9 April 1998 Edition

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Mála Poist

The limits of nationalism



A chairde,

Whether or not there is an agreement on 9 April, Gerry Adams's minimum requirements will not be met. The peace process cannot deliver these requirements and the purpose of the peace strategy remains obscure. Sinn Fein now risks being co-opted into whatever partitionist arrangements emerge. The need to reassert republican politics, modernise republican analysis and language, and develop a republican strategy, is urgent.

The peace strategy seeks an alliance with nationalism. The nationalist parties accept consent/unionist veto and therefore, continued British rule in Ireland. Notwithstanding the proclaimed ``nationalist unity'', nationalism intends to write this consent/unionist veto into their constitution. Ed's Desk (19 March) claims that ``the 1798 rebellion was precisely militant Irish nationalism''. This travesty of the radical republicanism of the United Irish societies confirms that the gravity of this unity is not towards republicanism.

We need to understand the limits of nationalism, the opposing political programs of nationalism and republicanism, and the significance of socialism in republican objectives.

Nation and nationality are real, material things. They are forms of identity and community that arise from historical, geographical, social, economic and other factors. To be against nation or nationality is absurd.

Nationalism is a political ideology which makes nation and nationality the principles of political organisation. It ignores other categories such as gender, ethnicity, sexuality and most importantly, class. But these categories already exist withen the nation and nationalism can only create a state reflecting the dominant forces in each category. The patriarchal, racist, capitalist 26 county state is illustrative. Republicanism is based on citizenship, not nationality. Republican citizenship leads to rights and obligations, and promotes the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.

Democracy, government by the people, is participative, not representative, plural, not majoritarian, diverse, not homogenuous. Nationalism, because it subsumes all other categories into the nation, will be majoritarian, uniform and exclusive. It is hostile to the democratic and inclusive objectives of republicanism.

The objective of the republican movement is a socialist republic. Socialism is based on common ownership of resources, production and distribution. It is profoundly democratic. Republicans cannot achieve equal citizenship or democracy under capitalism, where class, profit and exploitation prevail.

Partition was enforced by Irish nationalism and British imperialism. It works in the interests of Irish and foreign capitalism. Republicanism and socialism provide the means to oppose partition and the alliance of nationalism, capitalism and imperialism that it serves.

Since 1798 republicanism has found itself unable to wrest leadership of the movement for national democracy away from nationalism. The result has been betrayal, defeat and repetition.

The peace strategy tries to go back in time, to recreate the pre-1921 alliance between republicanism and nationalism. That alliance failed and that time is gone. Nationalism will always betray republicanism and socialism. Until we place a radical republicanism at the core of our politics and strategy we condemn ourselves to failure.

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