'The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails': Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War," p. 29</ref> Alegre also argues that "revolutionary nationalism drew on and reinforced rielero masculinity – workers' view of themselves as distinctively strong, brave, and independent. Their participation in armed conflict placed these qualities into sharp relief."<ref>Robert F. Alegre, ''Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory'', University of Nebraska Press, 2014, chapter: "'The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails': Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War," p. 31</ref>

Former Venezuelan president [[Hugo Chávez]] described his political movement on many occasions as "revolutionary nationalist."<ref>[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5065599-hugo-chavez Hugo Chávez Frías, "Hugo Chavez: del Nacionalismo Revolucionario Al Socialismo," January, 2005]</ref><ref>[https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/a-2003-06-09-30-1/53700.html Voz de America, "Chávez niega que sea comunista," 2003]</ref>


In the United States, some [[black nationalism|black nationalist]] groups have been regarded as representing a form of revolutionary nationalism. Especially in the aftermath of the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]] in 1968, some African American leaders came to the conclusion that [[racial integration]] was impossible and that a "Black Revolution" was necessary to build an independent black nation.<ref>Akinyele Omowale Umoja, ''We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement'', NYU Press, 2013, chapter: "'Black Revolution Has Come': Armed Insurgency, Black Power, and Revolutionary Nationalism in the Mississippi Freedom Struggle," p. 173</ref> One such leader was Rudy Shields, who endorsed [[black separatism]] in 1969 because he "felt like if we were separated, we were better and we were stronger, because when you have white people teaching your children, then what they get is the white concept of life."<ref>Akinyele Omowale Umoja, ''We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement'', NYU Press, 2013, chapter: "'Black Revolution Has Come': Armed Insurgency, Black Power, and Revolutionary Nationalism in the Mississippi Freedom Struggle," p. 174</ref> This perspective declined over the following decades, but revolutionary nationalist themes have been identified as an element of jazz music as late as the 1980s, when they influenced Asian American musicians.<ref>David Ake, Charles Hiroshi Garrett, Daniel Goldmark, edit., ''Jazz/Not Jazz: The Music and Its Boundaries'', University of California Press, 2012, chapter: "The Sound of Struggle: Black Revolutionary Nationalism and Asian AmericanJazz," Loren Kajikawa, p. 190-214</ref>
In the United States, some [[black nationalism|black nationalist]] groups have been regarded as representing a form of revolutionary nationalism. Especially in the aftermath of the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]] in 1968, some African American leaders came to the conclusion that [[racial integration]] was impossible and that a "Black Revolution" was necessary to build an independent black nation.<ref>Akinyele Omowale Umoja, ''We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement'', NYU Press, 2013, chapter: "'Black Revolution Has Come': Armed Insurgency, Black Power, and Revolutionary Nationalism in the Mississippi Freedom Struggle," p. 173</ref> One such leader was Rudy Shields, who endorsed [[black separatism]] in 1969 because he "felt like if we were separated, we were better and we were stronger, because when you have white people teaching your children, then what they get is the white concept of life."<ref>Akinyele Omowale Umoja, ''We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement'', NYU Press, 2013, chapter: "'Black Revolution Has Come': Armed Insurgency, Black Power, and Revolutionary Nationalism in the Mississippi Freedom Struggle," p. 174</ref> This perspective declined over the following decades, but revolutionary nationalist themes have been identified as an element of jazz music as late as the 1980s, when they influenced Asian American musicians.<ref>David Ake, Charles Hiroshi Garrett, Daniel Goldmark, edit., ''Jazz/Not Jazz: The Music and Its Boundaries'', University of California Press, 2012, chapter: "The Sound of Struggle: Black Revolutionary Nationalism and Asian AmericanJazz," Loren Kajikawa, p. 190-214</ref>
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[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:National syndicalism]]
[[Category:National syndicalism]]
[[Category:African and Black nationalism]]

Latest revision as of 02:43, 23 February 2024

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Revolutionary nationalism is a name that has been applied to the political philosophy of many different types of nationalist political movements that wish to achieve their goals through a revolution against the established order. Individuals and organizations described as being revolutionary nationalist include some political currents within the French Revolution, Irish republicans engaged in armed struggle against the British crown, the Cần Vương movement against French rule in Vietnam, the Indian independence movement in the 20th century, some participants in the Mexican Revolution, Benito Mussolini and the Italian Fascists, the Autonomous Government of Khorasan in 1920s Iran, Augusto Cesar Sandino, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement in Bolivia, black nationalism in the United States, and some African independence movements.

Africa

[edit]

Several African independence movements in the 20th century have been characterized as revolutionary nationalist.

