Types of nationalism

Among scholars of nationalism, a number of types of nationalism have been presented. Nationalism may manifest itself as part of official state ideology or as a popular non-state movement and may be expressed along civic, ethnic, language, religious or ideological lines. These self-definitions of the nation are used to classify types of nationalism, but such categories are not mutually exclusive and many nationalist movements combine some or all of these elements to varying degrees. Nationalist movements can also be classified by other criteria, such as scale and location.

Some political theorists, like Umut Özkirimli, make the case that any distinction between forms of nationalism is false.^[1] In all forms of nationalism, the populations believe that they share some kind of common culture.^[2] Arguably, all types of nationalism merely refer to different ways academics throughout the years have tried to define nationalism.^{[citation needed]} Similarly, Yael Tamir has argued that the differences between the oft-dichotomized ethnic and civic nationalism are blurred.^[3]

Ethnic nationalism

Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism,^[4] is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity,^[5][6] with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various political issues related to national affirmation of a particular ethnic group.^[7][8]

The central tenet of ethnic nationalists is that "nations are defined by a shared heritage, which usually includes a common language, a common faith, and a common ethnic ancestry".^[9] Those of other ethnicities may be classified as second-class citizens.^[10][11]

Ethnic nationalism was traditionally the determinant type of nationalism in Eastern Europe.^[12]

Expansionist nationalism

Expansionist nationalism^[13] is an aggressive radical form of nationalism or ethnic nationalism (ethnonationalism) that incorporates autonomous, heightened ethnic consciousness and patriotic sentiments with atavistic fears and hatreds focused on "other" or foreign peoples, framing a belief in expansion or recovery of formerly owned territories through militaristic means.^[14][15][16]

Romantic nationalism

Romantic nationalism, also known as organic nationalism and identity nationalism, is the form of ethnic nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy as a natural ("organic") consequence and expression of the nation, race, or ethnicity. It reflected the ideals of Romanticism and was opposed to Enlightenment rationalism. Romantic nationalism emphasized a historical ethnic culture which meets the Romantic Ideal; folklore developed as a Romantic nationalist concept. The Brothers Grimm were inspired by Herder's writings to create an idealized collection of tales which they labeled as ethnically German. Historian Jules Michelet exemplifies French romantic-nationalist history.

Liberal ethnonationalism

Generally, "liberal nationalism" is used in a similar sense to "civic nationalism"; liberal nationalism is a kind of nationalism defended recently by political philosophers who believe that there can be a non-xenophobic form of nationalism compatible with liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights.^[17] However, not all "liberal nationalism" is always "civic nationalism"; there are also liberals who advocate moderate nationalism that affirm ethnic identity, it is also called "liberal ethno-nationalism".^[18]

Xenophobic movements in long-established Western European states indeed often took a 'civic national' form, rejecting a given group's ability to assimilate with the nation due to its belonging to a cross-border community (Irish Catholics in Britain, Ashkenazic Jews in France). On the other hand, while liberal subnational separatist movements were commonly associated with ethnic nationalism; such nationalists as the Corsican Republic, United Irishmen, Breton Federalist League or Catalan Republican Party could combine a rejection of the unitary civic-national state with a belief in liberal universalism.

During Taiwan's KMT one-party dictatorship, the Kuomintang (KMT) defended Chinese state nationalism, in opposition to which liberal/progressives, including the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), defended Taiwanese-based "liberal [ethnic] nationalism" (自由民族主義).^[18] South Korea prioritized South Korean-based "state nationalism" (국가주의) over Korean ethnic nationalism during the right-wing dictatorship, in response, political liberals and leftists defended "liberal [ethnic] nationalism" (자유민족주의),^[19] a moderate version of Korean ethnic nationalism. Even today, major left-liberal and progressive nationalists in Taiwan and South Korea advocate anti-imperialistic minzu-based nationalism (民族主義) and are critical of right-wing state nationalism (國家主義).^[20][21]

In 19th century Europe, liberal movements often affirmed ethnic nationalism in the modern sense along with to topple classical conservatism; István Széchenyi was a representative liberal ethnic nationalist.^[22]

Left-wing ethnonationalism

Main article: Left-wing nationalism § Social ethno-nationalism

While left-wing nationalism has a weaker ethnic nationalist component than right-wing nationalism, but some national liberation movements have also combined with ethnic nationalism; Northeast Asia and Vietnam's "national liberation" (民族解放, Minzu jiefang) are representative.

