Nationalism
Nationalism is the ideology that holds the nation — a group sharing common identity, culture, language, or history — as the primary unit of political loyalty, and that nations should govern themselves (national self-determination). It has been one of the most powerful political forces of the modern era, reshaping the world map, driving independence movements, and fuelling both liberation and catastrophic wars.
Nationalism is ideologically promiscuous — it attaches to any position on the left-right spectrum. There is left-wing anti-colonial nationalism (Fanon, Nehru), liberal civic nationalism (the French republican tradition), conservative cultural nationalism (Burke's "little platoons"), and far-right ethnonationalism (Nazi Germany). The common thread is the primacy of national identity; everything else varies.
Types of Nationalism
Civic Nationalism
National identity defined by shared citizenship, laws, and political values — not ethnicity or culture. In principle open to anyone who commits to the national project. The French republican tradition ("liberté, égalité, fraternité") is the paradigm. Potentially compatible with liberal democracy.
Ethnic / Cultural Nationalism
National identity defined by shared ethnicity, language, religion, or ancestry. The nation is a pre-political community of descent. Tends to exclude minorities. In its extreme form (Nazi racial nationalism) it produces genocide. German Romantic nationalism (Herder, Fichte) was an early influential form.
Anti-Colonial Nationalism
The nationalism of colonised peoples asserting the right to govern themselves. Fanon (The Wretched of the Earth), Gandhi, Nehru, Mandela, Ho Chi Minh. Draws on the same self-determination principle as European nationalism but directed against European empires. Often fused with socialism (Pan-Africanism, Ba'athism).
Economic Nationalism / Protectionism
Prioritising domestic industry and workers over global free trade. Tariffs, industrial policy, "buy local." Present across the spectrum — Trump's MAGA, Bernie Sanders' skepticism of trade deals, and post-war developmentalism in the Global South all share elements.
Historical Role
Modern nationalism emerged from the French Revolution and spread through 19th-century Europe, producing the unification of Germany and Italy and the collapse of the multi-ethnic Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires. The 20th century saw anti-colonial nationalism sweep Asia and Africa. WWI and WWII showed nationalism's catastrophic potential when combined with imperial competition and racial ideology.
Post-WWII, liberal internationalism (UN, EU, WTO) attempted to manage nationalism through international institutions. The 2010s saw a resurgence: Brexit, Trump, Orbán, Modi — all drew on nationalist sentiment against globalisation's perceived losers.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Provides the social solidarity that enables collective action and welfare states
- Self-determination is a genuine human value — people should govern themselves
- Anti-colonial nationalism freed billions from foreign domination
- National identity gives people a sense of belonging and historical rootedness
Weaknesses
- Defines national identity against outsiders — scapegoating minorities and immigrants
- Has driven two world wars and dozens of ethnic conflicts and genocides
- Economic nationalism raises costs and reduces overall welfare
- In an interdependent world, nationalist solutions to global problems (climate, pandemics) are inadequate