nationalism

(noun)

A belief, creed or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming attached to, one's nation. In Europe people were generally loyal to the church or to a local king or leader.

Related Terms

Examples of nationalism in the following topics:

  • The National Convention

  • The Indian National Congress

  • The League of Nations

  • The National Revolutionary Party

  • Introduction to Nation-States

    • In legal terms, many nation states today accept specific minorities as being part of the nation, which generally implies that members of minorities are citizens of a given nation state and enjoy the same rights and liberties as members of the majority nation.
    • However, nationalists and, consequently, symbolic narratives of the origins and history of nation states often continue to exclude minorities from the nation state and the nation.
    • First, "Which came first, the nation or the nation state?"
    • Nation states use the state as an instrument of national unity, in economic, social, and cultural life.
    • The most obvious impact of the nation state, as compared to its non-national predecessors, is the creation of a uniform national culture through state policy.

  • Establishment of the National Assembly

  • National Reorganization and the Dirty War

  • Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress

  • Historical Bias

    • His Essay on Customs traced the progress of world civilization in a universal context, thereby rejecting both nationalism and the traditional Christian frame of reference.
    • From the origins of national mass schooling systems in the 19th century, the teaching of history to promote national sentiment has been a high priority.
    • Until today, in most countries history textbook are tools to foster nationalism and patriotism and promote the most favorable version of national history.
    • In many countries history textbooks are sponsored by the national government and are written to put the national heritage in the most favorable light although academic historians have often fought against the politicization of the textbooks, sometimes with success.
    • As such, it is also not free from both national (U.S.) and individual (authors') biases.

  • France and Cardinal Richelieu

    • The clergy, nobility, and high bourgeoisie were either exempt or could easily avoid payment, so the burden fell on the poorest segment of the nation.
    • Richelieu was instrumental in redirecting the Thirty Years' War from the conflict of Protestantism versus Catholicism to that of nationalism versus Habsburg hegemony.
    • Earlier, the nation's political structure was largely feudal, with powerful nobles and a wide variety of laws in different regions.
    • Local and even religious interests were now subordinated to those of the whole nation and of the embodiment of the nation — the King.
    • Moreover, Louis took advantage of his nation's success during the Thirty Years' War to establish French hegemony in continental Europe.