One African anti-colonial leader considered to have been a revolutionary nationalist was Amilcar Cabral, who led independence movements in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.[1] Cabral founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde in 1956. The party began an armed struggle against the Portuguese colonial authorities in 1963, and eventually Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde won their independence in 1974 and 1975 respectively. This colonial war also led to the rise of the Armed Forces Movement in Portugal itself, which overthrew the dictatorship in that country.[2] Cabral's revolutionary nationalism was embodied in the concept of "unity and struggle," which aimed to unite the various ethnic and cultural communities of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde into a single national identity based on the struggle against colonial rule.[3]

Another African movement whose ideology has been called revolutionary nationalism is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) in Eritrea. The PFDJ's ideology emphasizes the legacy of the Eritrean struggle for independence, and seeks to "inculcate the values of The Struggle in Eritrean youth by loosely (and sometimes directly) simulating the experiences of the fighters in the war for liberation."[4] In addition, the PFDJ promotes "an idea of a multicultural, multireligious, unified national whole."[5]

Revolutionary nationalism has also been identified as a theme in the works of Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o.[6]

Asia

[edit]

The term revolutionary nationalism has been used to describe elements of the Indian independence movement that opposed British rule in India. The Indian state of Jharkhand was host to revolutionary nationalist political groups starting in the period between 1902 and 1918, and especially from 1912 onward.[7] The Dhaka Anushilan Samiti and other nationalist movements from Bengal extended their operations into Jharkhand during this period, and their aim was to inspire a large violent uprising against British rule.[8] They sought to obtain dynamite, gunpowder and other explosives from the mines of Jharkhand, but their activities were discovered and many revolutionary nationalists were arrested.[9]

In Bihar, an Indian state located north of Jharkhand, there were also violent pro-independence organizations in the early 20th century that have been described as revolutionary nationalists or as terrorists.[10] They had "faith in methods of violence for securing freedom" and they faced increasing government repression.[11] When they were arrested, they received legal assistance from members of the Indian National Congress, although Congress opposed the use of violence.[12]

In India, revolutionary nationalism is also identified with the memory of Bhagat Singh, who was executed by the British in 1931 for his role in the Lahore Conspiracy Case.[13]

In the history of Vietnam, the term revolutionary nationalism has been used to refer to the opposition to French colonial rule that began in the 1880s among patriotic Vietnamese court officials and provincial elites, who formed the Can Vuong movement. This movement sought to restore the Vietnamese emperor and preserve traditional society, but it was defeated by superior French firepower. It later inspired a second generation of anticolonial leadership in the 20th century.[14]

In Iran, the rebellion of Colonel Mohammad Taqi Pessian in 1921 has been described as an experiment in revolutionary nationalism. Pessian led a military state based in Mashhad, which acted as a rival to the central government led by Reza Khan after the 1921 Persian coup d'etat.[15]

Europe

[edit]

In Europe, the term revolutionary nationalism has been applied to a variety of nationalist political movements, stretching back to the French Revolution of the 18th century. French revolutionary nationalism was a form of civic nationalism, seeking to impose a common national identity on the entire population of France, regardless of ethnic origin or regional cultures and languages. This nationalism was revolutionary in that it aimed at a "homogenization of mankind," not wishing to "exclude anyone who does not fit a particular ethnic profile but rather to include anyone willing to adopt a particular cultural identity."[16]

Irish nationalism of the 19th century has also been characterized as revolutionary nationalism, in that it sought a revolutionary overthrow of British rule in Ireland. Following the defeat of the Young Ireland rebellion in 1848, many of the rebel leaders fled into exile to Paris, where they "found themselves at the intellectual centre of revolutionary nationalism."[17] The Irish revolutionaries in exile made contacts with Polish nationalists who were also fighting for national independence and who advocated ideas of "'salutary' terrorism and mobilization of the peasantry for acts of violence," which inspired Irish revolutionary nationalism.[18] The Irish revolutionary nationalists came to be called Fenians, and this movement included Irish organizations on both sides of the Atlantic, such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Fenian Brotherhood.[19]

In the early 20th century in Italy, Benito Mussolini's political thought came to focus on a radical form of Italian nationalism, which has been called revolutionary nationalism. According to A. James Gregor, Mussolini had a fuzzy and imprecise approach to the concept of revolutionary nationalism by 1909, although he acknowledged its historical role which later provided the groundwork of his subsequent views.[20] At this early stage, despite Mussolini's inclination towards nationalism, he was still opposed to traditional patriotism and conventional nationalist appeal which included his emphatic rejection of the type of nationalism that was championed by the privileged classes and traditional bourgeoisie, who simply used the slogans of nationalism "whenever a profit might be turned".[21] A. James Gregor describes Mussolini's approach to his version of nationalism as follows:

