Nationalism

From RationalWiki

Nationalism is a term used for any ideology or political cause based on national consciousness and a belief in the unity of one's own nation. The nation is, contrary to popular American usage, not necessarily defined by political geography of nation states, but refers to a group of people with certain shared characteristics, usually language, history, religion, and/or ethnicity. Nationalism has traditionally been a powerful force in international relations.

The nature of nationalism depends on the context. One type of nationalism is that of an ethnic group or region, who are not recognised as a free nation, asserting their right to nationhood and demanding sovereignty. Contemporary examples of this include Irish nationalism (in northern Ireland), Basque nationalism, Kurdish nationalism and Tibetan nationalism. Some of the current states of the world, including Australia, India and the USA, owe their existence to the struggles of nationalists during colonial history, while others, such as Germany and Italy, were formed by nationalist unifications of smaller existing states.

Since the concept of nation is so fluid, nationalisms can flow and transform from one to another. For example, when Yugoslavia collapsed, and split along ethic lines, it was possible for a former Yugoslav nationalist to transfer that feeling to his smaller ethnic group. Gamal Nasser of Egypt was important in a movement that strived to create an Arab nationalism.

Other types of nationalism involve promoting the idea that one's own nation is inherently superior to other nations in its values, culture and other attributes. This form of nationalism is most associated with fascism and Nazism, and played an important part in Italian, German and Japanese aggression before and during World War II. It is also strongly associated with racism, and the word "nationalist" continues to carry these connotations. In the English speaking world, few people would describe themself as a nationalist, and those few are usually also associated with racialism, whereas the word "patriot" or "patriotism" are more readily used in terms of positive sentiments about one's country.

Politically, nationalists tend to be rather conservative, as they seek to reconnect with the "old ways" of their people. However, especially in East Asia, there have been many liberal nationalists, who felt that their nation could only survive by making drastic changes in the social and political systems.