A Balance Through Integration

Jakob Ostwald 20045931

History 462

In order to effectively balance the positive and negative aspects of cultural nationalism,
there must be opportunities for new people to integrate themselves into the nation. This
allows people to receive the benefits of cultural nationalism while maintaining a threshold for
people to integrate and for the nation to change and move forwards. By allowing for the
possibility of change, the nation is able to continue to create new symbols and ideals beyond
what has already been done. This is necessary to accommodate newer generations and
immigrants into the nation to allow growth to continue. This can create a paradox, however, as
people embrace the fruits and promise of the future, yet also yearn for the virtues, traditions
and predictability of the past. In Argentina and Chile in the half-decade before World War One,
this paradox became most apparent in three main issues. The first involved how cultural
nationalism could make people feel like they belonged to a community yet made others feel
marginalized when they did not feel like they belonged. The second issue was how nationalism
could unite a country towards common goals without dividing the country into several nations
within itself. Finally, the last major problem of cultural nationalism in Argentina and Chile was
how to ensure that the culture of the nation remained unique, vibrant and authentic in the face
of change. In Argentina and Chile between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the positive and
negative aspects of cultural nationalism were best balanced when opportunities for integration
were available to those who were not seen as part of the national community. When
opportunities for integration were available, they allowed those who felt marginalized to feel a
sense of belonging, they created a sense of unity and purpose, and they maintained and
enriched the vibrant culture of these places.

As Argentina and Chile began to define themselves as nations, something was needed in
order to form the ‘glue’ that would hold those nations together. The form of nationalism that
took hold was cultural nationalism; the idea that the nation was defined by people who lived,
acted and thought similarly. Being a part of this national culture, as Tjaden describes, has a
distinct positive psychological effect on people.1 The idea of an imagined community of the
nation lets people believe that they all share something in common, and potentially share many
things in common. People are much more willing to help those who are similar to them and are
also much more likely to receive help. This commonality between people provided many
advantages, but these advantages can be most clearly seen in the realm of security. The
physical, financial and cultural security of being a part of a common group that is concerned
with its members has no real equal because each individual knows that the group will look after
them. Nationalism promised to bring these benefits to the entire country, however, it first
required that the entire country share something in common. The difficulty of balancing
commonalities in a way that included the entire country was the main challenge to the creation
of an effective national identity in both Chile and Argentina.
1
Tjaden, “The (Re-)Construction of ‘National Identity’ through Selective Memory and Mass Ritual Discourse.” Pg.
47
 The emotions associated with being either included or excluded from a ‘nation’ were
successfully balanced only when opportunities existed for the excluded to integrate with the
included. In Argentina and Chile, immigration was a major part of the growth that they
experienced in the 19th century, with the majority coming from Southern Europe.2 For these
immigrants in particular, the issue of belonging was critical. As immigrants continued to pour in
from Europe the locals and especially the local elites became increasingly concerned about this
section of society.3 Many believed that immigrants had only come to make a quick fortune,
were always sending money back to their home countries and would leave after enough had
been made.4 Regardless of the truth behind this belief, the idea that immigrants were not
committed to their new homes separated them from the imagined community of the nation.
This can be seen most clearly in Argentina, where the image of the Gaucho and the immigrant
often clashed in popular culture.5 With the Gaucho representing the imagined community of
Argentina, its clash with immigrants was symbolic of the imbalance between the positive and
negative aspects of cultural nationalism.6 Here, immigrants were not seen – mostly by others –
as being a part of the nation, and so they began to feel marginalized and excluded. These
negative effects of cultural nationalism were not limited to the immigrants, as the
differentiating of immigrants also made native Argentines feel a weakened sense of belonging.
There were ways to help remedy this situation, however, as immigrants began to find
opportunities to integrate themselves into the imagined community of Argentina. One example
of this process is how, through performances in Argentina’s Carnival, Immigrants displayed
Argentina’s history.7 These performances had the dual function of celebrating Argentina’s
history and, through its performance by immigrants, integrating them into that history. Seigel
describes how these immigrants were “literally performing their desire for integration”. 8 These
opportunities for integration provided a better balance of the positive and negative aspects of
cultural nationalism by providing some of those who felt marginalized the chance to feel like
they were a part of the nation. This was not successfully balanced for all marginal groups,
however, and black and indigenous Argentines and Chileans were either refused or could not
find significant opportunities for integration into the imagined community of the white South
Americans.9

