ALLISON RAY

A nation is defined as “a large area of land that is controlled by its own government (Merriam-Webster).” In regards to nationalism, however, a more fitting way to explain the idea behind nation-alism is to begin with a different definition:

Community: (noun) a group of people living in the same place or

having a particular characteristic in common (Merriam-Webster).

 The root of nationalism lies in a tightknit and well-established society. This society, when united by a shared struggle or purpose, survives for an extensive period of time - typically in pursuit of some sort of power. Power is a phenomenon among nations. An individual who identifies as a ‘nationalist’ most often hopes for a state that matches the foundation of the nation. Fareed Zakaria writes in his book Post-American World, “…when I write of the rise of nationalism, I am describing a broader phenomenon – the assertion of identity. That nation-state is a relatively new invention, often no more than a hundred years old. Much older are the religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups that live within nation-states. And these bonds have stayed strong, in fact grown, as economic interdependence has deepened (Zakaria 41).” England has practically become the face of nationalism throughout the centuries beginning with the Anglo-Saxons, followed by the medieval era, the Tudors, the Stuarts, and finally modern day “English”.

            The Anglo-Saxons, descendants of the Germanic people who settled in Britain, ruled the region today known as England for 600 years. They are responsible for the formation of England’s culture, language, and borders. Their reign began when the Roman occupation of Britain ended. However, James Campbell, a fellow at Worcester College, University of Oxford, suggests that it was not until the late Anglo-Saxon period that England could even be described as a nation-state, which emphasizes the lasting effect the Saxons had on this region. The Normans, who took over at the beginning of the Medeival era in 1066, brought their Anglo-Norman language with them as well as their religious backgrounds. The first Norman ruler of the region was William the Conqueror, who led the Norman conquest. He is known for changing the landscape of England by focusing his efforts on infrastructure, as well as rearranging the heirarchy of the English clergy. Moreover, the largest effect on religion to date in the country of England was caused by the transition of power to the Tudors and the following English Reformation, which ultimately divided the state from the church it had been attached to for hundreds of years. Decades of collaboration between all of these “religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups (Zakaria)” has formed what we know today as modern day England. Zakaria also mentions in his writing A Non-Western World? just how powerful Europe as a whole was during this time, “Within a hundred years of initial European contact, one trend was unmistakable and irreversable: these encounters changed or destroyed the existing political, social, and economic arrangements in Non-Western societies (Zakaria 79).”

            English nationalists today proudly identify themselves as “English” rather than “British”.  That being said, it is difficult to identify a distinctive group of English nationalists today. This is most likely because without ‘struggle’ there is no purpose for nationalists to unite. The closest thing to a struggle that England is facing today is that of economic inequality. For instance, in the past ten years the poorest tenth of the population has not seen a growth in their income whereas the profits of the richest tenth have increased every year (The Poverty Site 2010). 

On the other hand, England’s capital, London, is the city with the highest income in the United Kingdom (The Equality Trust 2015). Nationalism, in a country that has experienced all kinds, is currently what could arguably be called going through an all-time low.