Nationalism is a political and ideological tradition that gives particular importance to the nation and holds that the nation should have political significance, usually through some form of self government, collective political identity or national sovereignty. The term nation can refer to a population understood as sharing political, cultural, historical, linguistic, territorial or other forms of collective identity, and nationalist theories differ over which characteristics are essential. Nationalism therefore does not have one universal definition or one fixed political programme.
Some forms emphasise independence from foreign rule, some seek to consolidate an existing nation state, some emphasise cultural preservation, and others seek political equality among citizens through a shared national identity. The concept became especially influential during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries alongside state building, mass politics, imperial decline and the spread of popular sovereignty.
A central nationalist claim is that the nation constitutes an important community of political obligation. Nationalists may argue that people who share a national identity have special reasons to govern themselves together and to preserve institutions associated with their collective identity. This can produce demands for independence, autonomy, national unification or protection of cultural institutions. Nationalism therefore connects identity with political authority.
However, nationalist theories differ over whether nations are primarily cultural communities that exist before states, political communities created through citizenship, or historically constructed identities shaped by institutions and collective memory. Modern scholarship generally treats nations as historically and politically complex rather than assuming that every nation possesses one timeless ethnic or cultural essence.
Nationalism has several major varieties, including civic nationalism, ethnic nationalism, liberal nationalism, conservative nationalism, anti colonial nationalism, religious nationalism, pan nationalism and state nationalism. These categories overlap and are contested. Civic nationalism emphasises citizenship and political membership, whereas ethnic nationalism gives greater importance to ancestry, ethnicity, language or inherited cultural identity. Liberal nationalism attempts to reconcile national identity with liberal rights and democratic institutions, while conservative nationalism places greater emphasis on inherited national traditions and continuity.
Anti colonial nationalism has historically used national identity as a basis for resistance to foreign domination. These distinctions matter because the political consequences of nationalism depend heavily on how membership is defined, what institutions are defended and how the nation is related to minorities and outsiders.
Nationalism has a complex historical relationship with the modern state. In some cases nationalist movements attempted to create states that corresponded more closely to existing national identities, while in other cases states actively constructed national identities through education, military service, language policy, symbols, citizenship law and public rituals. This means that the relationship between nation and state can operate in both directions. National movements can demand statehood, while established states can cultivate national solidarity.
Nationalism can consequently support territorial integration and political participation, but it can also create conflicts where several national identities claim the same territory or where minorities are excluded from the dominant conception of the nation. The political significance of nationalism therefore depends heavily on how national membership and territorial sovereignty are defined.
Nationalism also concerns sovereignty. A nationalist argument commonly holds that political authority should ultimately be accountable to the national community rather than being imposed by an external empire or foreign power. This principle became particularly significant in anti colonial movements, where national self determination was used to challenge imperial rule. In established states, nationalism can instead support policies intended to preserve national sovereignty against external institutions or international pressures. National sovereignty does not necessarily require isolation from international cooperation. Nationalist movements can accept treaties, international organisations and economic interdependence while insisting that ultimate political legitimacy remains rooted in the nation. Consequently, nationalism and internationalism can coexist in different forms, even though nationalist politics often emphasises the political importance of national self government.
Nationalism can also generate solidarity and redistribution because citizens may be more willing to regard one another as members of a shared political community. Liberal nationalist theorists have argued that national identity can help sustain democratic institutions and support for welfare policies by providing a common basis for social trust and reciprocal obligation.
However, the empirical relationship between national identity, trust and redistribution is contested, and philosophical critics argue that nationalism can conflict with universal principles of equal concern for all human beings. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that liberal nationalist arguments and their critics disagree over whether national identity is necessary for solidarity and whether privileging citizens is compatible with universal moral equality. These disputes show that nationalism involves both descriptive claims about political communities and normative claims about who owes what to whom.
Nationalism is frequently confused with patriotism, but the concepts are not identical. Patriotism generally denotes attachment to one's country or political community, whereas nationalism normally contains a stronger political claim about the importance of the nation, national self determination or national sovereignty. Nationalism is also not inherently equivalent to ethnic politics, because civic and liberal nationalisms explicitly attempt to define national membership through citizenship or shared political principles rather than ancestry. Conversely, nationalism is not inherently democratic, liberal or peaceful. Historical nationalist movements have operated under democratic, authoritarian, anti colonial, socialist, conservative and other political frameworks. The term therefore requires qualification whenever precise political analysis is intended.
Contemporary nationalism remains important in debates concerning immigration, citizenship, language, territorial sovereignty, minority rights, European integration, globalisation, secession, constitutional identity and international relations. Its political effects depend substantially on the conception of the nation being used and on whether membership is open or exclusionary. Liberal nationalism seeks forms of national identity compatible with individual rights and pluralism, while conservative nationalism tends to place greater authority on inherited national identity and continuity.
Scholars also debate whether purely civic nationalism is possible in practice because national identities can contain historical, cultural and emotional elements beyond formal citizenship. Nationalism should therefore be understood as a family of doctrines concerning the political significance of national membership rather than as one uniform ideology with a predetermined policy agenda.
