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Contents
Source: This post is based on the article “Where liberalism and nationalism are placed in Asia” published in The Hindu on 2nd September 2021.
Relevance: This article explains India’s presence in the South China Sea.
Synopsis
Liberalism and nationalism mean different things to different people, and the two concepts are often considered mutually exclusive.
Nationalism may take various forms but essentially, it is about collective identity, whereas liberalism implies the defence of individual freedom and self-determination.
The liberal tradition contributes the ideas such as free trade, international law, multilateralism, environmental protection and human rights. But the problems arise when such ideas become a doctrine for nation-building.
Nationalism may take various forms but essentially, it is about collective identity, whereas liberalism implies the defence of individual freedom and self-determination.
Liberalism can underpin universal rights and Adam Smith’s natural laws of economics. But its appeal is mainly to the professional, educated class and lacks nationalism’s emotional appeal.
Before Indian independence, nationalism was regarded with suspicion. For instance, Rabindranath Tagore had considered it a malign ideology and supported the values of internationalism and universalism. On the other hand, VD Savarkar supported Hindutva nationalism with Buddha’s universalism.
On the other hand, Jawaharlal Nehru saw merit in nationalism. For instance, in 1953, he mentioned, “nationalism has been and is a very good thing. It has been a great liberating force in certain stages of a country’s history”. But he also feared that extreme nationalism could degenerate into fascism and expansionism.
Democracy in Asia is not shaped by the liberalism of the West. The centrality of civil and political rights is less and a degree of state intervention is considered acceptable when it comes to individual autonomy.
Both India and China were at the receiving end of western imperialism and emerged as supporters of principles of international society reflected in the Panchsheel, namely sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference.
The two leading Asian nations, India and China, used the present world system to their rise while protesting against the control of the United Nations and world financial institutions.
But they both have not formulated any alternative based on Asian nationalism. Their current rivalry makes any such formulation an impossible one.
