INTL 1100: Introduction to Global Issues

Module V:

Nations in Autocracies

(Weeks 8 & 9)

What is a Nation?

As with all things built by humans, behind every state are thousands to billions of individuals, with their own goals, wants, and desires. These groups may coalesce around the state, but often individuals have other alliances, known as nations.

As with most things, the term "nation" is viewed very differently, depending on whether you are within a given group or looking at a given group from outside of it. There is no one accepted definition of the term nation. Some scholars define a nation as a group of people who intentionally see themselves as a unified group along with certain identifiable characteristics. These characteristics include a common language, religion, ancestry, and/or culture.

In this camp, Anthony D. Smith (once a professor at the London School of Economics and the former Editor-in-Chief of the journal Nations and Nationalism) defines a nation as "a named human population occupying a historic territory and sharing common myths and memories, a public culture, and common laws and customs for all members."

Others rely on more subjective characteristics such as self-awareness, a sense of solidarity, loyalty, and a common sense of belonging. That is, for this second group, it is less about what you can point to and say that you share in common and more about how you feel you are all part of a cohesive group.

The French philosopher and historian, Ernest Renan, offers an example of a definition of a nation based on a subjective understanding rather than objective characteristics: "a nation is a grand solidarity constituted by the sentiment of sacrifices which one has made and those that one is disposed to make again."

Here is a non-political example with which we may all relate: Dawg Nation. Some feel they are part of the Bulldawg nation because they attend our University. Then there are thousands of others who may feel they are part of the Bulldawg Nation because they cheer on the football, soccer, baseball, or any other team but they are not formally a member of the University community. Who is to say they are not? Not me!

Most would agree that a strong definition of a nation should start with some identifiable characteristics (e.g. Athens, UGA, red and black, etc.), but it should also allow the freedom of people to choose whether they identify with a nation (even if they meet all of the objective characteristics). Should people also be allowed to be a part of a nation even if they do not meet all of the identifiable characteristics? Some would say "yes," and others "no."

The complexity of defining a nation reminds me of the complexity in defining who is family. In my family, there are two clear family lineages, one from my mom and the other my dad, and both lines are pretty narrowly based on blood relations and in-laws. My family tree might fit nicely into the illustration to the right.

Illustration courtesy of Creately

Photo originally from here

My wife comes from a country where they have a "family registry" system, and from that a more restrictive understanding of who is "family." Typically, family is only defined as blood-relation relatives and in-laws who share a common surname. Therefore, usually, your "family" are only your relatives on the paternal side (but not always). When we were dating, I once asked my wife how many of her grandmothers were still living. She replied, "one." You can image my confusion when I had the chance to meet both of her lovely grandmothers. She thought my question only pertained to the grandmother with the same surname as her.

You would be amazed at the number of conflicts that arise in the world as individuals feel they are deeply connected to a certain nation and this may or may not align with the state in which they reside. Extending our game metaphor once again, imagine that teams were chosen without taking into account preexisting family linkages and friendships. This would create some tension when it came to the game, wouldn't it? Now imagine some teams were chosen by other teams and these teams were made by intentionally dividing families and friends. Ok, one more issue: imagine a situation in which some people were not chosen for any team. Whereas these scenarios might make for an awkward game night, some of the longest and most drawn-out suffering and conflicts between humans are the result of the geography of nations not aligning with the borders of states.

Some nations and states align quite naturally. When explaining the migration of early humans, people settled and developed distinct communities with languages, cultures, and even common ethnic and racial characteristics (from centuries of reproducing together). As mentioned previously, the common Germanic tribes eventually developed into distinct ethnic groups throughout Europe (e.g. English, Dutch, Danish, etc.). After the Westphalian system was established, much of these groups then consolidated their nation into a modern nation-state.

One of the most commonly used non-European examples of a nation-state is Japan. It is believed that the first humans migrated to the islands known as Japan at least 30,000 years ago. Over millennia, these humans developed a common language, culture, and ethnicity. When the modern Japanese state was formed during the Meiji (pronounced "may-gee") Restoration in 1868, the Japanese nation of people became members of Japan's nation-state.

Still, other states in the international system consist of multiple distinct nations (e.g. Somalia, Rwanda, and the United States), nations stretched across other states that want their state (e.g. the Kurds), and nations without any state to call home (e.g. the Rohingya in Myanmar). We will discuss each of these in turn.

