National revival

National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic.^{[citation needed]} In the history of Europe, national revivals are most commonly associated with the period of romantic nationalism that started in the 18th and 19th centuries.^{[citation needed]}

The classic definition is by Miroslav Hroch, who wrote that national revivals take place within a "nondominant ethnic group" characterized by lack of "'its own' nobility or ruling classes," possessing no state and with a "literary tradition in its own language" that is "incomplete or interrupted." A national revival begins when a group of educated members of such an "ethnic community" conclude that their group is a "nation" that needs to be "awakened, revived, and made aware," and to achieve recognition from other nations. This educated group then initiates a "national movement" which entails, "purposeful activity aimed at achieving all the attributes of a fully formed nation."^[1]

In The Dynamics of Cultural Nationalism: The Gaelic Revival and the Creation of the Irish Nation State, (2003), John Hutchinson argues that a national revival can serve as a focus for nationalist activity in lieu of opportunities for political or military movement toward autonomy.^[2]

Examples

Antiquity

Maccabees

Middle Ages

Shu'ubiyya

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

References

^ Hroch, Miroslav (2000). "Preface". Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups Among the Smaller European Nations. Columbia University Press. pp. XI–XIII. ISBN 9780231117715.
^ White, Timothy J. (1999). "Where myth and reality meet: Irish nationalism in the first half of the twentieth century". The European Legacy. 4 (4): 49–57.
^ Filc, Dani; Lebel, Udi (2020). "Remember to be Jewish: Religious Populism in Israel". Politics and Religion. Cambridge University Press. National revival implied a break with the past and the attempt to replace Judaism ... with Jewishness, a modern identity.
^ Eck, Diana L. "Zionism and Israel". The Pluralism Project. Harvard University. Retrieved 29 June 2026. Zionism became the modern coinage for the new politics of Jewish national revival.
^ Kornberg, Jacques (2023). "On Theodor Herzl's encounters with Zionist thought and efforts" (PDF). Herzl Institute for the Study of Zionism. University of Haifa. the Jewish national revival first coalesced as a movement in what we know as Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) and the First Aliyah
^ Kohn, Hans (1962). "Ahad Ha'am: Nationalist with a Difference — A Zionism to Fulfill Judaism". Commentary. in his emphasis on the moral and spiritual aspects of the national revival, Ahad Ha'am found himself increasingly opposed to ... Zionism as an essentially political movement
^ Eichler, William (June 2023). "Herzl's Troubled Dream: The Origins of Zionism". History Today. 73 (6). Zionism was now an organised movement of national liberation, although Herzl's premature death in 1904 would mean he would not witness its fruits.
^ Don-Yehiya, Eliezer (1998). "Zionism in Retrospective". Israel Studies. Project MUSE / Indiana University Press. With the establishment of a sovereign Jewish state, Zionism succeeded in achieving the most important goal that it set for itself as a movement of national liberation

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[1] Hroch, Miroslav (2000). "Preface". Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups Among the Smaller European Nations. Columbia University Press. pp. XI–XIII. ISBN 9780231117715.

[2] White, Timothy J. (1999). "Where myth and reality meet: Irish nationalism in the first half of the twentieth century". The European Legacy. 4 (4): 49–57.

[3] Filc, Dani; Lebel, Udi (2020). "Remember to be Jewish: Religious Populism in Israel". Politics and Religion. Cambridge University Press. National revival implied a break with the past and the attempt to replace Judaism ... with Jewishness, a modern identity.

[4] Eck, Diana L. "Zionism and Israel". The Pluralism Project. Harvard University. Retrieved 29 June 2026. Zionism became the modern coinage for the new politics of Jewish national revival.

[5] Kornberg, Jacques (2023). "On Theodor Herzl's encounters with Zionist thought and efforts" (PDF). Herzl Institute for the Study of Zionism. University of Haifa. the Jewish national revival first coalesced as a movement in what we know as Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) and the First Aliyah

[6] Kohn, Hans (1962). "Ahad Ha'am: Nationalist with a Difference — A Zionism to Fulfill Judaism". Commentary. in his emphasis on the moral and spiritual aspects of the national revival, Ahad Ha'am found himself increasingly opposed to ... Zionism as an essentially political movement

[7] Eichler, William (June 2023). "Herzl's Troubled Dream: The Origins of Zionism". History Today. 73 (6). Zionism was now an organised movement of national liberation, although Herzl's premature death in 1904 would mean he would not witness its fruits.

[8] Don-Yehiya, Eliezer (1998). "Zionism in Retrospective". Israel Studies. Project MUSE / Indiana University Press. With the establishment of a sovereign Jewish state, Zionism succeeded in achieving the most important goal that it set for itself as a movement of national liberation

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