Continuity or Change: Mapping Nationalism's Re-emergence with Reference to Hungary and India

Abstract

This thesis will attempt to analyse the rightward shift of nationalism after its re-emergence as a mode of politics by considering the rise of national-populism in Hungary and India and its implications for democratic politics more broadly. From an emancipatory ideology, nationalism has mutated into a political style used to oppress and exclude minorities within a state’s population. Through the course of the work we will break down the core components of nationalism and show how they construct a political reality that is inherently divisive and leaves lasting socio-political issues unresolved. Though the world has never been more connected, nationalism, a politics which raises one identity above all others, has achieved considerable success as a means of framing the political in at least one state on every continent. Within the global system there are innumerate social, economic and even epidemical challenges posed to the current state-structure yet paradoxically it is nationalism newly reformatted which has been adopted as a one-size-fits-all solution.

Through the course of the analysis the two core case studies are set against one of the original nationalist movements – that of the German unification project. The purpose of this comparison is to show how nationalism has changed over the course of two centuries whilst also revealing some of the inherently problematic trends of nationalism through history which have returned to the fore with particular potency today. The evidence provided by the study of the movements in Hungary and India is applied to draw wider conclusions as to how the new face of nationalism has been able to prove such a powerful mobiliser in different states’ democratic elections and to understand why this method of framing is so adaptable and resilient.