Civic nationalism

Civic nationalism, sometimes known as democratic nationalism and liberal nationalism, is a political identity built around shared citizenship within the state, with emphasis on political institutions and liberal principles, which its citizens pledge to uphold. It aims to adhere to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights, and is not based on ethnocentrism.^[23][24] Civic nationalists often defend the value of national identity by arguing that individuals need it as a partial shared aspect of their identity in order to lead meaningful, autonomous lives^[25] and that democratic polities need a national identity to function properly.^[26]

Membership in the civic nation is open to every person by citizenship, regardless of culture or ethnicity; those who share these values can be considered members of the nation.^[27] In theory, a civic nation or state does not aim to promote one culture over another.^[27] German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has argued that immigrants to a liberal-democratic state need not assimilate into the host culture but only accept the principles of the country's constitution (constitutional patriotism).^[27]

Donald Ipperciel argues civic nationalism historically was a determining factor in the development of modern constitutional and democratic state.^[28] The 20th-century revival of civic nationalism played a key role in the ideological war against racism.^[29] However, as the Turkish political scientist Umut Özkirimli states, "civic" nations can be as intolerant and cruel as the so-called "ethnic" nations, citing French Jacobin techniques of persecution that were utilized by 20th-century fascists.^[30]

State nationalism

State nationalism, state-based nationalism, state-led nationalism,^[31] or "statism" (Chinese: 國家主義) equates 'state identity' with 'national identity' and values state authority. State nationalism is classified as civic nationalism by the dichotomy that divides nationalism into "civic" and "ethnic",^[32][33][34] but it is not necessarily liberal and has something to do with authoritarian politics. Soviet nationalism, Shōwa Statism, Kemalism,^[35] Francoism,^[34] and Communist-led Chinese state nationalism^[32] are classified as state nationalism.

Ideological nationalism

Revolutionary nationalism

Revolutionary nationalism is a broad label that has been applied to many different types of nationalist political movements that wish to achieve their goals through a revolution against the established order. Individuals and organizations described as being revolutionary nationalist include some political currents within the French Revolution,^[36] Irish republicans engaged in armed struggle against the British crown,^[37] the Can Vuong movement against French rule in 19th century Vietnam,^[38] the Indian independence movement in the 20th century,^[39] some participants in the Mexican Revolution,^[40] Benito Mussolini and the Italian Fascists,^[41] the Autonomous Government of Khorasan,^[42] Augusto Cesar Sandino, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement in Bolivia,^[43] black nationalism in the United States,^[44] and some African independence movements.^[45]

Liberation nationalism

Many nationalist movements in the world are dedicated to national liberation in the view that their nations are being persecuted by other nations and thus need to exercise self-determination by liberating themselves from the accused persecutors. Anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninism is closely tied with this ideology, and practical examples include Stalin's early work Marxism and the National Question and his Socialism in One Country edict, which declares that nationalism can be used in an internationalist context i.e. fighting for national liberation without racial or religious divisions.

Left-wing nationalism

Left-wing nationalism, also occasionally known as socialist nationalism,^[46] refers to any political movement that combines left-wing politics or socialism with nationalism. Notable examples include Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement that launched the Cuban Revolution that ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Ireland's Sinn Féin, Labor Zionism in Israel and the African National Congress in South Africa.

Schools of anarchism which acknowledge nationalism

Main article: Anarchism and nationalism

Anarchists who see value in nationalism typically argue that a nation is first and foremost a people; that the state is parasite upon the nation and should not be confused with it; and that since in reality states rarely coincide with national entities, the ideal of the nation state is actually little more than a myth. Within the European Union, for instance, they argue there are over 500 ethnic nations^[47] within the 25 member states, and even more in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Moving from this position, they argue that the achievement of meaningful self-determination for all of the world's nations requires an anarchist political system based on local control, free federation, and mutual aid. There has been a long history of anarchist involvement with left-nationalism all over the world. Contemporary fusions of anarchism with anti-state left-nationalism include some strains of Black anarchism and indigenism.

