Topic: History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
2. After 1848, nationalism in Europe moved away from its association with democracy and revolution. Examine. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: History of Modern World by Jain and Mathur, NCERT
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1 and mentioned as part of Mission-2022 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To highlight with examples how democracy and revolutions were important to nationalism in the 1830s and 40s, and how after the 1848 revolution, it was brute force that came to be associated with nationalism, while the ideas of democracy and revolution came to be abandoned.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we have to look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer
Introduction:
Write the importance of the year 1848 as your introduction – it marked the end of revolutions, and the beginning of use of force to further nationalism.
Body:
First, cite examples showing how the revolutions of 1830 and 48 were triggered by nationalism and liberals wanting democracies.
Next, with examples, justify the statement in the question that nationalism moved away from ideas of democracy.
Conclusion:
Nationalism which manifested itself in the form of use of force may have helped unite these nations, but it also was a cause for intense rivalry among european countries in the following decades, all of which led to the first world war.
