Nationalism is a movement of identification with one's nation and interests to gain and maintain a nation's sovereignty. The Nationalism in Asia from 1914 to 1938 was mainly anti-imperialist movements against the western colonies in several parts of Asia. In Asia, the outbreak of World War 1 and 2 sped the rise of Nationalism as they saw it as the collapse of western imperialism.
In China and Japan, they saw the war as a distant phenomenon, and they did not care about who will win the war. In India and Indochina, both protectorates of Britain and France were impacted by the war since they drafted their colonial subjects into the war to fight the Germans and the Ottoman Turks (McKay, 2011). For the British and French to motivate the Asians into fighting for them, they promised independence to them. After the allies won the war, they backed out of their promises, and they tried to re-establish their rule in Asia and Africa.
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The Young Turks were defeated in the Balkan war of 1912, and all their territories in Europe were taken. This prompted them to redouble their efforts in repossessing southwest Asia and the Arab peninsula. The young Turks allied themselves with the central powers in Europe, Germany, and Austria hoping to regain influence in Europe. However, the Arabs had no option but to side with Great Britain as it promised an Arab independent state. The Arab alliance with the British proved successful in revolting against the Turks in 1916. After the British victories in the Arab peninsula, the Arab nationalists were hopeful of a unified Arab state in 1918, but the British betrayed the promise. Hussein's son Faisal's efforts to negotiate for Arab independence during the Versailles treaty became futile, prompting the Arab nationalist to declare Syria as independent and Faisal as the King.
In 1918, the French and the British agreed to occupy the Ottoman capital; the occupation was imperialistic, reducing Turkey to a puppet-like nation. Mustafa Kemal was a nationalist who led the Turkish national liberation movement. They ejected the Greek and British invaders and built a secular national state with him as the president. Mustafa Kemal institutionalized a more western society and granted Women the right to vote. Iran was not so successful in building a modern state, and by 1919, all of it was under the British empire. This chapter also presents the Nationalism in the Arab states and Palestine, with most countries such as Egypt and Iran gaining independence from the British.
India's struggle to attain self-rule from the British led them to fight for the British in the World wars hoping to be granted independence. The nationalist movement in India was the strongest ever, but it also had consequences in causing division between the Hindus and the Muslims. Mahatma Gandhi, born in 1869, was a notable nationalist who advocated for non-militant interventions in gaining independence by launching a national campaign of nonviolent resistance in 1920. As depicted in this chapter, Gandhi's efforts bore fruits in 1935 when India and Britain agreed on a constitution strengthening India's legislature.
In China, the nationalist regime fought against certain regimes to establish a strong centralized government. Western-influenced intellectuals led the nationalist movement in China. Apart from the nationalist movement, the new cultural movement redefined the cultural way of life for the Chinese and Marxism, which led to revolts by the peasant community against the government. World war 1 accelerated imperial and economic expansion in Japan. The emergence of the Ultranationalists in Japan during the great depression prompted the soldiers in Manchuria to take it from the Chinese. In 1937 Japan launched an attack on China, but the Chinese were determined to resist. Nationalism in South East Asia transformed the French Indochina, the East Indies, and the Philippines. The French and Dutch were reluctant to grant these countries independence, leading to a violent nationalist uprising in these countries.
In conclusion, between 1914 and 1939, Nationalism in Asia grew, as illustrated in the book “History of World Societies.” The world wars demonstrated to people in Asia that the European superpowers could be defeated. However, the spread of Nationalism had its flaws in causing civil conflicts in certain countries.
References
McKay, J. P., Hill, B. D., Buckler, J., Beck, R. B., Crowston, C. H., Ebrey, P. B., & Wiesner-Hanks, M. E. (2011). A History of World Societies, Volume II: Since 1450 . Macmillan Higher Education.