In the early to mid 19th century Europe, the ideas of nationalism, socialism, and liberalism were closely intertwined. Revolutionaries and radicals like Giuseppe Mazzini aligned with all three in about equal measure.^[48] The early pioneers of anarchism participated in the spirit of their times: they had much in common with both liberals and socialists, and they shared much of the outlook of early nationalism as well. Thus Mikhail Bakunin had a long career as a pan-Slavic nationalist before adopting anarchism. He also agitated for a United States of Europe (a contemporary nationalist vision originated by Mazzini).^[49] In 1880–1881, the Boston-based Irish nationalist W. G. H. Smart wrote articles for a magazine called The Anarchist.^[50] Similarly, anarchists in China during the early part of the 20th century were very much involved in the left-wing of the nationalist movement while actively opposing racist elements of the anti-Manchu wing of that movement.

Pan-nationalism

Pan-nationalism is usually an ethnic and cultural nationalism, but the 'nation' is itself a cluster of related ethnic groups and cultures, such as Slavic peoples. Occasionally pan-nationalism is applied to mono-ethnic nationalism, when the national group is dispersed over a wide area and several states - as in Pan-Germanism.

Religious nationalism

Religious nationalism is the relationship of nationalism to a particular religious belief, church, Hindu temple or affiliation. This relationship can be broken down into two aspects; the politicization of religion and the converse influence of religion on politics. In the former aspect, a shared religion can be seen to contribute to a sense of national unity, by the citizens of the nation. Another political aspect of religion is the support of a national identity, similar to a shared ethnicity, language or culture. The influence of religion on politics is more ideological, where current interpretations of religious ideas inspire political activism and action; for example, laws are passed to foster stricter religious adherence.^[51] Hindu nationalism is common in many states and union territories in India which joined the union of India solely on the basis of religion and post-colonial nationalism.

Post-colonial nationalism

Since the process of decolonisation that occurred after World War II, there has been a rise of Third World nationalisms. Third world nationalisms occur in those nations that have been colonized and exploited. The nationalisms of these nations were forged in a furnace that required resistance to colonial domination in order to survive. As such, resistance is part and parcel of such nationalisms and their very existence is a form of resistance to imperialist intrusions. Third World nationalism attempts to ensure that the identities of Third World peoples are authored primarily by themselves, not colonial powers.^[52]

Examples of third world nationalist ideologies are African nationalism and Arab nationalism. Other important nationalist movements in the developing world have included the ideas of the Mexican Revolution and Haitian Revolution. Third world nationalist ideas have been particularly influential among governments elected in South America.

Multi-ethnic nationalism

Multi-ethnic nationalism is often confused with civic nationalism. However, some multi-ethnic nationalism tends to embrace multi-ethnic elements without embracing the core elements of civic nationalism.

Chinese nationalism is a representative multi-ethnic nationalism. The concept of "Zhonghua minzu" ("Chinese ethnicity") includes many indigenous minorities in China who already live on Chinese territory, but does not include immigrants who are not part of the traditional Chinese ethnic group (ex, Japanese Chinese, European Chinese, African Chinese, etc). Therefore, Chinese nationalism is multi-ethnic nationalism, but it is distinct from civic nationalism. Taiwanese nationalism^[53] and India's composite nationalism is also considered a multi-ethnic nationalism.

Diaspora nationalism

Diaspora nationalism, or as Benedict Anderson terms it, "long-distance nationalism", generally refers to nationalist feeling among a diaspora such as the Irish in the United States, Jews around the world after the expulsion from Jerusalem (586 BCE), the Lebanese in the Americas and Africa, or Armenians in Europe and the United States.^[54] Anderson states that this sort of nationalism acts as a "phantom bedrock" for people who want to experience a national connection, but who do not actually want to leave their diaspora community. The essential difference between pan-nationalism and diaspora nationalism is that members of a diaspora, by definition, are no longer resident in their national or ethnic homeland. In some instances, 'Diaspora' refers to a dispersal of a people from a (real or imagined) 'homeland' due to a cataclysmic disruption, such as war, famine, etc. New networks - new 'roots' - form along the 'routes' travelled by diasporic people, who are connected by a shared desire to return 'home'. In reality, the desire to return may be eschatological (i.e. end times orientation), or may not occur in any foreseeable future, but the longing for the lost homeland and the sense of difference from circumambient cultures in which Diasporic people live becomes an identity unto itself.

