Nationalism
Ideology · Late 18th century onward, worldwide · Politics, stage 2: Map the ideologies
Nationalism holds that humanity is divided into nations, that a nation is entitled to govern itself, and that political boundaries should as far as possible match national ones. Its advocates argue that a shared language, history and culture make democratic self-rule and mutual sacrifice possible, and that national self-determination has been the main instrument by which colonised and subject peoples secured political standing. Theorists distinguish civic nationalism, where membership rests on shared institutions and willingness to take part, from ethnic nationalism, where it rests on descent, though actual movements usually mix the two. Critics argue that nations are far more recently constructed than nationalists claim, that the doctrine has no good answer for minorities living inside a national territory, and that its historical record includes expulsion and worse. Rousseau's constitutional writings for Poland and Corsica, which treat shared customs and civic ritual as what holds a self-governing people together, are an early source, though the doctrine took its modern shape after his death.
What it claims
- Nations are real communities with a claim to govern themselves.
- Political and national boundaries should coincide as far as is practicable.
- Shared identity underwrites the trust and sacrifice that self-government requires.
Key ideas
People
Sources
- Nationalism Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Nationalism Wikipedia
