Asa cultural and political phenomenon, a specifically ethnic nationalism and narrowly defined Afrikaner nationalism undoubtedly left its mark on twentieth-century South African history. This is about the only non controversial statement that can be made in connection with Afrikaner nationalism. There are differing interpretations concerning the origins of Afrikaner nationalism, its nature and content, the way in which it has been manufactured, and the precise correlation between Afrikaner nationalism and socio-economic developments.
It is also important that we do not see Afrikaner nationalism in isolation. In the rest of Africa, particularly from the 1950s onwards, a wave of black nationalism swept over the continent and led to the independence of many countries. Although Afrikaner nationalism differed from black nationalism in many respects, it also displayed some similar characteristics. It shared, for example, the idea that foreign powers should not be allowed to dominate local populations.
Much of the historical writing in Afrikaans dealing with Afrikaner nationalism presents it as an unproblematic concept. Afrikaner nationalism is seen, in a mechanical fashion, as the automatic outcome of South African history. The weakness in this approach is that the thing that has to be studied is accepted uncritically as a natural given entity. The result is a tautological argument with very little explanatory value - “Afrikaners are nationalistic because they are Afrikaners.”
Liberal, mainly English-speaking, historians were more critical towards Afrikaner nationalism. Ironically though, their basic point of departure did not differ much from that of their Afrikaner counterparts. They shared an acceptance of the concept of volkas well as idealistic notions of the growth of nationalism. The only substantial difference is that whereas some English speaking historians denounced nationalism, often in value-laden terms, Afrikaner historians viewed it as a positive phenomenon.
More recent studies tend to pay greater attention to the material basis of Afrikaner nationalism. Such studies tend to see it as the cultural and political product of intense propaganda. While the precise mix of material, cultural and political factors is a matter of debate, there is nevertheless a degree of consensus that something like nationalism survives because it serves a useful purpose to the people or groups that believe in it.