See also

• Anti-nationalism
• Integral nationalism
• Postnationalism
• Jingoism

Notes

1. Umut Özkirimli, Umut. (2005). "Chapter 2: What is Nationalism?; A critique of the ethnic-civic distinction". Contemporary Debates on Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 24–25.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link).
2. Umut Özkirimli, Umut. (2005). "Chapter 2: What is Nationalism?; A critique of the ethnic-civic distinction". Contemporary Debates on Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 24–25.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. Tamir, Yael (Yuli) (2019). "Not So Civic: Is There a Difference Between Ethnic and Civic Nationalism?". Annual Review of Political Science. 22 (1): 419–434. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-022018-024059. ISSN 1094-2939.
4. Leoussi 2001, p. 81-84. sfn error: no target: CITEREFLeoussi2001 (help)
5. Smith 1987, p. 134-138, 144–149. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSmith1987 (help)
6. Smith 2009, p. 61-80. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSmith2009 (help)
7. Smith 1981, p. 18. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSmith1981 (help)
8. Roshwald 2001. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRoshwald2001 (help)
9. Muller 2008. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMuller2008 (help)
10. Rangelov 2013. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRangelov2013 (help)
11. Yilmaz 2018. sfn error: no target: CITEREFYilmaz2018 (help)
12. Andrea Friedli; Aline Gohard-Radenkovic; Francois Ruegg (2017). Nation-Building and Identities in Post-Soviet Societies: New Challenges for Social Sciences Volume 47 of Freiburg Studies in Social Anthropology/Freiburger Sozialanthropologische Studien Series Freiburg Studies in Social Anthropology/ Freiburger Sozialanthropologische Studien Volume 47 of Freiburger Sozialanthropologische Studien. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 75. ISBN 9783643802187.
13. Salih Bicakcic (2011). "Vol.2, Part V: Political Thought; Chapter 74: Nationalism". In Ishiyama, John T.; Breuning, Marijke (eds.). 21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook. SAGE. pp. 633–638. ISBN 9781412969017. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
14. Heywood, Andrew (2017). "Chapter 6: Nationalism; 6.4.3.: Expansionist Nationalism". Political Ideologies: An Introduction (6th ed.). PALGRAVE; Macmillan International Higher Education. pp. 176–187. ISBN 9781137606044. Retrieved 19 April 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
15. Heywood, Andrew (2015). "Chapter 4 Sovereignty, the Nation and Transnationalism; 4.1. Nationalism". Political Theory: An Introduction. Macmillan International Higher Education. pp. 95–99. ISBN 9781137437280. Retrieved 19 April 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
16. "Nationalism Theory - Politics A-Level - Revision World". revisionworld.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
17. Yael Tamir. 1993. Liberal Nationalism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-07893-9; Will Kymlicka. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-827949-3; David Miller. 1995. On Nationality. 2000-06-01 at the Wayback Machine Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-828047-5.
18. Glenn Drover; Graham Johnson; Julia Lai Po-Wah Tao (2001). Regionalism and Subregionalism in East Asia: The Dynamics of China. Nova Science. p. 101. In response to the rise of 'liberal ethno-nationalism' and the DPP, it has increasingly promoted the discourse and practices of a 'Taiwanized' KMT.
19. Kim, Hee-sun (2007). "Musical Representation of Nationalism in Contemporary South Korea" 민족주의의 음악적 표상: 한국 전통 음악 담론과 연행에서 민족주의 [Musical Representation of Nationalism in Contemporary South Korea]. 동양음악(Journal of the Asian Music Research Institute) 동양음악 [Journal of the Asian Music Research Institute]. 29: 165–194. hdl:10371/87889. ISSN 1975-0218.
20. Stuart Whigham (8 February 2024). Sport and Nationalism: Theoretical Perspectives. Taylor & Francis. p. 170.
21. Baogang He (8 July 2015). Governing Taiwan and Tibet: Democratic Approaches. Edinburgh University Press. p. 81.
22. Mark Hewitson; Timothy Baycroft (2001). What Is a Nation?; Europe 1789-1914. OUP Oxford. p. 180. The shifting of ground in the Magyar case from the 'estate nationalism' of the 1790s to the liberal-ethnic nationalism of the 1840s can be followed in the 'national road' trodden by Count István Széchenyi where liberal and romantic were combined.
23. Auer, Stefan (2004). Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe. Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 1134378602. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
24. Tamir, Yael. 1993. Liberal Nationalism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-07893-9^{[page needed]}; Will Kymlicka. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-827949-3^{[page needed]}; David Miller. 1995. On Nationality. 1 June 2000 at the Wayback Machine Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-828047-5.