Islam Around the World

For this Module, we will examine a nation, called the Rohingya. This nation is an ethnoreligious group that has been in Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia for centuries. Before focusing on this particular group of people that practice Islam, I thought it might be helpful to have a quick overview of the religion of Islam and the people who practice this religion, collectively known as Muslims. As noted in the video, one in every four people in the world are Muslim. Thus, this nation (if we can call it that) is one of the largest and most well-known nations in human history. That said, though much of American history focused on Judeo-Christian historical events and beliefs, less of a focus has been on understanding Islam and its importance around the world.

Transcript

"Muslims Around the World"

The Prophet Muhammad 6th century ~ 18 seconds

The Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in the sixth century in the town of Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia. After receiving a visit from the Archangel Gabriel, it was revealed to Mohammed that he was the third and final prophet of the three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. After this revelation, Muhammad began spreading the word of God, known in Arabia as Allah. These teachings primarily focus on one’s relationship to Allah and to one’s community. The Quran is a holy text that comprises these teachings.

Sunni-Shia Split (7th century) ~ 59 seconds

After Muhammad's death in 632, there was a conflict that emerged among his followers as to who would be his successor and lead this new religion. Eventually, the lack of a clear successor led to a massive split over the future of the rapidly growing religion. On one side, followers believe that Islam’s next leader should be chosen through consensus of religious leaders or “Imams.” This group was later known by the Arabic term Sunna, or “the way,” to denote that they were supportive of leaders who followed the way of Muhammad. This group, later called the Sunnis, supported a friend and a loyal follower of the Prophet to succeed him, a man named Abubakar.

The second group of early followers of Islam disagreed with the ability to choose anyone of faith to be the next leader of Islam. Instead, this group favored a successor chosen from Mohammed’s familial line. This group would later be known based on the Arabic term, “Shi’atu,” or partisans of Ali, as they rallied behind Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. Both men did eventually hold the title of caliph, or leader of Islam. Abubakr was first and Ali fourth, but the schism over how Muslim leaders were to be chosen created a division in Islam we still see today.

Empire & Islam (15th to 20th centuries) ~ 2:22 minutes

The subsequent centuries saw violence between these two sects of Islam and with others throughout the Middle East. Though each battle included many nuances, the Sunnis proved militarily successful as they aligned with other secular groups against the Shia throughout the next eight centuries. As a prime example, beginning in the 15th century, the Turks (a nation of people from present-day Turkey) would adopt Sunnism as they expanded their empire, later named the Ottoman Empire, from Turkey southward onto the Arab Peninsula. To counter the rising tide of Sunnism of the Ottomans Empire, the Persian Empire would consolidate its belief system around Shiism in the 16th century. Today, the Arabian Peninsula is still predominantly Sunni, while the area to the east, present-day Iran, is primarily Shia. Currently, Iran and other countries like Iraq and Bahrain are majority-Shia, while nearly 85% of all Muslims in the Middle East are Sunni.

Spread of Islam Worldwide ~ 3:23 minutes

Many Muslims, including those in both the Ottoman and Persian Empires, were traders. Some traveled over land on the east-to-west axis known as the Silk Road, while others relied on maritime trade routes. As they traveled southward into Africa, westward towards Europe, and eastward towards Asia, these traders carried goods to be sold and purchased wares, jewels, and spices from places they traveled. Meanwhile, they spread their religion to all parts of the world. Today, nearly 1.9 billion people in the world practice Islam. That is one out of every four people on Earth, and nearly fifty countries in the world have Muslim majority populations.

The Rohingya: A Stateless Nation

A rare, devastating subcategory of multinational states includes states in which there is a nation that is not legally recognized as being citizenry within that state. In this Module, we will discuss is the Rohingya nation within Myanmar.

The Rohingya are a minority Muslim group in the northwestern region of Myanmar. Myanmar is a predominately Buddhist country that has been under military rule since the 1960s. This country has seen a rise in Buddhist nationalist sentiment. Throughout decades, the military regime has taken away citizenship of the Rohingya people, leaving them a stateless nation. Since 2016, the government has directly also directly targeted Rohingya villages and people, burning home to the ground, killing innocent people, and leading millions of Rohingya to seek refuge elsewhere. For this prompt, I would like for you to consider this question about sovereignty: is the Myanmar government responsible to extend citizenship to a nation within its borders? Why or why not?