Uniting Argentina or Chile under common goals without splitting off into several other
nations within the country presented another challenge of maintaining balance. Cultural
nationalism is a powerful force that can make a country stronger, especially when compared to
a country without a strong sense of nation. To this end, the creation and maintenance of a
strong sense of identity can be seen as an issue of national security and can become a self-
2
Solberg, “Immigration and Urban Social Problems in Argentina and Chile, 1890-1914.” Pg. 217, 221
3
Delaney, “Making Sense of Modernity” Pg. 435; Solberg, “Immigration and Urban Social Problems in Argentina
and Chile, 1890-1914.” Pg. 215
4
Delaney, “Making Sense of Modernity.” Pg. 447
5
BOCKELMAN, “Between the Gaucho and the Tango” Pg. 579; Delaney, “Making Sense of Modernity.”Pg. 437
6
Delaney, “Making Sense of Modernity” Pg. 446; Seigel, “Cocoliche’s Romp.” Pg. 59
7
Seigel, “Cocoliche’s Romp.” Pg. 59
8
Seigel. Pg. 60
9
Seigel. Pg. 67
fulfilling prophecy. The best example of which is undoubtedly the 1879-1884 War of the
Pacific. The victorious Chileans received a boost to their national identity having fought
together and won, while Peru and Bolivia were both forced to question their identities. 10 The
collective effort that is required to win a war is the most obvious and potentially most
important use of nationalism by a country or people. During war is when the people either
unite and pull together or fragment and fall apart. Despite this, the importance of cultural
nationalism needed to be balanced with the maintenance of national unity. For example, the
issue of foreign labour agitators arriving in Argentina and Chile demonstrates the complexity of
finding the balance between demanding the nation unite and dividing it by doing just that.
Solberg describes how anarchists and socialist were seen as – often foreign – agitators who
some wanted removed.11 They represented the possibility for the country or the imagined
community of the nation to be split, in this case along class lines. Their presence and
prevalence demonstrate that many in the lower classes were not satisfied with the nation and
should a period of war or another issue that requires national unity, they would likely have
different goals from others in the nation. This shows how difficult the positive and negative
aspects of cultural nationalism can be to balance, especially because the opportunities for
integration that can help achieve this balance did not exist in these countries yet. In Argentina
and Chile no social or labour legislation existed before 1914, and this meant that people of
lower classes did not really have the opportunity to be a part of the nation. 12 They existed
beneath the nation, and it would not be until the mid 1900s that Argentina and Chile were
better able to balance the positive and negative aspects of how to unite everybody under a
common goal through opportunities for integration for the poor members of the country. 13

