WEEK 1 & 2

INTRODUCTION: INTER-
DISCIPLINARY AND GLOBAL
PERSPECTIVE OF NATIONHOOD

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
FPPP
 COURSE SYLLABUS
NATIONHOOD IN WORLD POLITICS DUS 2082
FACULTY:
FACULTY OF DEFENCE AND MANGEMENT STUDIES
NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA

NAMA DAN KOD KURSUS :

NATIONHOOD IN WORLD POLITICS (DUS 2082) Duty
Honour
Integrity
Lecture Hours : 2 hours x 14 weeks Revision : 1
Name: Prof. Dato Dr. Wan Hashim Wan Teh Date of Issue : 3 September
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin 2014
Room No : Lestari 331 Last Amendment :
Tel. No : 03-90513400 ext. 7622078 Edition : 1
E-mail : hasniah@upnm.edu.my Procedure No. :
No of student: 250 PK(O).UPNM.AKAD.07

Synopsis
The course will expose the students to complex issues that dominate world political theatres in the 20 th and 21st centuries. Initially,
students will be introduced to ideas and thought of philosophers and political thinkers like Plato (The Republic), Aristotle (Politics),
Kautilya (Arthasastra), Machiavelli (The Prince), Marx (Das Capital), Al-Farabi (Al-Madinah Al-Fadillah), Ibnu Khaldum (Al-
Mukaddimah), Tun Sri Lanang (Sejarah Melayu) etc.; and how their ideas were crystallised into ideologies that were adopted by new
nation-states of the 20th century. Then, students will be guided to understand on circumstances that led to the collapse of Empires
(Rome-Constantinople, Uthmaniah, British, Melaka, China, etc); the outbreak of the French Revolution, and First and Second World
War (nationalism in the new nation-states) that gave rise to fascists and dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, etc. against
democratic- liberalism of Anglo- American. Equipped with these conceptual tools and historical backdrop, students should be able to
understand the politics of the Vietnam War, conflict in the Balkans, and Palestine-Israel conflict, etc. which are manifestations of
multiple fault lines that culminated into the new epoch of the Cold War, ethnic conflict or cleansing? Clash of civilization, and other
possibilities which should help them to develop their mind as Intellectual Leader of character.
MAIN REFERENCES:

1. Abdul Rasyid Moten & Syed Serajul Islam. (2011). Introduction to Political Science. Singapore: Thomson.
2. Segal, G. (1996). The World Affairs Companion: The Essential One-Volume Guide to Global Issues. Simon &
Schuster

OTHER REFERENCES:
1. Crowley, Roger. (2006). 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West 2007
2. Emerson, Rupert (1962). From Empire to Nation: The Rise to Self-Assertion of Asian and African Peoples.
Boston. Mass: Beacon Press.
3. Fukuyama, Francis. (1992). The End of History and The Last Man. New York: Avon Books.
4. Huntington, Samuel P. (1996). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon &
Schuster.
5. Machiavelli, Niccola (2009, first pub. 1532). The Prince. London: Vintage Books.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To educate students on the dynamics of the development of nationalism issues starting from an empire to a
nation state.
2. To expose to the students the history of the war due to differences in ideologies, ethnicities and civilization, and
then relate to the building of a nation state which includes types of feudal political systems.
3. To expose to the students on world ideologies such as communism, Marxism, liberalism, democracy, dictators
and military juntas.
4. To produce students with the capabilities of understanding the world political system.
WEEK TOPIC/CONTENT REMARK

1 INTRODUCTION
Weekly summary of course contents and course requirements
Discipline in Social Science (Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Political Science,
Economics and Philosophy)
The Inter-disciplinary and global perspective to the subject of Nationhood

2 POLITICAL SYSTEMS
Evolution from tribal community to statehood and nationhood a natural process
Types of government: Monarchy, Republic, Dictatorship, Democracy, Caliphate and
Sultanate, Military Junta etc.