Video Transcript

Muslims Around the World

The Prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca in the sixth century, in present-day Saudi Arabia. After receiving a visit from the Archangel Gabriel, in which it was revealed to Mohammed that he was the third and final prophet of the three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Mohammed began spreading this, and other revelations on one’s relationship to Allah (God) and one’s community. The Quran is the holy text that comprises these teachings.

After Mohammed’s death in 632, there was a conflict that emerged among his followers as to who would be his successor and lead the new religion. Eventually, the lack of a clear successor lead to a massive split over the future of the rapidly-growing religion. On one side, followers believed that Islam’s next leaders should be chosen through the consensus of chief imams. This group, later known based on the Arabic term sunna, (or “way” of Mohammed), supported a friend and loyal follower of Muhammad, Abu Bakr, to be the second leader of Islam.

A second group of the early followers of Islam disagreed with the ability to choose anyone of faith to be the next leader. Instead, they favored a successor chosen from Muhammad’s familial line. This group would later be known based on the Arabic term shi’atu, or “partisans of Ali,” as they rallied behind Ali ibn Abi Talib, Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law. Both men did eventually hold the title – Abu Bakr first and Ali fourth – but the schism over how the leader should be chosen (and the power to determine key decisions on the direction of the faith) erupted in violence.

By aligning with other secular groups on the Arabian Peninsula throughout the next eight centuries, the Sunnis proved militarily successful against the Shia and began dominating demographically.

In the 15th century, Sunnism would be adopted by the Turks as they expanded the Ottoman Empire eastward towards the Arabian Peninsula. The Ottomans were widespread traders. As they traveled from the Middle East south to North Africa, east to Asia, and eventually west into Central Europe, they brought Sunni Islam with them, leading to even more widespread practice of Sunnism throughout what is modern-day Turkey, North Africa, and the Middle East.

To counter the rising tide of Sunnism, the Persian Empire would consolidate its belief system around Shiism as it moved west toward the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.

Today Sunnis make up between 85% to 90% of the Muslims in the Middle East and the major fault lines between these two groups can be seen in present-day maps with Iran being Shia-led and the Arab States being predominantly Sunni.

During the tenth century, Arabs moved into Egypt, and then westward to Morocco, and eventually northward into Spain. Muslim trading routes stretched across the silk road, from Iraq across the Zagros Mountain range, through present-day Iran, across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and into Northern India, and onto China. By sea, the traders also accessed ports in southern India and islands and ports as far as southeast Asia. Bringing back wears, precious jewels, metals, and natural resources, they also influenced the religious devotion of those living in these areas.

Myanmar [Burma]

Myanmar is a predominately Buddhist country located in Southeast Asia. In the coastal South, the Mon people were believed to be one of the earliest people on Indochine. The Mon were believed to have served as coastal traders and adopted Buddhism in the 6th or 7th century from Indian traders.

In the north of Myanmar, the Pyu created an amazing civilization, protected for the most part by mountain ranges on all sides and access to the Mon trade routes in the South Chinese. [Historical] Chinese records emphasize the elegance and grace of Pyu life. For example, the men dressed in blue and wore gold ornaments on their hats and the women wore jewels in their hair. They lived in houses built with timber and roofed with tiles of lead and tin. They used golden utensils and were surrounded by art objects of green glass, jade, crystal, and gold.

Beginning in the ninth century, however, population pressures in the Chinese West and whisperings of the riches of the Pyu of civilization led the Nanzhao to moved westward and attack the Pyu. Though the Pyu defended themselves from the Nanzhao, leading to a retreat, the civilization was at its weakest point. By the 11th century, the Burman leader, Anawrahta, successfully consolidated control of the Pyu and Mon regions, in part by converting to Buddhism.

In the 1800s, the British expanded its colonial holdings in India eastward into Burma. After three wars against the Burmese, the British made Burma a province of India in 1886. As part of its means of controlling the Burmese, Britain outlawed Buddhism and instead required Christianity to be taught in schools. In addition, the British began extracting resources from Burma, requiring the once-prosperous people to serve on rice paddy farmers and as laborers on rubber plantations, thus decimating the population's personal wealth.

