Getting Started
Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the political map of Europe was dominated by large, multi-ethnic empires. Over the next century, a powerful new ideology—nationalism—challenged this order. This chapter explores how nationalism evolved from a revolutionary ideal into a dominant political force that created new countries, strengthened conservative states, and fueled social division and conflict between 1815 and 1914.
What You Should Be Able to Do
Explain the intellectual and cultural causes for the rise of nationalism.
Analyze how different types of leaders and movements used nationalism to achieve their goals.
Explain the effects of nationalism on European states, including political unification, state reform, and the rise of exclusionary ideologies.
Analyze how nationalism created new tensions and conflicts involving ethnic and religious minorities.
Key Developments & Analysis
This section uses Causation to explore the origins of nationalism and trace its profound effects on 19th-century Europe.
The Causes: What Fueled Nationalism?
The idea that each nation deserved its own state was a radical departure from the dynastic, multi-ethnic empires that had long governed Europe. This new loyalty was fostered by several key developments.
Romantic Idealism: At its core, early nationalism was a cultural and intellectual movement. Romantic Idealism was a philosophy that emphasized emotion, folk culture, and shared history as the basis for a community. Nationalists used this lens to argue that each "people" (or volk), with its unique language, history, and traditions, was a natural political entity. Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini, for example, was a key proponent of this view, arguing that a unified Italy would fulfill a divine and historic destiny.
Liberal Reform: Early nationalism was often intertwined with liberalism. The liberal demand for popular sovereignty—the idea that political power should reside with the people—naturally aligned with the nationalist goal of self-determination. Proponents of liberal reform argued that a government could only be legitimate if it represented the will of the nation, free from the control of foreign monarchs or empires.
The Effects: How Nationalism Reshaped Europe
Once unleashed, nationalism had transformative and often contradictory effects. It could be a force for unification and liberation, but it also evolved into a tool for state power and social exclusion.
Immediate Effects: Unification and State-Building
Political Unification: The most dramatic effect of nationalism was the creation of new nation-states. For centuries, the Italian and German-speaking peoples had been divided into numerous smaller states. Fueled by nationalist sentiment, movements for unification gained momentum. These movements, however, were ultimately guided not by romantic idealists but by a new generation of pragmatic, conservative leaders.
Conservative Co-option of Nationalism: Statesmen like Count Cavour in Piedmont-Sardinia and Otto von Bismarck in Prussia skillfully harnessed popular nationalism to achieve their political goals. They were not liberals; they were conservatives who saw nationalism as a powerful tool to build a stronger, centralized state under their authority. Napoleon III of France also used nationalist appeals to bolster his regime's popularity. This marked a crucial shift, as nationalism moved from a revolutionary, bottom-up ideology to a state-sponsored, top-down force.
Long-Term Impacts: Instability and Exclusion
Imperial Instability and Compromise: While nationalism created new states, it threatened to tear old ones apart. The Austrian Empire, a mosaic of Germans, Hungarians, Slavs, and others, faced constant pressure from nationalist movements. In a major concession, the government agreed to the Compromise of 1867, which created the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. This recognized the political power of the Hungarians (the largest ethnic minority), giving them control over their domestic affairs. However, this solution only satisfied one group and exacerbated tensions with other Slavic minorities who were still denied self-rule.
Aggressive and Exclusionary Nationalism: By the late 19th century, nationalism took on a more aggressive and competitive character. Chauvinism, an exaggerated belief in national superiority, became common, fueling imperial rivalries. This new nationalism was often defined not by shared liberal values but by a sense of ethnic or racial distinction. Racialism, the belief that race determines traits and abilities, was used to create a sense of "us versus them."
Anti-Semitism and the Zionist Response: Jewish communities became a primary target of this exclusionary nationalism. Anti-Semitism, or hostility toward Jews, intensified across Europe. In France, the Dreyfus Affair—in which a Jewish army officer was falsely convicted of treason—exposed the depths of anti-Semitism in the Third Republic. In Vienna, politicians like Karl Lueger used anti-Semitic rhetoric to win elections. In response to this growing persecution and the realization that acculturation in Western Europe did not guarantee safety, a new form of Jewish nationalism called Zionism emerged. Led by figures like Theodor Herzl, Zionism advocated for the creation of a Jewish national homeland as the only viable solution to enduring anti-Semitism.
Data & Organization Tools
Matrix of Nationalist Leaders & Ideologies
| Leader / Movement | Country / Group | Primary Goal | Methods & Ideology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Mazzini | Italy | A unified, republican Italian nation-state. | Romantic Idealism; promoted a "bottom-up" popular revolution based on shared culture and destiny. |
| Otto von Bismarck | Prussia / Germany | A unified German Empire under Prussian conservative leadership. | Realpolitik; used war, diplomacy, and state power to co-opt nationalism from the "top-down." |
| Austro-Hungarian Leaders | Austrian Empire | Preserve the empire by managing nationalist demands. | Political compromise; created the Dual Monarchy to appease Hungarian nationalists, but not others. |
| Theodor Herzl | European Jews | Establish a national homeland for the Jewish people. | Political Zionism; organized a secular, nationalist movement in response to European anti-Semitism. |
Evidence Bank
Giuseppe Mazzini: An Italian romantic nationalist who founded the "Young Italy" movement, arguing that the creation of a unified Italian nation was a moral and divine calling.
