Nationalism Document

Department of Commerce Jinnah University for Women
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JINNAH UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
TOPIC
Nationalism
GROUP MEMBERS
Amna Naeem
Muniba Sohail
Romeesa Khalid
Sabeela Ali
Wajiha Muhammad Ismail
DEGREE PROGRAM
BS/ADP-Commerce (II)
COURSE TITLE
International Relations
COURSE CODE
SSC-2082
SUBMISSION DATE
Dec 23, 2020
SUBMITTED TO
Miss Mehwish D. Zia

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Table of Contents
Definition...........................................................................................................................................4
Introductions......................................................................................................................................4
History of Nationalism ........................................................................................................................5
19th century...................................................................................................................................6
21st century ...................................................................................................................................7
Types of Nationalism ........................................................................................................................10
1. Ethnic Nationalism ....................................................................................................................11
2. Civic Nationalism.......................................................................................................................11
3. Expansionist Nationalism...........................................................................................................11
4. Romantic Nationalism ...............................................................................................................12
5. Cultural Nationalism..................................................................................................................12
6. RevolutionaryNationalism.........................................................................................................12
7. Post-Colonial Nationalism..........................................................................................................13
8. Liberation Nationalism ..............................................................................................................13
9. Left-Wing Nationalism...............................................................................................................14
10. Religious Nationalism ..............................................................................................................14
Why is nationalism important?..........................................................................................................14
CULTURAL NATIONALISM..................................................................................................................16
EXPLAINING THE EXCLUSIVENESS OF NATIONAL CULTURES.............................................................21
Advantages of Nationalism................................................................................................................24
People may be better able to identify with their culture..................................................................24
May promote solidarity.................................................................................................................24
Patriotism may give you a goal in life .............................................................................................25
You may find many people with similar attitudes............................................................................25
May promote sensual human values..............................................................................................25
Increase in wealth of the local population......................................................................................26
Can be beneficial forlocal firms.....................................................................................................26
Creation of jobs............................................................................................................................26
May increase the productivity of workers.......................................................................................27
Higher level of independence from other countries ........................................................................27

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Confidence levels may improve .....................................................................................................27
Disadvantages of Nationalism............................................................................................................28
May lead to the social exclusion of minorities.................................................................................28
Some people may take it too far....................................................................................................28
May promote arrogant behavior....................................................................................................28
May prevent people to value other cultures...................................................................................29
People may feel superior to other nationalities ..............................................................................29
May lead to the exploitation of foreign countries ...........................................................................29
Patriotism may lead to unhuman behavior.....................................................................................30
May serve as justification to start global conflicts...........................................................................30
May lead to resentment towards other countries...........................................................................30
Immigrants may have a hard time..................................................................................................31
People may suffer from a seriouslevel of blindness........................................................................31
Too much nationalism may hurtinternational trade .......................................................................31
People may become quite prejudiced ............................................................................................31
GDP may sufferin the long run......................................................................................................32

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Definition
Nationalism is an ideology that emphasizes loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation or
nation-state and holds that such obligations outweigh other individual or group interests.
Introductions
Nationalism is an idea and movement that promotes the interests of a nation (as in a
group of people), especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the nation's sovereignty
(self-governance) over its homeland. Nationalism holds that each nation should govern itself,
free from outside interference (self-determination), that a nation is a natural and ideal basis for a
polity and that the nation is the only rightful source of political power (popular sovereignty).It
further aims to build and maintain a single national identity, based on shared social
characteristics of culture, ethnicity, geographic location, language, politics (or the government),
religion, traditions and belief in a shared singular history, and to promote national unity or
solidarity. Nationalism seeks to preserve and foster a nation's traditional cultures and cultural
revivals have been associated with nationalist movements. It also encourages pride in national
achievements and is closely linked to patriotism. Nationalism is often combined with other
ideologies such as conservatism (national conservatism) or socialism (left-wing nationalism).

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History of Nationalism
American philosopher and historian Hans Kohn wrote in 1944 that nationalism emerged
in the 17th century.[24] Other sources variously place the beginning in the 18th century during
revolts of American states against Spain or with the French Revolution. The consensus is that
nationalism as a concept was firmly established by the 19th century.
In Britons, Forging the Nation 1707–1837 (Yale University Press, 1992), Linda Colley explores
how the role of nationalism emerged about 1700 and developed in Britain reaching full form in
the 1830s. Typically historians of nationalism in Europe begin with the French Revolution
(1789), not only for its impact on French nationalism but even more for its impact on Germans
and Italians and on European intellectuals. The template of nationalism, as a method for
mobilizing public opinion around a new state based on popular sovereignty, went back further
than 1789: philosophers such as Rousseau and Voltaire, whose ideas influenced the French

