<論文>ナショナリズムの起源を求めて : イングランドにおけるナショナリズムの成立

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to consider the origin of nationalism, which is said to be found in the history of England. For this purpose, first, I will examine two major theories on the origin(s) of nationalism, Gellner's and Armstrong's, and point out some of their weaknesses as well as merits. Gellner contends that nationalism is a modern phenomenon produced by the particular social condition of industrial society; the existence of social mobility and mutually communicable high culture. Anderson lays more emphasis on culture, arguing that the collapse of the religious view of the world and prevalence of print-capitalism made possible the imagining of a nation. Incorporating these and some other scholar's theories, I will then re-introduce my own theory of 'ethnosism, nationalism, statusism'. Ethnosism refers to the social and political claims of ethnos (≒ethnic group), statusism to those of status (≒state), and nationalism to those of nation, which is the composite form of ethnos and status. This theory has the advantage of being ideal-type and universal, and therefore being applicable to the wider range of history. To evaluate the validity of these theories, I will apply them to the history of nation-formation in England. In contrast to Gellner's and Anderson's theory, I will argue that English unity as a status and identity as an ethnos emerged in the early 16th century, predating the influence of industrialization and print-capitalism. This state of unity has undergone a long process of evolution, influenced by the Heptarchy days, the Norman Dynasty period, loss of its territory in France, realization of social mobility after the Wars of the Roses, and the Reformation, which, unlike Gellner's contention, clearly proves the historical continuity of English nation. Among these events, the Reformation is the most important in that it attained the congruence between cultural and political units, which is the essence of nationalism. Thereafter, English national identity, first fused with Protestantism, was transformed into a secular idea, and in spite of class division, affected more and more people from the lower strata. This became possible, mostly because England was the center of the great British Empire; being English was of itself great prestige, and social promotion and acquisition of wealth were indeed attainable at that time. Furthermore the constant threat of the enemy in France and other Catholic influence was of great importance in forging and disseminating the English national identity.