Mussolini's revolutionary nationalism, while it distinguished itself from the traditional patriotism and nationalism of the bourgeoisie, displayed many of those features we today identify with the nationalism of underdeveloped peoples. It was an anticonservative nationalism that anticipated vast social changes; it was directed against both foreign and domestic oppressors; it conjured up an image of a renewed and regenerated nation that would perform a historical mission; it invoked a moral ideal of selfless sacrifice and commitment in the service of collective goals; and it recalled ancient glories and anticipated a shared and greater glory.[22]

In 1914, Robert Michels, an early revolutionary syndicalist who would later affiliate with the National Fascist Party by 1924, called for a "revolutionary nationalism of the poor" in order to promote industrialization in Italy, because he believed that "it is industry that allows people to live and prosper in the modern world" and without a mature industrial base, a people finds itself the object of international disdain.[23]

After World War II, in France, the term revolutionary nationalism was adopted in self-description by a Third Positionist movement that aimed to be politically syncretic and combined far-right nationalism and left-wing nationalism.[24]

Americas

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In Bolivia, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement is a political party that was formed in 1941, led the National Revolution of 1952, and ruled the country from 1952 to 1964. According to Winston Moore Casanovas, revolutionary nationalism "has become an anti-oligarchical ideology of the dominated sector, the official ideology of the Bolivian state after 1952, and stands at the heart of the rationale of the authoritarian military regimes in power from 1964 onwards."[25]

In Peru, the military government of Juan Velasco Alvarado from 1968 to 1975 has been called a revolutionary nationalist period in the country's history.[26]

The Nicaraguan revolutionary leader Augusto Cesar Sandino, who fought against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the late 1920s and early 1930s, has also been called a revolutionary nationalist.[27]

Certain aspects of the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920 have been identified with revolutionary nationalism. For instance, according to Robert F. Alegre, Mexican railway workers "embraced revolutionary nationalism as an expression of their disapproval of foreign ownership of the railways, heightened no doubt by their contempt for foreign managers."[28] Alegre also argues that "revolutionary nationalism drew on and reinforced rielero masculinity – workers' view of themselves as distinctively strong, brave, and independent. Their participation in armed conflict placed these qualities into sharp relief."[29]

Former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez described his political movement on many occasions as "revolutionary nationalist."[30][31]