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Revolution, had themselves been influenced or encouraged by the example of earlier
constitutionalist liberation movements, notably the Corsican Republic (1755–68) and American
Revolution (1765–83).
Due to the Industrial Revolution, there was an emergence of an integrated, nation-encompassing
economy and a national public sphere, where the British people began to identify with the
country at large, rather than the smaller units of their province, town or family. The early
emergence of a popular patriotic nationalism took place in the mid-18th century and was actively
promoted by the British government and by the writers and intellectuals of the time. National
symbols, anthems, myths, flags and narratives were assiduously constructed by nationalists and
widely adopted. The Union Jack was adopted in 1801 as the national one. Thomas Arne
composed the patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!" in 1740, and the cartoonist John Arbuthnot
invented the character of John Bull as the personification of the English national spirit in 1712.
The political convulsions of the late 18th century associated with the American and French
revolutions massively augmented the widespread appeal of patriotic nationalism.
The Prussian scholar Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) originated the term in 1772 in his
"Treatise on the Origin of Language" stressing the role of a common language. He attached
exceptional importance to the concepts of nationality and of patriotism “he that has lost his
patriotic spirit has lost himself and the whole world about himself", whilst teaching that "in a
certain sense every human perfection is national".
19th century
The political development of nationalism and the push for popular sovereignty
culminated with the ethnic/national revolutions of Europe. During the 19th century nationalism

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became one of the most significant political and social forces in history; it is typically listed
among the top causes of World War I.
Napoleon's conquests of the German and Italian states around 1800–06 played a major role in
stimulating nationalism and the demands for national unity.
English historian J. P. T. Bury argues:
Between 1830 and 1870 nationalism had thus made great strides. It had inspired great literature,
quickened scholarship and nurtured heroes. It had shown its power both to unify and to divide. It
had led to great achievements of political construction and consolidation in Germany and Italy;
but it was more clearly than ever a threat to the Ottoman and Habsburg empires, which were
essentially multi-national. European culture had been enriched by the new vernacular
contributions of little-known or forgotten peoples, but at the same time such unity as it had was
imperiled by fragmentation. Moreover, the antagonisms fostered by nationalism had made not
only for wars, insurrections, and local hatreds they had accentuated or created new spiritual
divisions in a nominally Christian Europe.
21stcentury
Arab nationalism began to decline in the 21st century leading to localized nationalism,
culminating in a series of revolts against authoritarian regimes between 2010 and 2012, known
as the Arab Spring. Following these revolts, which mostly failed to improve conditions in the
affected nations, Arab nationalism and even most local nationalistic movements declined
dramatically. A consequence of the Arab Spring as well as the 2003 invasion of Iraq were the
civil wars in Iraq and Syria, which eventually joined to form a single conflict. However, a new
form of Arab nationalism has developed in the wake of the Arab Winter, embodied by Egyptian

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President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and UAE leader
Mohammed bin Zayed.
The rise of globalism in the late 20th century led to a rise in nationalism and populism in Europe
and North America. This trend was further fueled by increased terrorism in the West (the
September 11 attacks in the United States being a prime example), increasing unrest and civil
wars in the Middle East, and waves of Muslim refugees flooding into Europe (as of 2016 the
refugee crisis appears to have peaked). Nationalist groups like Germany's Pagoda, France's
National Front and the UK Independence Party gained prominence in their respective nations
advocating restrictions on immigration to protect the local populations.
Since 2010, Catalan nationalists have led a renewed Catalan independence movement and
declared Catalonia's independence. The movement has been opposed by Spanish nationalists. In
the 2010s, the Greek economic crisis and waves of immigration have led to a significant rise of
Fascism and Greek nationalism across Greece, especially among the youth.
In Russia, exploitation of nationalist sentiments allowed Vladimir Putin to consolidate power.
This nationalist sentiment was used in Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and other actions
in Ukraine. Nationalist movements gradually began to rise in Central Europe as well, particularly
Poland, under the influence of the ruling party, Law and Justice (led by Jar slaw Kaczynski). In
Hungary, the anti-immigration rhetoric and stance against foreign influence is powerful national
glue promoted the ruling Fades party. Nationalist parties have also joined governing coalitions in
Bulgaria.
In India, Hindu nationalism has grown extremely popular with the rise of the Bharatiya Ajanta
Party, a right-wing Hindu nationalist party which has been ruling India at the national level since

