Abstract

PICKEL, Andreas. Nacionalismo y violencia: una explicación mecanísmica. Con especial referencia a las teorías de Charles Tilly y Michael Mann. Cultura representaciones soc [online]. 2015, vol.9, n.18, pp.26-62. ISSN 2007-8110.

A strong relationship between nationalism and violence appears to be self-evident. This paper will show that there is in fact no direct relationship between the two. There is little question that nationalism and violence frequently coincide, but nationalism does not cause violence. The analysis starts by identifying a set of -semantic, normative, individualist, and essentialist- fallacies surrounding the study of nationalism in general. In a second step, a reconceptualization of nationalism is proposed, advancing an ontology of national culture and a methodology of how to study it. In particular, the paper adopts a mechanisms-based approach to explanation in which specific nationalizing mechanisms are examined along with social-psychological and political mechanisms. It will be argued that the crucial mechanisms causally connecting nationalism and violence are political mechanisms. The argument draws on Charles Tilly's work on collective violence and Michael Mann's work on genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Keywords : nation; nationalism; violence; nationalizing mechanisms; political mechanism.