The final issue requiring a balance of the positive and negative aspects of cultural
nationalism involves the culture itself and how to keep it both vibrant and authentic in the face
of changing times. In order to have cultural nationalism a common culture is required. This
common culture cannot remain stagnant, however, as both immigrants and the newer
generations try to expand and alter the existing culture. As these new ideas of culture are
forming, the issue of authenticity begins to arise. This is a fundamental question about who
determines the national culture and identity. In Chile and especially Argentina immigration and
the new cultures that the immigrants brought with them clashed with the existing or at least
the imagined culture of those who came before.14 The dilemma here was not that the
immigrants brought existing cultures that had to be assimilated, but rather that they brought a
culture of greed, plainness and were generally bland.15 The contemporary belief that virtues
and vices were infectious made this accusation even more significant because it implied that
immigrants were also responsible for changing the culture of native people. 16 This imbalance
was able to be mitigated, however, through opportunities for integration of new cultural ideas
10
Tjaden, “The (Re-)Construction of ‘National Identity’ through Selective Memory and Mass Ritual Discourse.” Pg.
50
11
Solberg, “Immigration and Urban Social Problems in Argentina and Chile, 1890-1914.” Pg. 226, 228
12
Solberg. Pg. 217
13
Solberg. Pg. 230
14
Delaney, “Making Sense of Modernity.” Pg. 445
15
Delaney. Pg. 452
16
Delaney. Pg. 448
and symbols into the national tradition. By adding another chapter into the book of the
national culture and identity immigrants and newer generations were able to balance the
authenticity and vibrancy of the culture. As Tjaden outlines in his description of the process of
selective memory and ritual discourse, integration and continuity are critical steps in the
creation of a national identity.17 In Argentina this integration and continuity was achieved in
part through the Tango. This new style of dance and music was perfect for integrating new
members into the culture of the nation while simultaneously creating continuity with the
Argentine past of the Gauchos.18 The Tango was clearly authentic as it was both unique to
Argentina and popular among the masses of the ‘true Argentines’.19 It was also vibrant, which
meant that despite their not being a positive image of city culture in Argentina, the Tango was
not something that could be lumped in with the rest of the bland city life. 20 The Tango provided
both immigrants and newer generations with the opportunity to integrate their culture with
that of the national tradition, thereby balancing the positive and negative aspects of cultural
nationalism.

A balance between the positive and negative aspects of cultural nationalism in Chile and
Argentina in the late 1800s and early 1900s was possible when opportunities for integration
existed for those on the outside of the national community. From making those who felt
marginalized feel belonging, uniting the nation under a common goal, or keeping the culture
authentic and vibrant, opportunities for integration were crucial to achieving or preventing a
balance of the positive and negative aspects of cultural nationalism that existed in both of
those countries. All of the disparate groups that were present inside these countries felt the
effects of cultural nationalism, yet only through opportunities for integration could the effects
of it be balanced among the population and allow anyone and everyone to feel the positive
effects of it. When few or no opportunities existed, people were left with no way to place
themselves inside the imagined community of the nation, and so only felt the negative effects
of cultural nationalism. Maintaining a balance was always difficult, yet in Argentina and Chile in
the late 1800s and early 1900s it was certainty possible.

Bibliography:

17
Tjaden, “The (Re-)Construction of ‘National Identity’ through Selective Memory and Mass Ritual Discourse.” Pg.
52
18
BOCKELMAN, “Between the Gaucho and the Tango.” Pg. 587
19
BOCKELMAN. Pg. 580
20
BOCKELMAN. Pg. 596
BOCKELMAN, BRIAN. “Between the Gaucho and the Tango: Popular Songs and the Shifting
Landscape of Modern Argentine Identity, 1895-1915.” The American Historical Review
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Delaney, Jeane. “Making Sense of Modernity: Changing Attitudes toward the Immigrant and the
Gaucho in Turn-Of-The-Century Argentina.” Comparative Studies in Society and History
38, no. 3 (1996): 434–59.

Seigel, Micol. “Cocoliche’s Romp: Fun with Nationalism at Argentina’s Carnival.” TDR (1988-) 44,
no. 2 (2000): 56–83.

Solberg, Carl. “Immigration and Urban Social Problems in Argentina and Chile, 1890-1914.” The
Hispanic American Historical Review 49, no. 2 (1969): 215–32.
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Tjaden, Jasper Dag. “The (Re-)Construction of ‘National Identity’ through Selective Memory and
Mass Ritual Discourse: The Chilean Centenary, 1910.” Studies in Ethnicity and
Nationalism 12, no. 1 (2012): 45–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9469.2012.01156.x.