Impacts of Religion and Nationalism in Religiously Identified Conflicts

Bruzzese, Gianluca

Item

Impacts of Religion and Nationalism in Religiously Identified Conflicts

Bruzzese, Gianluca

Abstract

This thesis presents the connections and repercussions of the various forms of religion andnationalism in conflict and governmental regimes, and how religious sentiment, national orreligious unity, and patriotism have proven as relevant concepts in various instances of conflict,incited by religious or patriotic nature. This, mostly in cases of revolution and toppling ofgovernments, wars, and border disputes. The paper shall progress into the study of several casestudies: The Libyan Jamahiriya (republic) of its leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, and the correlationof radical Islam in Libya, North Africa, and the Middle East in the politics of the 20th century; theinfamous debacle in the Irish territories, with specific focus in the border disputes of the Republicof Ireland and Northern Ireland in the mid to late twentieth century. In this case, the socio-religioustensions, along with the dispute in the region over full Irish sovereignty or continued separation ofthe Irish Republic and the Northern territory under jurisdiction of the United Kingdom will be ofparticular interest; finally, the genocide of Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnian War of the 1990’s,and the motives behind the bloodshed and the socio-political tensions in the region of the ex-Yugoslavia throughout the conflict. It will be of paramount importance to depict religion andnationalism, with relative sub-concepts of religious and national unity’s contributions in the eventsthat have taken place. A conclusion shall examine if and how the tension/s, conflict/s, andbloodshed that have occurred ultimately have been incited by religious and nationalistic sentimentsand factors.