Nationalism

Nationalism

What is Nationalism?

Nationalism is the belief that the nation is the central unit of political organisation and that each nation has the right to self-determination — to govern itself, typically through its own sovereign state. It is both a political ideology and a powerful emotional force that has shaped the modern world.

Key Concepts

• Nation: a group of people who share a common identity — typically based on language, culture, history, ethnicity, or shared political values. A nation is an "imagined community" (Benedict Anderson, 1983) — members will never meet most of their fellow nationals, yet they feel a deep sense of belonging.
• State: a political entity with sovereignty over a defined territory, a permanent population, and a monopoly on legitimate force. States and nations do not always coincide (e.g. the Kurdish nation spans four states).
• Nation-state: a state whose borders coincide with the boundaries of a single nation. The ideal of nationalism, though rare in practice (most states contain multiple nations or ethnic groups).
• Self-determination: the right of a nation to govern itself, free from external domination. Championed by Woodrow Wilson after World War I and enshrined in the UN Charter.
• Sovereignty: supreme authority within a territory. Nationalists demand that sovereignty rests with the nation.

Types of Nationalism

1. Liberal Nationalism

Liberal nationalism emerged in the 19th century alongside the struggle against absolute monarchy and empire. It combines nationalism with liberal principles: constitutionalism, democracy, and individual rights.

Key ideas:

• Each nation has the right to self-determination and self-governance
• Nations should be organised as constitutional, democratic states
• Nationalism is a progressive, liberating force — freeing peoples from imperial domination
• International order should be based on a community of equal, sovereign nations cooperating peacefully
• Nations are defined by civic identity (shared values, citizenship) rather than ethnicity

Key thinker: Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872)

• Italian nationalist who campaigned for the unification of Italy (the Risorgimento)
• Believed that nations were created by God and that each had a unique mission to contribute to humanity
• Nationalism and democracy were inseparable: self-governing nations would naturally cooperate in a peaceful international order
• Founded Young Italy (1831) and inspired nationalist movements across Europe
• "Without Country you have neither name, token, voice, nor rights... Do not beguile yourselves with the hope of emancipation from unjust social conditions if you do not first conquer a Country for yourselves"

Key thinker: Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)

• US President who championed national self-determination at the Paris Peace Conference (1919)
• His Fourteen Points proposed redrawing European borders along national lines and creating a League of Nations
• In practice, self-determination was applied inconsistently (denied to colonial peoples, and new borders created new minorities)

2. Conservative Nationalism

Conservative nationalism emphasises the nation as a source of social cohesion, identity, and order. It is defensive rather than liberating — protecting the existing nation rather than creating new ones.

Key ideas:

• The nation is an organic community bound by shared history, culture, language, and traditions
• National identity provides belonging and social stability in a disorienting world
• Patriotism — love of one's country — is a natural and virtuous sentiment
• Immigration, multiculturalism, and supranational institutions (EU) threaten national identity and sovereignty
• Often linked to Euroscepticism and opposition to globalisation

Key examples:

• Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970): French national sovereignty, independence from American influence, opposition to supranationalism
• Brexit: framed by supporters as reasserting British national sovereignty against EU bureaucracy
• Thatcher's nationalism: Falklands War, opposition to European federalism ("No, no, no")

3. Expansionist/Chauvinistic Nationalism

This aggressive form of nationalism asserts the superiority of one nation over others and seeks to expand national power, often through conquest.

Key features:

• Belief in national superiority or racial purity
• Militarism and glorification of war
• Expansionist foreign policy — acquiring territory, creating empires
• Often combined with authoritarianism and the suppression of minority nations
• Integral nationalism (Charles Maurras): the nation is supreme; individual rights are subordinate to national glory

Key examples:

• Nazi Germany: Aryan racial supremacy, Lebensraum ("living space"), the Holocaust
• Imperial Japan: militarist expansion across East Asia
• Mussolini's Italy: fascist nationalism, "Mare Nostrum" (Mediterranean as Italy's sea)

This is the "dark side" of nationalism — demonstrating how easily it can become exclusionary, racist, and violent.

4. Anti-Colonial and Post-Colonial Nationalism

Anti-colonial nationalism emerged in the 20th century as colonised peoples in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean fought for independence from European imperial powers.

Key ideas:

• National liberation from foreign domination is a fundamental right
• Colonial rule is illegitimate because it denies self-determination
• Often combined with socialism (the coloniser is also the capitalist exploiter)
• Nation-building after independence: creating a shared national identity from diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups
• Critique of Western universalism: liberal values were used to justify empire ("civilising mission")

Key thinkers and figures:

• Frantz Fanon (1925-1961): The Wretched of the Earth (1961) — colonialism dehumanises the colonised; violence may be necessary to liberate both the colonised and the coloniser from the colonial relationship; national consciousness must transcend narrow nationalism to become genuinely liberating
• Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948): led India's independence movement through non-violent resistance (satyagraha); combined nationalism with moral and spiritual principles
• Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972): led Ghana to independence (1957); advocated Pan-Africanism — unity across African nations to resist neo-colonialism

Civic vs Ethnic Nationalism

Civic Nationalism	Ethnic Nationalism
Nation defined by shared political values, citizenship, and institutions	Nation defined by shared ethnicity, blood, language, and culture
Inclusive: anyone can join by adopting the nation's values	Exclusive: membership depends on birth and ancestry
Associated with liberal democracy	Associated with authoritarianism and exclusion
Examples: France (republican citizenship), the USA ("American creed"), Scotland (SNP's civic nationalism)	Examples: Nazi Germany, ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, blood-and-soil nationalism

Nationalism and Globalisation

Nationalism has experienced a resurgence in the 21st century, partly as a reaction against globalisation:

• Brexit (2016): reasserting national sovereignty against EU integration
• Trump ("America First"): economic nationalism, immigration restriction, withdrawal from international agreements
• Modi's India: Hindu nationalism, assertive foreign policy
• Putin's Russia: restoration of national greatness, opposition to Western liberal order
• Rise of populist-nationalist parties across Europe (Front National/Rassemblement National in France, AfD in Germany, Vox in Spain)

Evaluation

Strengths of nationalism:

• Self-determination is a widely accepted democratic principle
• National identity provides belonging, meaning, and social cohesion
• Anti-colonial nationalism has been a liberating force for billions of people
• Democratic nation-states remain the most effective units for organising welfare, defence, and governance

Criticisms:

• Nationalism's record includes genocide, ethnic cleansing, and world wars
• The nation-state model poorly accommodates multinational states and minority nations
• Nationalism can become exclusionary: defining the nation by ethnicity rather than values
• Globalisation has created problems (climate change, pandemics, financial crises) that no single nation can solve
• Benedict Anderson's critique: nations are "imagined communities" — constructed, not natural

Exam Tips

• Be able to distinguish the four types of nationalism with specific examples and thinkers
• Mazzini (liberal nationalism) and Fanon (anti-colonial nationalism) are key thinkers
• The distinction between civic and ethnic nationalism is essential
• Link nationalism to contemporary events: Brexit, Trump, Scottish independence, Ukraine
• Evaluate whether nationalism is a progressive or regressive force — the answer depends on which type