Napoleon III: Emperor of France who used nationalist ambitions, both in France and abroad, to increase his prestige and strengthen his authoritarian state.
Count Cavour: The pragmatic Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia who used diplomacy and alliances to unite Italy under a monarchy, representing a conservative approach to nationalism.
Otto von Bismarck: The Prussian Chancellor who masterfully employed a policy of "iron and blood" (war and industrial strength) to unify Germany under Prussian control, sidelining liberals in the process.
Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary: The 1867 compromise that granted Hungary co-equal status within the Austrian Empire, an attempt to stabilize the state by appeasing a powerful nationalist group.
Dreyfus Affair: A political scandal in late 19th-century France where a Jewish army captain was wrongfully convicted of treason, revealing the potent force of anti-Semitism in modern nationalist politics.
Karl Lueger: Mayor of Vienna who rose to power using populist and anti-Semitic rhetoric, demonstrating how exclusionary nationalism could be used to mobilize a political base.
Theodor Herzl: The founder of modern political Zionism, who argued in his writings that assimilation was impossible and that the creation of a Jewish state was the only solution to anti-Semitism.
Zionism: A form of Jewish nationalism that developed in the late 19th century as a direct response to growing anti-Semitism in Europe.
Chauvinism: An aggressive and exaggerated form of patriotism that fueled international rivalries and a sense of national superiority in the late 19th century.
Skill Snapshots
Causation:
Romantic ideals about shared culture and history caused the development of early nationalist movements.
The ambition of conservative leaders like Bismarck caused them to adopt and manipulate popular nationalism to build stronger states.
The rise of racialized, exclusionary nationalism caused the growth of modern anti-Semitism, which in turn caused the development of Zionism.
Comparison:
Mazzini's romantic and liberal nationalism differed from Bismarck's conservative and authoritarian nationalism.
The nationalism that unified Germany and Italy contrasted with the nationalism that destabilized and fractured Austria-Hungary.
The experience of Jewish acculturation in Western Europe was different from the reality of persistent anti-Semitism that fueled the Zionist movement.
Continuity and Change Over Time:
Baseline: In 1815, nationalism was a fringe, liberal idea primarily threatening the stability of large, multi-ethnic empires.
Change: By 1871, nationalism had been successfully co-opted by conservative leaders like Bismarck to create powerful, unified nation-states.
Change: By 1914, nationalism had often transformed into chauvinism, a competitive and racialized ideology that fueled both domestic exclusion (anti-Semitism) and international conflict.
Continuity: Throughout the period from 1815 to 1914, nationalism remained a primary force challenging the legitimacy of multi-ethnic states.
Common Misconceptions & Clarifications
"Nationalism was always a conservative movement." False. Early nationalism (c. 1815–1848) was strongly associated with liberal and radical republicanism. It was only later that conservatives like Bismarck successfully co-opted it for their own purposes.
"German and Italian unification was a popular, romantic quest." Partially true, but misleading. While popular sentiment existed, unification was ultimately achieved through calculated diplomacy, war, and statecraft led by pragmatic conservatives (Cavour, Bismarck), not by romantic idealists (Mazzini).
"Anti-Semitism was a uniquely German problem." False. While it became central to German politics later, virulent anti-Semitism was a pan-European phenomenon in the late 19th century, as evidenced by the Dreyfus Affair in France and the political success of figures like Karl Lueger in Austria.
"The Dual Monarchy solved Austria's 'nationality problem'." False. The creation of Austria-Hungary only satisfied the demands of one major ethnic group—the Hungarians. It left Slavic peoples like Czechs, Slovaks, and Serbs disenfranchised, worsening ethnic tensions within the empire.
One-Paragraph Summary
Between 1815 and 1914, nationalism transformed from a revolutionary ideal into the most potent political force in Europe. Initially rooted in romanticism and liberal calls for self-determination, it inspired movements for national unity, most notably in Italy and Germany. This ideology, however, was soon harnessed by a new generation of conservative leaders like Bismarck and Cavour, who used it to forge powerful, centralized states through war and diplomacy. As the century progressed, nationalism often took a darker turn, morphing into an aggressive chauvinism that fueled imperial competition. This exclusionary form of nationalism also promoted racialism and a virulent anti-Semitism, which provoked the counter-nationalism of Zionism. By 1914, nationalism was a dual-edged sword that had both created the modern nation-state and sown the seeds of devastating conflict.