Nationalization of history is the term used in historiography to describe the process of separation of "one's own" history from the common universal history, by way of perceiving, understanding and treating the past that results with construction of history as history of a nation. If national labeling of the past is not treated with great care, it can result in the retrospective nationalization of history and even assigning nonexistent or exaggerated existing national attributes to historical events and persons. Nationalization of history, which began after a period of globalization of history, was not only one of the causes, but also the result of the process of establishment of modern nations (national revival).Kasianov, Terr, p. 7, "In some countries nationalization of history was part of "invention of tradition", while in others it was an element of so called "national renaissance" or "national awakening" ...
Universal history
Universal history, the result of a universal, cosmopolitan interpretation of historical events and mankind as a whole, coherent unit, preceded the nationalization of history. In the Western world, this motivation to imagine a universal history became influential in the 18th century when numerous philosophers promoted new cosmopolitan ideologies, after the ethno-religious conflicts of the previous century, and the subsequent consolidation of states which attempted to impose themselves over religious particularisms. Colonial experience (many European countries had colonies) exposed society in Europe to numerous different cultures and civilizations. It is also very important to take in consideration that the 18th century was in the Age of Enlightenment when people's activities, both on individual and social level, were determined with desire to follow rational scientific judgment while changing the society, which released them from restraints of customs and arbitrary authorities based on faith, superstition, or revelation and backed up by religion or tradition. All these circumstances provided suitable surroundings for development of universalistic, liberal and rational global perspectives in studies of society and its past and writing historical texts.
In his Essay on customs (1756) Voltaire studied development of civilization in the world with universal perspective, rejecting tradition, Christian and national frames. He was significantly influenced by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet and his work Discourse on the Universal history (1682) when he was first who seriously attempted to write a history of the world, without limits imposed by nation or religion, emphasizing economical, cultural and political history. Imanuel Kant developed ideas about universally applicable moral imperatives in his work Perpetual Peace (1795) and designed a plan for establishing a cosmopolitan liberal order which would result in perpetual peace. Universalism of the 18th century created an ideology which today could be identified as modern civil society.
The emerging of modern historiography is connected with German universities in the 19th century and the significant influence of Leopold von Ranke who insisted on objectivity and systematic use of historical documents in the form of authentic primary sources; his credo was to perform reconstruction of the past "as it was".A. G. Hopkins, p.2 "Leopold von Ranke founded historical research on the systematic use of documentary evidence, on reconstructing the past `as it was', and on the ideal of objectivity." Ranke's universal precepts in virtually all his works were, however, applied almost exclusively to the history of states and nations.A. G. Hopkins, p.2 " These were universal precepts. In practice, however, they were applied almost exclusively to the history of states and nation states in Europe,.... Virtually all of Ranke's own work,... was devoted to these themes."
Causes of nationalization of history Though nationalization of history could probably be traced from the earliest phases of creating historical works, it was in the period after the French Revolution that creating of historical works started to be strongly influenced by national perspectives, and that perspective gradually became globally dominant with its culmination during the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. Nationalism was estimated as the proper perspective to such an extent that nationalization of history remained unnoticed till recently (1980s and 1990s) and was not studied in historiography in a scale that would correspond to its significance.
Many various reasons, depending on the circumstances, caused nationalization of history. Probably the most important is national revival, the important element of which was nationalized history,Kasianov, Terr; p. 7, "In some countries nationalization of history was part of "invention of tradition", while in others it was an element of so called "national renaissance" or "national awakening" .." that resulted in the emerging of modern nations and nation-states, mostly during the 19th century. With the emerging of national states, a global universal approach to writing history lost ground to the nation-state and was very much captured by it even in a significant part of the 20th century.A. G. Hopkins, p. 2 "Nevertheless, the cosmopolitan ideal lost ground to the nation state in the nineteenth century and for the greater part of the twentieth century too, and was to a large degree captured by it." The professionalization and institutionalization of history that took part in nation-states' institutions during the 19th and first half of the 20th century was closely connected with the process of history's increasing nationalization. Nationalization of history was additionally entrenched by the development of national curricula in schools based on "monumental and prestigious" series of "authoritative" national stories, often written in insular style and justificatory manner.A. G. Hopkins, p. 2, "The tradition of writing national histories was further entrenched in the twentieth century through the development of national curricula in schools and the production of prestigious series, typically described as being `monumental' and `authoritative', that told the `national story' in an insular style and often in a justificatory manner."
