Minorities and the National Ethos

Etzioni, Amitaï

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9256.2009.01345.x

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…It combines dominant societal beliefs into a particular structure, and forms conditions necessary for social systems to function, acting as lenses through which each member comprehends the spirit of his social group. Thus, the ethos of a nation holds in fact one of the most important keys for a people's ability to unite into a cohesive society [6][7][8][9].…”

Section: Theoretical Foundationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of National Ethos in Military Victories

Lewin

2016

Social Sciences

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When nations are violently threatened, the choices that they make in order to cope with the challenge of war reflect different alternative possible reactions. They may choose to fiercely fight their battles; they may prefer to surrender, and sometimes the options lay in-between. One puzzle is, therefore, what makes nations fight, and more importantly-what causes them eventually to win or to lose the war. In search for an answer, this study inquires through secondary sources three historical case studies from World War II: Britain, France and Germany, and reviews how each of these major European powers acted throughout the war. After each historical description, the study examines the part that national ethos played in the manner in which each state handled war in moments of crisis. The national ethos of a people is the creed formed from the shared values and traditions through which the nation views its past, present and future; it is the integrating element that defines a nation's identity and bonds it into a coherent social group. The study reveals how national ethos is intertwined with another phenomenon of social psychology that turns it into a crucial factor in the management of international campaigns: war enthusiasm. Since national ethos is so crucial for the results of the war that a country might lead in order to survive or prosper, it is imperative for decision makers to bear in mind that it is also subject to a process of shaping and reshaping, as the Soviets have proved in relation to their Russian national ethos during World War II. A word of caution, however, is noteworthy: a wide historical perspective shows that even though the right kind of national ethos is essential for winning a war it is far from being enough. Hence national ethos proves, at the end of the day, to be a necessary condition for military victory but certainly not a sufficient one.

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Section: Theoretical Foundationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of National Ethos in Military Victories

Lewin

2016

Social Sciences

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Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s the National Ethos, Stupid”! – Understanding the Political Psychology of the Israeli 2015 Elections Using Data from the National Resilience Survey

Lewin¹

2016

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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From a socio-political point of view, the results of the Israeli 2015 elections reflect an ongoing stagnation that is described in detail in this research. This stagnation is often explained by theories of social collective identities. However, none of the theories examines how group identities are created. Consequently, this study explains how different forms of national ethos shape political identities and interweave with them.Relying on a wide set of data from the National Resilience Survey launched by the National Security Studies Center at Haifa University, this research examines the way Israeli political parties differ according to voters' attitudes on matters of national ethos. The findings show how opposing parties correspond with the two distinct forms of national ethos. However, the data also reveals that the ethos clash is not necessarily a dichotomy, but rather a continuum where various parties are located along a spectrum between the poles.

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“…The integrative ethos is also the moral source for the national community's informal social controls; it enforces commitments upon society and drives its members into a largely voluntary social order. Thus, the ethos of a nation, in fact, is one of the most important key factors for a people's ability to unite into a cohesive society (Etzioni 2009). The use of ethos in political science goes back to the German romanticism of the late eighteenth century with philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder introducing the term Zeitgeist, which translates into "the spirit of the age".…”

Section: Theoretical Foundationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Ethos as a Necessary Factor in Mobilizing for Warfare

Lewin¹

2015

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When nations are threatened with violence, the choices they make in order to cope with the challenges of war reflect different alternative possible reactions. They may choose to fight their battles fiercely or they may prefer to surrender and, sometimes, the options lay in-between. The question, therefore, is what makes nations fight and, more importantly, what causes them eventually to win or lose a war. In search of an answer to this riddle, this study examines secondary sources about three historical case studies taken from the first half of the twentieth century that deal with the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Norway, and the Soviet Union. It concentrates on the part played by national ethos regarding the manner in which each of them handled their wars in moments of crisis and reveals how national ethos is intertwined with another phenomenon of social psychology that turns it into a crucial factor in the management of international campaigns: enthusiasm for war. A wide historical perspective, however, shows that even though the right kind of national ethos is essential for winning a war, it is far from being enough. Hence national ethos proves, at the end of the day, to be a necessary condition for military victory, but certainly not a sufficient one.

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Minorities and the National Ethos

Cited by 17 publications

References 15 publications

The Importance of National Ethos in Military Victories

The Importance of National Ethos in Military Victories

“It’s the National Ethos, Stupid”! – Understanding the Political Psychology of the Israeli 2015 Elections Using Data from the National Resilience Survey

National Ethos as a Necessary Factor in Mobilizing for Warfare

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