National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Europe, national revivals are most commonly associated with the period of
romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
that started in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The classic definition is by
Miroslav Hroch, who wrote that national revivals take place within a "nondominant ethnic group" characterized by lack of "'its own' nobility or ruling classes," possessing no state and with a "literary tradition in its own language" that is "incomplete or interrupted." A national revival begins when a group of educated members of such an "ethnic community" conclude that their group is a "nation" that needs to be "awakened, revived, and made aware," and to achieve recognition from other nations. This educated group then initiates a "national movement" which entails, "purposeful activity aimed at achieving all the attributes of a fully formed nation."
In ''
The Dynamics of Cultural Nationalism: The Gaelic Revival and the Creation of the Irish Nation State'', (2003),
John Hutchinson argues that a national revival can serve as a focus for nationalist activity in lieu of opportunities for political or military movement toward autonomy.
[Where myth and reality meet: Irish nationalism in the first half of the twentieth century, Timothy J. White, The European Legacy, Volume 4, Issue 4 August 1999 , pages 49–57.]
Examples
Pre modern
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Kokugaku
''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label= Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label= Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked t ...
(Japan)
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Shu'ubiyya (Persia)
19th century
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Rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire
The rise of the Western notion of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire eventually caused the breakdown of the Ottoman ''millet'' concept. An understanding of the concept of nationhood prevalent in the Ottoman Empire, which was different from the c ...
20th century
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Indonesian National Awakening
The Indonesian National Awakening ( id, Kebangkitan Nasional Indonesia) is a term for the period in the first half of the 20th century, during which people from many parts of the archipelago of Indonesia first began to develop a national consci ...
See also
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National awakening (disambiguation)
References
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