Welcome to our A-Z of Faith Series: articles written by Peter Mansfield, an insurance litigator and member of our church leadership team. We hope you find these reflections on faith and religion insightful!
'Schismogenesis' was a word coined in the 1930s by the anthropologist Gregory Bateson. It means 'creation of division'. According to David Graeber and David Wengrow it describes "people's tendency to define themselves against one another."
Nationalism is a form of deliberate political schismogenesis. Let me explain.
At its simplest, nationalism is the belief that each people-group should have self-governance. The SNP, for example, believes that the Scottish people should have their own state. As set out in the SNP's 2021 Manifesto: "Should it be Scottish Governments... or Westminster governments?" And, yes, the manifesto did use a capital G for the Scottish variety of government and a lower case g for Westminster. "The people of Scotland have the right to decide our own future."
We are so used to the idea that nations are synonymous with one ethnic group - the French in France, the Germans in Germany and so on - that we forget that there are other ways of governing.
In the 1800s, the Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires were all multiethnic and multicultural. More recently, so was Yugoslavia until its dissolution in 1992. Spain and the UK still are, with all the Spanish/Catalan/Basque and British/Scottish/Irish tensions that come with that.
In contrast, on the Italian peninsula in the 1800s, ethnically similar people were governed by separate small states, of which San Marino and Vatican City are relicts; and, in the German-speaking territory that is now Germany and Austria, there existed a loose confederation of states.
But, spurred on by the French Revolution of 1789, the 19th century saw a rise in political nationalism and the desire for self-governance. For some people-groups, nationalism was about liberty. In particular, the multi-ethnic empires were challenged within their borders by nationalist liberty movements. For others, nationalism was about unification: the Kingdom of Italy was formed in 1861 and the German Empire in 1871.
Nationalist sentiment continued into the 20th century. When Yugoslavia split, it did so into 7 nations, largely split along ethnic lines - fans of The White Stripes will be pleased to hear that Yugoslavia genuinely possessed a seven-nation army. Around the world, nationalism also inspired numerous independence movements against the colonial powers.
At least initially, therefore, nationalism was about liberation and unification.
But there are problems that come with creating a nation along ethnic lines. For a start, even within a nation's borders there is a huge amount of diversity. Take France as an example: in 1789, less than half of the population spoke any French at all and only around 12% could speak it well.
As such, it was essential for these new nations to create a national identity or, failing that, the myth of a national identity. In 1861, at the opening session of parliament in the newly united Italy, Massimo d'Azeglio said: "Now we have created Italy, we must start creating Italians."
This process was achieved through the use of national anthems, national flags, national myths, national heroes, national sport, national religions and national languages. Composers were enlisted to the cause - Wagner in Germany, Elgar in Britain, Liszt in Hungary, Grieg in Norway and so on. Chopin wrote music based on Polish folksongs to support the Polish nationalist cause at a time when Poland did not even exist.
However, as the years progressed, nationalism morphed into something much darker. As Norman Davies says: "Talk began about the expulsion of minorities, and the 'treason' of anyone not conforming to the nationalists' own dogmatic definition of their community". This form of nationalism became apparent in France during the Dreyfus affair, and, of course, revealed its true genocidal nature under the nationalist governments in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.
Nationalism is, therefore, now seen as shorthand for a form of deliberate political schismogenesis, an ideology that divides the world into 'us' and 'them'. When Charles de Gaulle contrasted patriotism with nationalism he said: "Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first." Albert Einstein was more blunt: "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."
But, as ever with political commentary, the last quotation should be given to George Orwell: "A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige... his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs and humiliations. He sees history, especially contemporary history, as the endless rise and decline of great power units and every event that happens seems to him a demonstration that his own side is on the upgrade and some hated rival is on the downgrade. But finally, it is important not to confuse nationalism with mere worship of success. The nationalist does not go on the principle of simply ganging up with the strongest side. On the contrary, having picked his side, he persuades himself that he is the strongest and is able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him."
Have you ever had an argument with someone, at the end of which you realise that you actually agree with each other? How did that argument start? It might have been a disagreement over a minor issue, or more probably it was simply a misunderstanding. However, as soon as it starts, you both entrench into your positions. You stop listening to the other. Before you know it, you are finger-jabbing and going red in the face. You are right and they are wrong. That is schismogenesis. That is nationalism. And the tragedy of nationalism is that no-one ever realises that we actually mostly agree with each other and that the best solution for our nation is likely to be one that benefits all nations.
Written by Pete Mansfield
