Nationalism

Before international soccer matches, the national anthems are played, countless fans sing along fervently at the top of their lungs, dress in their team’s colors. To be proud of one’s own country – is that in itself nationalism? Or rather an expression of pure patriotism? Where do the boundaries actually lie and what distinguishes nationalism?

Definition

The Duden defines the term nationalism as a „political attitude, out of which in an exaggerated, intolerant way size and power of one’s own state are seen as the highest values.“ (Duden 201, 673) In addition, it can be used to describe the effort to integrate political-cultural groups into a common nation-state (cf. Riescher 2005, 599).

Thus, the correlation between the two terms nationalism and nation, which are closely related, becomes clear. Nationalism can produce a nation-state or contribute to its formation, while nationalism, conversely, is an ideology that can be exploited or actively politically reinforced by representatives of the nation-state. Picking up on this idea, philosopher Ernest Gellner argues that „nationalism […] is a theory of political legitimacy [according to which] ethnic boundaries must not overlap with political ones; in particular, within a state, ethnic boundaries must not separate the rulers from the ruled.“ (Gellner 1995, 8 f.)

The German historian Dieter Langewiesche sharpened this definition even more: „According to this, nationalism is an ideology that legitimizes the disintegration and destruction of the traditional order and wants to put something new in its place – from the claim, this new, a society with an egalitarian order of values, constituted as a state with a collective, thus also egalitarian sovereign. This is the reason why nationalism historically arose as an ideology of liberation.“ (Langewiesche 1994, 14)

Nationalism as a product of modern times

Langewiesche characterizes nationalism as „a creature of modernity.“ (Langewiesche 1994, 5)

The emergence of nationalism was a consequence of the „modernization of society through industrialization“ (Landgrebe 2003, 16). Technical innovations had been a prerequisite for a specific cultural group to conceive of itself as a nation. The beginnings of this are dated to the middle of the 18th century (cf. Planert 2004, 11).

Wehler adds that nationalism „[should be] understood as an ingenious social invention [that] emerged as a response to revolutionary crises of the Western modernization process.“ (Wehler 2011, 24) Moreover, the increasingly transnational politics in times of globalization evoke the opposite development of a growing nationalism (cf. Lemke 2018, 214).

Inclusive versus exclusive nationalism

Riescher outlines a typology of nationalism that differentiates between inclusive and exclusive nationalism (cf. Riescher 2005, 599). She describes inclusive nationalism as a rather moderate national consciousness, comparable in intensity to patriotism, which has a legitimizing effect through the integration of all political-cultural groups (cf. ibid.).

In contrast, there is exclusive nationalism: This „is characterized by an exaggerated sense of value, which, in distinction to other states or nations, exaggerates one’s own nat. characteristics or regards them as superior to others.“ (ibid.) The resulting demand for homogeneity within political borders leads to an exclusion of other cultural groups and a fundamental resistance to everything foreign (cf. ibid.).

While inclusive nationalism thus has a unifying effect and can contribute to the formation of a nation-state, exclusive nationalism is characterized by a radical rejection of all groups not belonging to one’s own ethnic group.

Distinction from patriotism and chauvinism

A semantic similarity links nationalism with patriotism. These two terms are to be distinguished from each other in that the latter postulates „a feeling of belonging to a nation that is also associated with pride, but which is to be free from the disparagement of other nations“ (Jansen and Borggräfe 2007, 17). Thus, there would be no devaluation and rejection of other cultures (cf. ibid.).

Chauvinism can be regarded as an extreme form of nationalism. This refers to an „aggressively exaggerated nationalism and resulting hatred of members of other nationalities“ (Duden 2010, 249).

Characteristics of nationalism

What are the concrete characteristics of nationalism? Planert names various characteristics from a culturalist, political, and socio-historical perspective. Thus, from a culturalist perspective, nationalism is a group integration system based on a self-generated, seemingly temporally enduring cultural core, which is characterized by the distancing from otherness, by inclusion and exclusion processes, and by the modeling of specific gender roles (cf. Planert 2004, 11). The legitimation of this system is based on the creation of national myths (cf. ibid.).

From a political perspective, nationalism is limited to a specific area and evokes congruence between nation and state in this area, whose most important value is loyalty (cf. ibid.). Moreover, there is a correlation between nationalism and war (cf. ibid.). Nationalism defies existing political orders and is also characterized by a promise of participation and a dynamic of action that makes it possible to mobilize masses of people (cf. ibid.).

From a social-historical point of view, nationalist ideas develop from a certain, socially definable support class with specific interests. The articulation of these ideas leads to a creeping spread and permanent presence of national ideas over a continuous period of time (cf. ibid.). „For this expansion to occur, there must be a minimum of structural preconditions – such as a common communication and economic space or overarching institutions.“ (ibid.)

Literature

Duden (2010): The dictionary of meanings. Vol. 10. 4th ed. Berlin: Dudenverlag.

Gellner, Ernest (1995): Nationalism and modernity. Hamburg: Rotbuch.

Jansen, Christian/ Borggräfe, Henning (2007): Nation – nationality – nationalism. Frankfurt am Main: Campus.

Landgrebe, Alix (2003): „If Poland did not exist, it would have to be invented“. The Development of Polish National Consciousness in the European Context from 1830 to the 1880s. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Langewiesche, Dieter (1994): Nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries: between participation and aggression. Bonn: Research Institute of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Lemke, Christiane (2018): International relations. Basic concepts, theories, and problem areas. 4th ed. Berlin/ Boston: de Gruyter.

Planert, Ute (2004): Nation and nationalism in German history. In: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 39.

Riescher, Giesela (2005): Nationalismus. In: Nohlen, Dieter/ Schultze, Rainer-Olaf (eds.): Lexikon der Politikwissenschaft. Vol. 2. N-Z. Theory, methods, concepts. Munich: Beck, 599.

Wehler, Hans-Ulrich (2011): Nationalism. History, forms, consequences. 4th ed. Munich: Beck.