the growth of nationalism and its causes

The growth of a national identity was expressed in a variety of symbolic ways, including the adoption of a national flag . Pictured, a Scottish Union Flag in the 1704 edition of The Present State of the Universe.
With the emergence of a national public sphere and an integrated, country-wide economy in 18th-century England, English people began to identify with the country at large, rather than the smaller units of their family, town or province. The early emergence of a popular patriotic nationalism took place in the mid-18th century, and was actively promoted by the British government and by the writers and intellectuals of the time. [10] National symbols, anthems,
myths , flags and narratives were assiduously constructed [by whom? ] and adopted. The Union Flag was adopted[when? ] as a national one;
Thomas Arne composed the patriotic song " Rule, Britannia! " in 1740, [11] and the cartoonist John Arbuthnot invented the character of John Bull as the personification of the English national spirit in 1712. [12]
The political convulsions of the late 18th century associated with the American and French revolutions massively augmented the widespread appeal of patriotic nationalism. Ultra-nationalist parties sprung up in France during its revolution. [13][need quotation to verify]
[14][15]
The Prussian-born Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), the prophet of a form of this new creed, originated [when? ] the term
nationalism. [citation needed ] Herder gave Germans new pride in their origins, and proclaimed a national message within the sphere of language , which he believed determines national thought and culture. [16] He attached exceptional importance to the concepts of nationality and of patriotism – "he that has lost his patriotic spirit has lost himself and the whole worlds about himself", whilst teaching that "in a certain sense every human perfection is national". [17]
The political development of nationalism and the push for popular sovereignty culminated with the ethnic/national revolutions of Europe, for instance the
Greek War of Independence [13] of 1821–1829. Since that time, nationalism has become one of the most significant political and social forces in history; it was a major influence on or postulate of
World War I and World War II. [18][19][20]
[21] Concepts of nationalism have spread through widespread literacy, education and communication technologies:
Benedict Anderson argued that "Print language is what invents nationalism, not a particular language per se". [22]
Causes
Two major bodies of thought address the causes of nationalism: [2]
1. the primordialist perspective describes nationalism as a reflection of the ancient evolutionary tendency of humans to organize into distinct groupings based on an affinity of birth
2. the modernist perspective describes nationalism as a recent phenomenon that requires the structural conditions of modern society in order to exist
Roger Masters in The Nature of Politics (1989) says that both the primordialist and modernist conceptions of nationalism involve an acceptance of three levels of common interest of individuals or groups in national identity
1. at an inter-group level, humans respond to competition or conflict by organizing into groups to either attack other groups or defend their group from hostile groups [23]
2. at the intragroup level, individuals gain advantage through cooperation with others in securing collective goods that are not accessible through individual effort alone [23]
3. on the individual level, self-interested concerns over personal fitness by individuals either consciously or subconsciously motivate the creation of group formation as a means of security
[23]
The behaviour of leadership groups or élites that involves efforts to advance their own fitness when they are involved in the mobilization of an ethnic or national group is crucial in the development of the culture of that group. [23]