Beginning in the 1930s, a group of student protesters called for the end of Britsh colonialism. At the head of this Burmese nationalist group, called the Thankin Movement, was a student called Aung San. In the midst of World War II, when the British were occupied with the war efforts at home, Aung San decided to ally with the Japanese with the hopes of gaining independence for Burma. Once the Japanese began to lose the war, however, Aung San switched alliances, returning to the British. After the war, the British called for Aung San to be in prison for treason. Huge public outcry, however, rallied behind the nationalist.

In 1948, Burma won its independence. After China became Communist in 1949, a large Communist insurgency began to form within Burma. In 1962, a Communist coup overthrew the Nationalist government. Aung San was assassinated, and martial law was imposed.

In the late 1980s, as Communism in the Soviet Union was waning, the Communist military regime chose to loosen its grip on Burma, offering a rebranding of the country to the name Myanmar, arguing that Burma brought back memories from the British colonial era.

When multiparty elections in May 1990 led to a pro-democratic party, the National League for Democracy (or NLD) to win a landslide victory, the military did not let the assembly convene. And instead placed the NLD's key leader, and the daughter of Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest. In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2007, anti-regime domestically and international pressure led to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi after nearly two decades after house arrest. In 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party again won a majority of seats in Parliament. As the military barred her from becoming a President, Parliament created a new role for her, calling her the State Chancellor.

Rohingya

As I mentioned [previously in this] video, Islam has spread throughout the world, including to Southeast Asia around the 10th century. Though early Indian traders [before] the 10th century settled in the southern coastal towns of Myanmar, for example, in present-day Yangon and brought with them Buddhist traditions, the second wave of Muslim traders in the 10th century settled in less convenient port towns along the western coast in the Rakhine region.

By the 13th century, Islam flourished in northern India and throughout present-day Bangladesh, and a Muslim Empire ruled this area until the British took control. Considering the Muslims in [this] territory had benefited greatly before the British came, they were rather hostile to this imperial government.

The group of Muslims in Burma [during this time] collectively came to be known as Rohingya, and they were largely disconnected from the Muslims in India and Pakistan. Following independence in Burma in 1948, however, some Rohingya did push to join the largely Muslim state of Bangladesh, while others wished to remain in Burma.

The push for separation by some Rohingya created animosity against them by the Burmese. Further, the British choice to outlaw Buddhism created a very strong sense of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar overall. The combination of Buddhist nationalism combined with the distrust of Rohingya led the government of Burma to enact increasingly discriminatory laws against the Rohingya.

Once the Buddhist Thankin Movement achieved independence from Britain, the new government did not issue citizenship for the Muslims in the Rakhine region but instead issued them temporary "white cards." The Council for Foreign Relations, a think tank in Washington D.C., states that the Myanmar government has effectively institutionalized discrimination against the Rohingya.

This includes restrictions on marriage. For example, the Rohingya must seek permission [from the government] to marry and must often pay bribes to government officials in order to do so. Finally, they must show proof of having married with clean-shaven faces for the men and free of a headscarf for any women, in direct contrast to Muslim custom. In addition, Rohingya families in certain towns are allowed only two children per couple. Finally, if Rohingya wish to move to a new home or travel outside of their townships, they must gain government approval before doing so.

In 2014, a national census was conducted in Myanmar. This census, however, only allowed for eight major ethnic identifiers or classifications, none of which were for a Muslim minority in Myanmar. As a result, those Rohingya who legally were able to have the temporary white cards, now had to determine themselves to Bangladeshi citizens within Myanmar, rather than citizens of Myanmar. These people, however, are not Bangladeshi citizens. So, in essence, this step made 3.5 million Rohingya stateless people overnight.

Beginning in August 2017, clashes in the Rakhine region broke out after a militant group, known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for attacks on police and army posts.

The government declared ARSA a terrorist organization, and the military mounted a brutal campaign to destroyed hundreds of Rohingya villages and forced nearly 700,000 Rohingyas to leave Myanmar. At least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the attacks alone (between August 25th and September 24th of 2017).

Myanmar security forces also allegedly opened fire on fleeing civilians and planted landmines near border crossings used by the Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. According to Human Rights Watch, new satellite imagery reveals the Burmese government has been bulldozing scores of depopulated Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine state. The UN Security Council has appealed to Myanmar to stop the violence, but no sanctions have been imposed.