Course Description and Objectives

What is the impact of ethnic nationalism on European politics and the rise of the radical right? This course offers answers from nationalism studies and empirical political science. The first part of the course explains key concepts and theories about the emergence and history of nationalism. The second part highlights the ethnic components of nationalism and  their contribution to radical right attitudes, such as hostility to immigration or minority groups. The third part considers contemporary expressions of ethnic nationalism and the emergence  of radical right parties, as well as their interaction with other political forces such as conservative and centre-left parties.

Objectives:

-     Become familiar with the main theories and debates in the study of nationalism and the radical right. Relate them to other topics in political science.

-     Learn to apply the theoretical  lenses to case studies drawn from Western  Europe, the Balkans, and the former USSR.

-     Be able to  navigate empirical  political science, including new research in thematic sub- field journals on nation and ethnicity.

Prerequisites: POLI 211, POLI 212, any other political science course or instructor permission Credits: 3

Course Materials and Communication

Readings: This course uses a combination of journal articles and book chapters. Readings are available via MyCourses or via McGill Library.

Slides:  Lectures will be accompanied by PowerPoint presentations; the  slides will be made available to students via MyCourses.

Communication: I can be reached via email and during office hours. We can also arrange a zoom meeting within the office hours, but you need to notify me in advance. If you have a lengthy question, please ask during my office hours instead of emailing.

Assessment

Online Midterm Exam (30%): 80-minute online exam with questions on the first half of the course (weeks 1 to 7).

Research Paper Proposal (20%): Two-page proposal for an imaginary research paper on a topic related nationalism and ethnicity. Students do not need to write the full paper.

Online Final Exam (40%): 180-minute online open-book exam with cumulative questions (weeks 1 to 14).

Participation (10%): Attend the lectures and participate in discussions in the second half of the class.

Further instructions about the exams and the paper proposal are available on MyCourses. Late submissions are subject to point reduction. Students must physically attend classes. There are no separate conferences.

Special dates:

Feb 15 – Online mid-term, no in-person class.

Mar 31 – Deadline to submit two-page research paper proposal.

After Apr 15 – Online final exam.

Course and University Policies

Language of  Submission:  Conformément  à la  Charte  des  droits  de  l’étudiant  de  l’Université McGill, chaque étudianta ledroitdesoumettreen français ouen anglais tout travail écrit devant être noté,sauf dans le cas des cours dont l’un des objets est la maîtrised’une langue. (Énoncé approuvé par le Sénat le 21 janvier 2009).

In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French written work that is to be graded. This does not apply to courses in which acquiring proficiency in a language is one of the objectives. (Approved by Senate on 21 January 2009).

Academic Integrity: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and  Disciplinary  Procedures  (Approved  by Senate on  29 January 2003) (SeeMcGill’s guide to academic honestyfor more information).

Generative AI: Learning to synthesize and evaluate readings independently is a fundamental goal of this course. Students may not  copy or paraphrase directly  from  any generative  artificial intelligence applications, including ChatGPT and other AI writing and coding assistants, for the purpose of completing assignments in this course.

Special  Needs:  As the instructor of this course I endeavor to provide an inclusive learning environment. However, if you experience barriers to learning in this course, do not hesitate to discuss them with me and theOffice for Students with Disabilities, 514-398-6009.

Copyright of Lectures: All slides, video recordings, lecture notes, etc. remain the instructor’s intellectual property. As such, you may use these only for your own learning ends. You are not permitted to disseminate or share these materials; doing so may violate the   instructor’s intellectual property rights and could because for disciplinary action.

Land acknowledgment: McGill University is on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg

nations. We acknowledge and thank the diverse Indigenous people whose footsteps have marked this territory on which peoples of the world now gather.

Course Evaluations: End-of-course evaluations are one of the ways that McGill works towards maintaining and improving the quality of courses and the student’s learning experience. You will be notified bye-mail when the evaluations are available. Please note that a minimum number of responses must be received for results to be available to students.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

*** Note: readings maybe subject to minor change ***

Week 1. Jan 4 - Introduction

[Article] Mylonas, H., & Tudor, M. (2021). Nationalism: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know. Annual Review of Political Science, 24(1), 109– 132.

Week 2. Jan 9, Jan 11 - Theories of nationalism

[Chapter] Gellner, E. in Hutchinson, J., & Smith, A. D. (1994). Nationalism (Oxford Readers). Oxford University Press, 55-69.

[Chapter] Chapter 2. Smith, A. D. (2009). Ethno-symbolism and nationalism: A cultural approach. Routledge, 23-41.

[Chapter] Chapter 2. Özkırımlı, U. (2010). Theories of nationalism: A critical introduction (2nd ed). Palgrave Macmillan.

Week 3. Jan 16, Jan 18 - Typologies of nationalism

[Article] Yack, B. (1996). The myth of the civic nation. Critical Review, 10(2), 193–211.