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2014.The rise in religious nationalism comes with the rise of right-wing populism in India, with
the election and re-election of populist leader Namenda Modi as Prime Minister, who promised
economic prosperity for all and an end to corruption. In 2013, Modi declared himself to be a
Hindu nationalist. The BJP rule in India is characterized by religious nationalism, the persecution
of religious minorities, the erosion of civil liberties as well as an authoritarian shift in
governance. Militant Buddhist nationalism is also on the rise in Myanmar, Thailand and Sri
Lanka.
In Japan, nationalist influences in the government developed over the course of the early 21
century, thanks in large part to the Nippon Kaigi organization. The new movement has advocated
re-establishing Japan as a military power and revising historical narratives to support the notion
of a moral and strong Japan. A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom
was held on 18 September 2014. The proposal was defeated, with 55.3% voting against
independence. In a 2016 referendum, the British populace voted to withdraw the United
Kingdom from the European Union (the so-called Brexit). The result had been largely
unexpected and was a victory of populism. As the promise of continued European Union
membership was a core feature of the pro-unionist campaign during the Scottish referendum, the
months since the EU Referendum vote have seen renewed calls for a second referendum on
Scottish independence.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, sometimes called a "Tropical Trump", with United States
President Donald Trump
The 2016 United States presidential campaign saw the unprecedented rise of Donald Trump, a
businessman with no political experience who ran on a populist/nationalist platform and

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struggled to gain endorsements from mainstream political figures, even within his own party.
Trump's slogans "Make America Great Again" and "America First" exemplified his campaign's
repudiation of globalism and its staunchly nationalistic outlook. His unexpected victory in the
election was part of the same trend that had brought about the Brexit vote. On 22 October 2018,
two weeks before the mid-term elections President Trump openly proclaimed that he was a
nationalist to a cheering crowd at a rally in Texas in support of re-electing Sen. Ted Cruz who
was once an adversary. On 29 October 2018 he equated nationalism to patriotism, saying "I'm
proud of this country and I call that 'nationalism.”
In 2016, Rodrigo Deterge became president of the Philippines running a distinctly nationalist
campaign. Contrary to the policies of his recent predecessors, he distanced the country from the
Philippines' former ruler, the United States, and sought closer ties with China (as well as Russia).
In 2017, Turkish nationalism propelled President Recap Tayyip Endogen to gain unprecedented
power in a national referendum. Reactions from world leaders were mixed, with Western
European leaders generally expressing concern while the
Leaders of many of the more authoritarian regimes as well as President Trump offered their
congratulations.
Types of Nationalism

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1. Ethnic Nationalism
Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethno-nationalism, is a form of nationalism where in
the “nation” is defined in terms of ethnicity, which always includes some element of descent
from past generations, i.e. Geno phyla. It also includes ideas of a culture shared between
members of the group and with their ancestors, and usually a shared language. Membership in
the nation is hereditary. The state derives political legitimacy from its status as homeland of the
ethnic group, and from its duty to protect of the partly national group and facilitate its family and
social life, as a group.
2. Civic Nationalism
Civic nationalism is also known as Liberal nationalism. Civic nationalism is the form of
nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from the active participation of its
citizenry, from the degree to which it represents the “will of the people”. Civic nationalism lies
within the traditions of rationalism and liberalism, but as a form of nationalism it is contrasted
with ethnic nationalism. Membership of the civic nation is considered voluntary. Civic-national
ideals influenced the development of representative democracy in countries such as the United
States and France. According to the principles of civic nationalism, the nation is not based on
common ethnic ancestry, but is a political entity whose core identity is not ethnicity.
3. ExpansionistNationalism
Expansionist nationalism is an aggressive and radical form of nationalism that
incorporates autonomous, patriotic sentiments with a belief in expansionism. The term was
coined during the late nineteenth century as European powers indulged in the ‘Scramble for
Africa’ in the name of national glory, but has been most associated with militarist governments

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during the 20th century including Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, the Japanese empire, and the
Balkans countries of Albania (Greater Albania), Bulgaria (Greater Bulgaria), Croatia (Greater
Croatia), Hungary (Greater Hungary), Romania (Greater Romania) and Serbia (Greater Serbia).
4. 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, or race. 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.
5. Cultural Nationalism
Cultural nationalism defines the nation by shared culture. Membership (the state of being
members) in the nation is neither entirely voluntary (you cannot instantly acquire a culture), nor
hereditary (children of members may be considered foreigners if they grew up in another
culture). Yet, a traditional culture can be more easily incorporated into an individual’s life,
especially if the individual can acquire its skills at an early stage of his/her own life. Cultural
nationalism has been described as a variety of nationalism that is neither purely civic nor ethnic.
The nationalisms of Catalonia, Quebec and Flanders have been described as cultural.
6. RevolutionaryNationalism
Revolutionary nationalism, also known as radical nationalism, is an ideological theory
that calls for a national community united by a shared sense of purpose and destiny. It was first
attributed to adherents of the revolutionary syndicalism and heavily promulgated by Benito