3 and 4 PHILOSOPHY, POLITICAL THINKERS AND IDEOLOGY

Western and Asian Political Thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Kautilya, Machiavelli, Thomas
Jefferson, Karl Marx, Tun Sri Lanang
Islamic Political Thinkers: Ibnu Taymiyyah, Al-Mawardi, al-Farabi, Ibnu Khaldun, Al-
Mawdudi, Muhammad Abdu, Rashid Ridha

EMPIRE AND ANCIENT STATES

5 Roman, Uthmaniah, China, India and Malacca
Rise and fall of empire and ancient (feudal) states
The Crusade
WEEK TOPIC/CONTENT REMARK

6 IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

Mercantilism and the struggle to discover new territories; Inter-colonial territories rivalry
through sea-routes (16th C 19th C)
American World Independence (18th C); The French Revolution and the Napoleonic War
(18th C)

7 NATIONALISM AND PATRIOTISME IN THE NEW NATIONS

World War I and World War II; European and Southeast Asian Theatre
Nationalism and the struggle for independence esp. in Asia and Africa

8 MID SEM BREAK

9 RISE OF SOCIALIST-COMMUNISM
The Russian Socialist Revolution of 1917 and The Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949
The World divided into Western-Liberal-Capitalist vs Socialist-Communist nation-state.

10 THE COLD WAR

The division of east and west Germany, China, Taiwan and the wars in Vietnam and
Afghanistan
Communist struggle to dominate elsewhere (Cuba, Indonesia, Malaysia, Indo-China etc.)
 REMARK
WEEK TOPIC/CONTENT

11 CLASH OF CIVILIZATION OR ETHINIC CONFLICT?

The creation of Israel (1948) and The Arab-Israel-Palestine conflicts
Muslim-Christian War in Balkans (Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia
Ethnic Cleansing and Islamphobia

SEPARATIST MOVEMENT AND OTHER RECENT CONFLICTS

Sri Lanka (Tamil Eelam) and Indonesia (Timur Leste)
Thailand (Malay States of South Thailand), The Philippines (autonomous region of
Mindanao)
Sudan-South Sudan etc.

12 Group Presentation

13 Group Presentation

14 Revision Weeks
 TEACHING METHODOLOGY :

Course will be conducted in class lectures. Methods of learning will include class discussion, assignments,
exercises and quizzes.

COURSE ASSESSMENT :

1. Group Assignments: 20 %
2. Presentation (assignment) 10 %
3. Test 30 %
4. Final Exam: 40 %
TOTAL 100 %
*Class attendance= 80%.

RULES and REGULATIONS :

Rules and regulation for examination refer to Peraturan Akademik UPNM.

WEEK 1 : LECTURE 2

1. DISCIPLINES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

A.
1. Anthropology
2. Sociology
3. Political Science
4. Psychology
5. Economy
6. Management
B. HUMANITIES

1. History
2. Language
3. Literature
4. Music
5. Art
6. Geography
7. Ethics
2. SOCIAL SCIENCE IN GENERAL

i. Who was the father or the Pioneer of social

science or sociology?
Ibnu Khaldun (Abdul Rahman) a 14th Century
Arab Scholar
His magnum opus (great work) was The
Mukaddimah An Introduction to History
3. POLITICAL SCIENCE

i. Political Science is a study of human behavior

related to power relationship.

ii. Groups of people working together to control

other. Initially, it started with a class- powerful and
the powerless.
4. PSYCHOLOGY

i. Psychology is the study of human mind,

individual behaviour, or Personality. It focuses
more on the individual and his physical, social
or cultural environment
ii. Debate on the development of Personality, the
Nature (Natural) VS Nurture (Nurturing,
Socializing) or the given and the Learned
5. ECONOMY

i. The study of who gets what? How much?, For

whom?
ii. The study of Production, Distribution, and
Consumption.
iii. Adam Smith: The wealth of a nation depends on
Land, Labour, and Capital.
iv. The relationships between Firm (Production
house) and Household (consumers, the Provider
of Labour).
6. MANAGEMENT

i. A branch of social sciences quite new in

the university curriculum- in the past
management was attached to the
Economy (economic field)
ii. Now, the scope has widened, because
of the complexity of the present- day
world (end of 20th Century and
beginning of the 21st Century).
a) Management of a business firm
b) Management of sub sections of an organization
c) Management of the national economy
d) Management of a government
e) Management of the financial sector
f) Management of the military
g) Management of Civil- Military Relations
h) Management of Foreign Relations,
i
7. THE HUMANITIES

i. History- the King of the humanities

ii. Literature the queen of humanities
iii. Art: painting, graphic, sculpture,
architecture, crafts, etc.
iv. Language
v. Music
vi. Geography
vii. Ethics
1. INTRODUCTION
Objective :
To expose to students the concept of nationhood
To explain to students that the concept of nationhood
touches many disciplines of social science such as political
science, sociology, anthropology, philosophy and
economy.