25. Kymlicka, Will. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-827949-3. For criticism, see: Patten, Alan. 1999. "The Autonomy Argument for Liberal Nationalism." Nations and Nationalism. 5(1): 1-17.
26. Miller, David. 1995. On Nationality. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-828047-5. For criticism, see: Abizadeh, Arash. 2002. "Does Liberal Democracy Presuppose a Cultural Nation? Four Arguments." American Political Science Review 96 (3): 495-509; Abizadeh, Arash. 2004. "Liberal Nationalist versus Postnational Social Integration." Nations and Nationalism 10(3): 231-250.
27. ANNA STILZ. "Civic Nationalism and Language Policy". Philosophy & Public Affairs. 37 (3): 257.
28. Ipperciel, Donald (2007). "Constitutional democracy and civic nationalism". Nations and Nationalism. 13 (3). Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism: 395–416. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8129.2007.00293.x. ISSN 1469-8129.
29. Nancy Foner; Patric Simon (2015). Fear, Anxiety, and National Identity Immigration and Belonging in North America and Western Europe. Russell Sage Foundation. p. 38. ISBN 9781610448536.
30. Özkirimli, Umut (2005). Contemporary Debates on Nationalism: A Critical Introduction (1st ed.). London: Red Globe Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN 9780333947739.
31. Liu Li; Fan Hong (14 July 2017). The National Games and National Identity in China. Taylor & Francis. p. 4.
32. Mohammad Ateeque. Identity Conscience Nationalism and Internationalism. Educreation Publishing. p. 52.
33. Jacob T. Levy (2000). The Multiculturalism of Fear. OUP Oxford. p. 87.
34. J. C. Chatturvedi (2005). Political Governance: Political theory. Isha Books. p. 75.
35. Cengiz Gunes (2020). The Political Representation of Kurds in Turkey: New Actors and Modes of Participation in a Changing Society. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 6.
36. David A. Bell, "Lingua Populi, Lingua Dei: Language, Religion, and the Origins of French Revolutionary Nationalism" in The American Historical Review, Dec. 1995, Vol. 100, No. 5, p. 1436
37. Brian Jenkins, Irish Nationalism and the British State: From Repeal to Revolutionary Nationalism, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006, p. 255
38. David L. Anderson, edit., The Columbia History of the Vietnam War, Columbia University Press, 2017, chapter: "Setting the Stage: Vietnamese Revolutionary Nationalism and the First Vietnam War," Mark Philip Bradley, p. 96-97
39. L.N. Rana, "Revolutionary Nationalism in Jharkhand" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 2000-2001, Vol. 61, Part One, p. 718
40. Robert F. Alegre, Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory, University of Nebraska Press, 2014, chapter: "'The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails': Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War," p. 29
41. A. James Gregor, Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism, University of California Press, 1979, p. 99
42. Stephanie Cronin, "An Experiment in Revolutionary Nationalism: The Rebellion of Colonel Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan in Mashhad, April-October 1921" in Middle Eastern Studies, Oct. 1997, Vol. 33, No. 4, p. 693
43. Christian Anglade, Carlos Fortin, edit., The State and Capital Accumulation in Latin America, Vol. 2, Palgrave Macmillan, 1990, chapter: "Capital Accumulation and Revolutionary Nationalism in Bolivia, 1952-85," Winston Moore Casanovas, p. 32
44. Akinyele Omowale Umoja, We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement, NYU Press, 2013, chapter: "'Black Revolution Has Come': Armed Insurgency, Black Power, and Revolutionary Nationalism in the Mississippi Freedom Struggle," p. 173
45. Basil Davidson, "On Revolutionary Nationalism: The Legacy of Cabral" in Latin American Perspectives, Spring, 1984, Vol. 11, No. 2
46. Political Science, Volume 35, Issue 2; Class and Nation: Problems of Socialist Nationalism
47. Eurominority (in English) 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
48. Hearder (1966), p. 46-47, 50.
49. Robert Knowles. "Anarchist Notions of Nationalism and Patriotism" 2007-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
50. The Raven, No. 6.
51. Juergensmeyer, Mark. "The Worldwide Rise of Religious Nationalism",Journal of International Affairs, Summer 1996, 50, 1.
52. Chatterjee, Partha. "Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World," University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0-8166-2311-2
53. Gunter Schubert; Jens Damm (2012). Taiwanese Identity in the 21st Century: Domestic, Regional and Global Perspectives. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 270. In the multi-ethnic nationalism approach, the Taiwanese nation is conceptualized as a harmonious, democratic and ...
54. Humphrey, Michael. 2004. Lebanese identities: between cities, nations and trans-nations. Arab Studies Quarterly, Winter 2004.