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Mussolini. This intellectual synthesis of “radical nationalism and dissident socialist” formed in
France and Italy at the beginning of the 20th century.
7. Post-ColonialNationalism
Since the process of decolonization 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.
Examples of third world nationalist ideologies are African nationalism and Arab nationalism.
Other important nationalist movements in the developing world have included Indian
nationalism, Chinese nationalism and the ideas of the Mexican Revolution and Haitian
Revolution. Third world nationalist ideas have been particularly influential among the raft of
left-leaning governments elected in South America in recent years, particularly on President of
Venezuela Hugo Chavez’s ideology of Bolivarianism which has been partly inspired by the anti-
colonial ideals of Simon Bolívar. This type of nationalism is our main subject of interest in this
tutorial.
8. 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–

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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.
9. Left-Wing Nationalism
Left-wing nationalism, also occasionally known as socialist nationalism, 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
ousting the American-backed Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Ireland’s Sinn Fein, Labor Zionism in
Israel and the African National Congress in South Africa.
10. Religious Nationalism
Religious nationalism is the relationship of nationalism to a religious belief where a
shared religion can be seen to contribute to a sense of national unity, a common bond among the
citizens of the nation.
Why is nationalism important?
Nationalism is important because people have naturally organized themselves into groups
with common interests and goals ever since the start of human civilization about 12,000 years
ago and were probably doing it even before that.
People who speak the same language, share the same ethnicity or faith, or happen to be like-
minded politically, or any combination of those things, might want to have their own country and

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a government of their choosing, which represents the things they wish to preserve, emphasize,
and grow.
This can happen in any number of ways, for any number of reasons:
• The United States of America was formed as a Republic based on the concepts of
Classical Liberalism. We have generally welcomed people from all around the world who wish
to help us build a nation on those principles.
• The State of Israel was formed as a nation-state for people of the Jewish religion and
ethnicity, so they could have a safe and secure homeland.
• The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was founded as the world’s first nation-state
based on Marxist theory. When their implementation became a failed experiment after roughly
75 years, the multi-ethnic USSR broke up into various nation-states based on the ethnicity of the
people in each region.
• Between 1859 and 1870, the various peoples of the small states that made up the Italian
ethnic and linguistic community all overthrew their governments and united under one,
becoming the modern nation-state of Italy.
• The Republic of Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008 based on self-determination for the
majority ethnic Albanian population of that region.
Those are just a few examples from world history. I could go on all day and night with this. But
there’s one thing that needs to be noted Nationalism is NOT dying. It is stronger than ever.
Kosovo is just one example. When Crimea and Sevastopol seceded from Ukraine to return to
Russia, the country that its people identify with linguistically and culturally, that was

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Nationalism at work. Catalonia’s referendum on independence from Spain, scheduled for 1
October 2017, is Nationalism at work.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. There is something like 204 nation-states in the modern
world, counting the ones that de facto exist, but the UN pretends don’t exist. In 200 years, the
world will have at least 300 nation-states. The number of sovereign nation-states in the world has
been rising for centuries, and it’s not going to stop anytime soon.
And even more importantly than either of those reasons is the simple fact that nationalism makes
sense. Seriously, who knows what is best for France? The people of France or people in South
Korea? Who knows what’s best for Japan? The Japanese or the Spanish? But globalists don’t get
this simple fact. They all dream of a one-world government, but what happens when that one-
world government passes regulations that don’t work for some part of the world, and cause a
breakdown of the economy or maybe even their entire society? Then you have the mother of all
civil wars on your hands.
CULTURAL NATIONALISM
Cultural security in its present vociferous nature dates to the 1990s. It had, of course,
existed before, and disagreements about what was then known as the 'audio-visual exemption'
nearly disrupted the Uruguay Round of world trade negotiations that began in 1986. By the
nineties, developing countries had generated a far greater proportion of creative services jobs
than before: in the US there are now twice as many people working as in the 1980s (40m vs.
20m) and the sector accounts for almost half of all wages and salaries earned, while in Britain
cultural services are still rising at 8% per year, much faster than the economy as a whole. As
Imre Salusinszky points out in the 1990s, cultural producers and trade unionists sensed a change