What is Nationhood?
i. Nationhood - being a nation, or a large group of people united by
common values such as religion, customs, language, culture, social
and economic life.
ii. Nationhood - the study of society, culture, social forms, political and
economic patterns of a country.
Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin
Wan Hashim Wan Teh
 In Social Sciences there are various branches of
knowledge, including -Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology,
Political Science, Economy and Philosophy.

Sociology;

i. It is a scientific study of human groups.

ii It subject matters family life to organization, divisions
of race, ethnicity, social class to the shared beliefs,
common culture, national identity, national language
and religion.
iii. Nationhood - Viewed from an angle of human
behaviour, organization, institutions and interactions
between people from different races and ethnicities.

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
 Anthropology ;

i. A study of human past and present, and understand the

complexity of cultures of human history. The focus point the
application of knowledge to find solution of human problems.
iii. Also study on human language, culture, societies and behaviour of
primates.
iv. Nationhood The approach is to study attitudes, actions and
perceptions of people in reacting to government efforts to
strengthen the construction of a nation.

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
 Political Science ;

i. It is a discipline that studies on power, politics and

government. It includes administration, life, struggle, conflict
and cooperation in a country.

ii. Through knowledge of sociology, political scientists will be

exposed to background and hierarchy of a society and
patterns of life in a particular stratification.
cooperation.

iii. Nationhood - An analysis based on the use of power in

an administration of a country and formulate a decision
making process.

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
 Philosophy ;

i. A study on fundamentals of knowledge and reality, especially

when it is looked into realm as an academic discipline.

ii. Philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human

nature and the nature of the reality that we live in. It is a guide
for living, because the issues addressed are basic and
pervasive, determining the course we take in life and how
we treat other people (The Atlas Society).

iii. Nationhood - Discuss about philosophic views on nation,

society and the relationship between rulers and subjects.

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
2. THE ELEMENTS OF
NATIONHOOD
i. Territory

Every nation occupies a specific geographical area

Hard to have a nation without territory. Ex. Jews lost their
territorial to Greek and Roman conquest two (2) millennia
ago
War will erupt if there is overlapping in territorial claim. In
some cases, states will use military force to establish border
eg; Malaysia fought Indonesia and Filipina over Sabah
and Sarawak.

The territory is important determine the region of specific

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin
nation or community. Wan Hashim Wan Teh
ii. Population

Every state must have people within its border

Share the common language, identity, culture and social
systems to strengthen the national unity
A country with a plural society or multicultural society or
multinational states, that profess different languages, religions,
and cultures, the tendency for a conflict to occur is high.
Ex: Many Soviet nationalities did not like to be ruled by
Moscow, and the consequences some of them broke
away

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
iii. Independence

Nationhood can only be built if the country is independent

and subsequently received the sovereignty of the people.
Eg: Federation of Malaya became a nation only when the
country obtained her independence from British in
1957.
In 1962, Algeria became a nation after obtaining
independence from French

The sovereignty of a nation will be stronger if the country got

diplomatic recognition from other countries.

It can be done through the exchange of ambassadors and the

establishment of embassies in other countries.
iv. Government

The purpose of building a nation can enforce rules of

conduct and can ensure obedience.

This organization is called as government. According to

Abdul Rashid Moten (2010), a government is;
The focus of the common purpose of the people
occupying a definite territory and through this medium that
common policies are determined, common affairs are
regulated and common interests promoted

The absence of government will bring anarchy

Eg: - Afghanistan is an example of anarchy

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
3. THE CONCEPT OF
NATIONHOOD
Nation-State, Nationalism and Patriotisme
The word nation as race or ethnic, which means it is referred
to a large group of people welded together by ties of relationships
such as a common language, tradition and history
The word state as a group of people organized by law within
a definite territory, exercising both internal and external
sovereignty. It is a political unit and characterized by sovereignty.
The word nation-state a political institution that combines the
concept of nation with state. It is inhabited by people who identify
themselves as a nation due to shared values such as culture,
history, language, ethnicity (Abdul Rasyid Moten, 2010).

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh
 As for nation-building, it can be classified into several categories.
Nation-building
- political domination for strengthening their own power domestically or to
politically integrate reluctant sectors of society into an existent or would
be a nation. Then, for the purpose of external factor to have
external relation with foreign societies or states.
Nation building:
- can be referred as the process of establishing a united community
ethnics regardless of race or ethnicity and bonded together by shared
territory and economic activities. Every communities has to surrender
their loyalty to the country more than their loyalty to their respective
ethnic group.
Nation-building is a strategy for economic developments. (Hippler, 2002).

Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin

Wan Hashim Wan Teh