Right-Wing Nationalists, Historical Narratives, and Education

• In Event: How the State Shapes Society: Comparative Education Politics

Abstract

This article traces how and why right-wing nationalists come to control the political process that disseminates certain, but not other, historical narratives. The argument rests on public education being a form of state coercion. History education specifically, and collective memory formation generally, is crucial to states’ nation-building projects. Because right-wing nationalists are more invested in the content of history education, for ideological reasons, they are better than other types of political actors (e.g. neoliberals) at converting a given amount of political power into control of history education. Whether, and the extent to which, right-wing nationalists enjoy political power depends on two structural conditions and one proximate condition. (a) Structurally, for a state to potentially witness right-wing nationalism, it must either be a diverse country or have held an empire. (b) More immediately, there must be a right-wing nationalist leader or party that draws “moderate” conservatives into a political coalition. Once in control of an education bureaucracy and particularly textbook board, right-wing nationalists will change/consolidate texts in a more nationalist direction on three dimensions of nationalism: (a) the people, i.e. who our nation is comprised of; (b) the homeland, i.e where our nation belongs; and (c) time, i.e. when our nation was born and shone.

Author

• Ahsan Ishaq Butt