[Chapter] Chapter 7. Marx, A. W. (2005). Faith in nation: Exclusionary origins of nationalism. Oxford University Press.

[Article] Simonsen, K. B., & Bonikowski, B. (2020). Is civic nationalism necessarily inclusive?

Conceptions of nationhood and anti‐Muslim attitudes in Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 59(1), 114– 136.

Week 4. Jan 23, Jan 25 - Nationalism in nineteenth-century Europe

[2 Chapters] Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism (Rev. ed). Verso, 67-113.

[Chapter] Breuilly, J. “ Nationalism and National Unification in Nineteenth-Century Europe.” in Breuilly, J. (Ed.). (2013). The Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism (1sted.). Oxford   University Press.

[Article] Posen, B. (1993). Nationalism, the Mass Army, and Military Power. International Security, 18(2), 80– 124.

Week 5. Jan 30, Feb 1 - Nationalism in historical narratives

[Article] Subotić, J. (2013) "Stories states tell: Identity, narrative, and human rights in the Balkans." Slavic Review, 72(2), 306-326.

[Chapter] Chapter 6. Kaufman, S. J. (2001). Modern hatreds: The symbolic politics of ethnic war. Cornell University Press.

[Chapter] Goode, P. “ Everyday Patriotism and Ethnicity in Today's Russia” in Kolstø, P., &

Blakkisrud, H. (Eds.). (2018). Russia before and after Crimea: Nationalism and identity 2010-17. Edinburgh University Press Ltd, 258-277.

[Article] Lubbers, M. (2019). What kind of nationalism sets the radical right and its electorate apart from the rest? Pride in the nation's history as part of nationalist nostalgia. Nations and  Nationalism, 25(2), 449-466.

Week 6. Feb 6, Feb 8 - Case study: nationalism in post-Soviet Russia

[Article] Shevel, O. (2011). Russian Nation-building from Yel’tsinto Medvedev: Ethnic, Civic or Purposefully Ambiguous? Europe-Asia Studies, 63(2), 179–202.

[Chapter] Kolstø, P. “The ethnification of Russian nationalism” in Kolstø, P., & Blakkisrud, H.

(Eds.). (2016). The new Russian nationalism: Imperialism, ethnicity and authoritarianism 2000- 15. Edinburgh University Press, 18-46.

[Chapter] Ponarin, E. and Komin, M. “ Imperial and ethnic nationalism: A dilemma of the Russian elite” in Kolstø, P., & Blakkisrud, H. (Eds.). (2018). Russia before and after Crimea: Nationalism and identity 2010-17. Edinburgh University Press Ltd, 50-65.

[Article] Laruelle, M. (2016). The three colors of Novorossiya, or the Russian nationalist mythmaking of the Ukrainian crisis. Post-Soviet Affairs, 32(1), 55–74.

Week 7. Feb 13 - Nationalism and mobilization

[Chapter] “The Tide of Nationalism and Mobilization Cycles” in Beissinger, M. R. (2002).   Nationalist mobilization and the collapse of the Soviet State. Cambridge University Press. [Article] Beissinger, M. R. (2013). The Semblance of Democratic Revolution: Coalitions in  Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. American Political Science Review, 107(3), 574–592.

*** Feb 15 - Mid-term ***

Week 8. Feb 20, Feb 22 - Ethnicity and ethnic conflict

[Article] Roth, W. D. (2016). The multiple dimensions of race. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(8), 1310– 1338.

[2 Chapters] Chapter 2, Chapter 5. Horowitz, D. L. (2003). The deadly ethnic riot. University of California Press.

[Chapter] Posen, B. (2018). “The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict” in Michael E. Brown, ed., Ethnic Conflict and International Security. Princeton University Press, 103-124.

*** Week of Mar 5 to Mar 7 - Reading break, no classes ***

Week 10. Mar 12, Mar 14 - Ethnic diversity and immigration

[Article] Dinesen, P. T., Schaeffer, M., & Sønderskov, K. M. (2020). Ethnic Diversity and Social   Trust: A Narrative and Meta-Analytical Review. Annual Review of Political Science, 23(1), 441– 465.

[Article] Aarøe, L., Petersen, M. B., & Arceneaux, K. (2017). The Behavioral Immune System

Shapes Political Intuitions: Why and How Individual Differences in Disgust Sensitivity Underlie Opposition to Immigration. American Political Science Review, 111(2), 277–294.

[Article] Hainmueller,J., & Hopkins, D. J. (2014). Public Attitudes Toward Immigration. Annual Review of Political Science, 17(1), 225–249.

[Article] Dinas, E., Fouka, V., & Schläpfer, A. (2021). Family History and Attitudes toward Out- Groups: Evidence from the European Refugee Crisis. The Journal of Politics, 83(2), 647–661.