In the United States, some black nationalist groups have been regarded as representing a form of revolutionary nationalism. Especially in the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, some African American leaders came to the conclusion that racial integration was impossible and that a "Black Revolution" was necessary to build an independent black nation.[32] One such leader was Rudy Shields, who endorsed black separatism in 1969 because he "felt like if we were separated, we were better and we were stronger, because when you have white people teaching your children, then what they get is the white concept of life."[33] This perspective declined over the following decades, but revolutionary nationalist themes have been identified as an element of jazz music as late as the 1980s, when they influenced Asian American musicians.[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Basil Davidson, "On Revolutionary Nationalism: The Legacy of Cabral" in Latin American Perspectives, Spring, 1984, Vol. 11, No. 2
  2. ^ Basil Davidson, "On Revolutionary Nationalism: The Legacy of Cabral" in Latin American Perspectives, Spring, 1984, Vol. 11, No. 2, p. 16-17
  3. ^ Basil Davidson, "On Revolutionary Nationalism: The Legacy of Cabral" in Latin American Perspectives, Spring, 1984, Vol.11, No.2, p. 38-39
  4. ^ Jennifer Riggan, The Struggling State: Nationalism, Militarism, and the Education of Eritrea, Temple University Press, 2016, chapter: "Struggling for the Nation: Contradictions of Revolutionary Nationalism", p. 34
  5. ^ Jennifer Riggan, The Struggling State: Nationalism, Militarism, and the Education of Eritrea, Temple University Press, 2016, chapter: "Struggling for the Nation: Contradictions of Revolutionary Nationalism", p. 34
  6. ^ Elleke Boehmer, Stories of women: Gender and narrative in the postcolonial nation, Manchester University Press, 2009, chapter: "'The master's dance to the master's voice': revolutionary nationalism and women's representation in Ngugi wa Thiong'o", p. 42
  7. ^ L.N. Rana, "Revolutionary Nationalism in Jharkhand" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 2000–2001, Vol. 61, Part One, p. 718
  8. ^ L.N. Rana, "Revolutionary Nationalism in Jharkhand" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 2000–2001, Vol. 61, Part One, p. 718
  9. ^ L.N. Rana, "Revolutionary Nationalism in Jharkhand" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 2000–2001, Vol. 61, Part One, p. 719
  10. ^ Mahesh Chandra, "Revolutionary Nationalism in the District of Hazaribagh (Bihar)" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1989, Vol. 50, p. 519
  11. ^ Mahesh Chandra, "Revolutionary Nationalism in the District of Hazaribagh (Bihar)" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1989, Vol. 50, p. 519
  12. ^ Mahesh Chandra, "Revolutionary Nationalism in the District of Hazaribagh (Bihar)" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1989, Vol. 50, p. 522-523
  13. ^ Kama Maclean, "The History of a Legend: Accounting for Popular Histories of Revolutionary Nationalism in India" in Modern Asian Studies, November 2012, Vol. 46, No. 6, p. 1540
  14. ^ David L. Anderson, edit., The Columbia History of the Vietnam War, Columbia University Press, 2017, chapter: "Setting the Stage: Vietnamese Revolutionary Nationalism and the First Vietnam War," Mark Philip Bradley, p. 96-97
  15. ^ Stephanie Cronin, "An Experiment in Revolutionary Nationalism: The Rebellion of Colonel Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan in Mashhad, April–October 1921" in Middle Eastern Studies, Oct. 1997, Vol. 33, No. 4, p. 693
  16. ^ David A. Bell, "Lingua Populi, Lingua Dei: Language, Religion, and the Origins of French Revolutionary Nationalism" in The American Historical Review, Dec. 1995, Vol. 100, No. 5, p. 1436
  17. ^ Brian Jenkins, Irish Nationalism and the British State: From Repeal to Revolutionary Nationalism, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006, p. 255
  18. ^ Brian Jenkins, Irish Nationalism and the British State: From Repeal to Revolutionary Nationalism, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006, p. 255
  19. ^ Brian Jenkins, Irish Nationalism and the British State: From Repeal to Revolutionary Nationalism, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006, p. 262
  20. ^ A. James Gregor, Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism, University of California Press, 1979, p. 75
  21. ^ A. James Gregor, Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism, University of California Press, 1979, p. 97
  22. ^ A. James Gregor, Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism, University of California Press, 1979, p. 99
  23. ^ A. James Gregor, The Faces of Janus: Marxism and Fascism in the Twentieth Century, Yale University Press, 2000, p. 133, 215
  24. ^ Nicolas Lebourg, "Qu'est ce que le nationalisme-revolutionnaire?" (1/2), Fragments sur les Temps Presents, 9 March 2009.
  25. ^ Christian Anglade, Carlos Fortin, edit., The State and Capital Accumulation in Latin America, Vol. 2, Palgrave Macmillan, 1990, chapter: "Capital Accumulation and Revolutionary Nationalism in Bolivia, 1952–85," Winston Moore Casanovas, p. 32
  26. ^ Marcel Niedergang, "Revolutionary Nationalism in Peru" in Foreign Affairs, April 1971, Vol. 49, No. 3, p. 454
  27. ^ Michel Gobat, Confronting the American Dream: Nicaragua under U.S. Imperial Rule, Duke University Press, 2005, chapter: "Revolutionary Nationalism: Elite Conservatives, Sandino, and the Struggle for a De-Americanized Nicaragua," p. 233-235
  28. ^ Robert F. Alegre, Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory, University of Nebraska Press, 2014, chapter: "'The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails': Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War," p. 29
  29. ^ Robert F. Alegre, Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory, University of Nebraska Press, 2014, chapter: "'The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails': Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War," p. 31
  30. ^ Hugo Chávez Frías, "Hugo Chavez: del Nacionalismo Revolucionario Al Socialismo," January, 2005
  31. ^ Voz de America, "Chávez niega que sea comunista," 2003
  32. ^ Akinyele Omowale Umoja, We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement, NYU Press, 2013, chapter: "'Black Revolution Has Come': Armed Insurgency, Black Power, and Revolutionary Nationalism in the Mississippi Freedom Struggle," p. 173
  33. ^ Akinyele Omowale Umoja, We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement, NYU Press, 2013, chapter: "'Black Revolution Has Come': Armed Insurgency, Black Power, and Revolutionary Nationalism in the Mississippi Freedom Struggle," p. 174
  34. ^ David Ake, Charles Hiroshi Garrett, Daniel Goldmark, edit., Jazz/Not Jazz: The Music and Its Boundaries, University of California Press, 2012, chapter: "The Sound of Struggle: Black Revolutionary Nationalism and Asian AmericanJazz," Loren Kajikawa, p. 190-214
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