After the First World War was finished, in some cases during establishment of new frontiers, the principle of national self-determination was taken in consideration during frontier demarcation. Therefore, it was necessary to establish the national historical character of certain territories and settlements, like in case between Germany and Poland and the Versailles treaty when numerous historians prepared short studies in an attempt to support territory demands based on Germany or Poland.
After the Second World War and the process of decolonization, the process of establishing new countries led to additionally stimulated nationalization of history because "new flags requested new histories".A. G. Hopkins, p.2 "This approach was adopted enthusiastically by the new states that came into being following the upheavals brought about by two world wars and decolonization. New flags required new histories." Even when citizens of newly established countries already had their national identity built, the nationalization of history was aimed to create of new national identity based on citizenship. Canada is an example of an attempt at nationalization of history to create a shared, historically rooted identity for English and French Canadians. Causes of nationalization of history in former communist regimes, mostly at the end of the 20th century, can be also found in reaction on long-term submission to communist historical interpretations and forced disregard for bourgeois nationalistic past. In cases where one of the results of coloured revolutions (i.e. Georgia, Ukraine,...) was the desire to gain symbolic distance from a Soviet past, the nationalization of history was a tool for externalizing of the communist past and rediscovery of European national identity of nation.
Renationalization of history If the first phase of nationalization of history was forcibly suppressed by a national ideology (communism) or traumatic losing of wars (Japan, Germany, ...) there can be a second phase, renationalization of history, on usually changed basis and perspective of nationalism.
Renationalization of history in Ukraine The nationalization of history in Ukraine had two separate phases:Kasianov, Terr, p. 7, "Ukraine experienced nationalization of history in two stages. The first began in mid-nineteenth century and reached its heights in the creation of grand narrative, Mykhailo Hrushevsky's „History of Ukraine - Rus“. The tradition of historical writings that emerged at this stage persisted in Ukrainian Marxist historiography until the end of Second World War.... In diasporas historiography it turned it into canon, a true credo. The second stage began in 1980s and still continuing. .... It is taking place under state sponsorship and is integral part of nationalization of the state." First phase began in the middle of the 19th century and reached its culmination in Mykhailo Hrushevsky's “History of Ukraine - Rus'”. This phase lasted till the end of the Second World War when it was stopped because of political changes in the Soviet Union, while in diasporas Hrushevsky's text had cult status. Second phase started in the 1980s and still lasts as of 2010, as a consequence of direct state sponsorship becoming an integral part of nationalization of the state. At the beginning, it was not so intensive, but after its turning point on August 24, 1991, it achieved special purposes: to legitimize the newly established state and its governing elites, establishing territorial and chronological conceptions of the Ukrainian nation, and to confirm the appropriateness of its existence as legal successor in the consciousness of its citizens and neighbours.Kasianov, Terr, p. 11, "Nationalized history began to fulfil important instrumental functions: legitimize newly established state and its attendant elite, establishing territorial and chronological conceptions of Ukrainian nation, and to confirm nations appropriateness of that nations existence as legal successor in the consciousness of its citizens and neighbours alike."
The first phase chronologically coincided with the process of "rediscovery of tradition" and national revival that captured all of Europe, while the second phase takes place in a period of globalization, vanishing cultural frontiers and aggressive international forms of mass culture.Kasianov, Terr, p. 7,"... unlike the previous stage, that coincided with general European phenomenon of "invention of tradition" and the development of the nations, the present stage is unfolding in the era of globalization, fading the cultural boundaries and large-scale aggression of the international forms of mass culture."
Legacy Nation mythologies, histories and states