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in mood away from automatic support for the manufacturing industry: in the US there are now
twice as many people working as in the 1980s (40m vs. 20m) and the sector accounts for almost
half of all wages and salaries earned, while in Britain cultural services are still rising at 8% per
year, much faster than the economy as a whole. As Imre Salusinszky points out in the 1990s,
cultural producers and trade unionists sensed a change in mood away from automatic support for
the manufacturing industry. As Ernest Renan said, a nation is, a group of people united by a
mistaken view about their past and a hatred of their neighbors. But even here there is an
assumption that a category like ‘national culture’ is sharp-edged, which is misleading. The
defining characteristic of a nation is not who is admitted but who is excluded; the problem is not
so much where to draw the line as that there is no precise place where it can be drawn. I do not
deny that even if one has wide sympathies and countries like Canada and Australia have been
outstandingly generous to immigrants’ groups of people located places create social capital that
an influx of strangers may dilute. Not everybody can be permitted to share what others have built
up; and some of the generosity might be better devoted to building up the home economies of
would-be immigrants rather than stripping them of their best human capital. However, my main
argument remains that groups like cultures and nations are dependent. It seems unwise to take
them, rather than individuals, as the basic building blocks of life. In the social sciences, cultural
theories are once again growing in importance. They take cultures as fixed and therefore
historicize them, making it difficult to understand the fluidity of transition. Most of this 'global
transition' means a world separated, and properly divided, into national cultures, each of which is
ipso facto worthy of protection by ‘cultural diversity’ policies, despite the fact that parity of
esteem would prevent one condemning Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia or Mao’s China. As
Terry Eagleton, Professor of English at Oxford says, 'If cultural diversity is part of what makes

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life worth living, it has also taken many lives to a bloody end. In fact, cultural diversity policies
are aimed at bridging American competition particularly in Hollywood, and at discouraging
competition from 'Anglo-Saxon' countries in general and their devil's instrument, the English
language. The effect can only be to suppress exchanges and cross-fertilization. It is no wonder
that the Americans kept 8 out of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The wonder is why other Anglo-Saxon
countries did not see the Americans far enough in front of their noses. The treaty, which is so
glaring in its protectionism that only the farm lobby could match it was supported (no surprise)
by France and Canada (which has an unfortunate history of cultural protectionism vise a vise the
United States). The British Ambassador to UNESCO has stated that the Treaty is consistent with
international law and human rights, seemingly without considering the commercial
consequences. At least Australia had the grace to refrain from doing so. Cultural security is a
blind spot for most governments; those who pride themselves on their economic liberalism prefer
to remain protectionist over culture and do not seem to recognize the inconsistency. Whatever
the fancy justifications for their form of global apartheid, cultural nationalism and cultural
protectionism are fragmenting humanity, segmenting markets and dwindling innovative
exchanges. They circumcise individual choices and the individual is taxed for privilege.
Wherever they achieve an ascendant, the weak user is struck. Historians do not agree with
nationalism, whether it comes from top to bottom and is state-built, or whether, as perennialists
claim, the relevant cultural complex predates the establishment of the state. Both the national
identity and the preservation of its symbols are not the hereditary characteristics of our species.
They are ideological and therefore contestable. The cultural diversity treaty seeks to exclude
such challenges by striking a deal, a sort of mutually assured isolationism: I will render what is

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due to your Caesar if you will render to mine. I have found nothing except ex cathedra
pronouncements that (in the words of the French Minister of Trade), ‘the protection of national
distinctiveness is important’ or Aleksandra Solzhenitsyn’s, ‘the disappearance of nations would
impoverish us no less than if all people were made alike, one character, one face.’ The
Frenchman was as usual trying to preserve the special position of his country, all of a piece with
the 1793 proposal by the painter David that a huge statue of Hercules be erected in the center of
Paris to symbolize the French as ‘a race of giants.’ Solzhenitsyn was hoping to revive pre-
Revolutionary Russian Orthodoxy and nationalism and one may fear that his wish is coming
true.
Nationalism produces ‘my country right or wrong’ reactions, of which an example was when
thousands of South Koreans posted on the web their support for the discredited stem-cell
researcher whether he was going to turn out right or wrong, simply through pride at thinking
their land in the forefront of biotech research. With attitudes like this, 9 perceptions of the past
become vital for justifying the present and future. East Asia is full of claims and counterclaims
based on the happenstance of remote precedent. By vaunting the arrangements of some
privileged period, these serve only to expose the contingent nature of history. Thus, China has
advanced territorial claims based on the existence of the kingdom of Koguryo, which covered
northern Korea and Manchuria for seven centuries though at the start of the last millennium.
Unsurprisingly, South Korea rejects these claims. Nationalism is one of the great fragmenting
forces in world affairs. Dick Stroud’s marketing studies show that the French, above all others,
express aversion to new technologies, new brands and new life experiences – the diametrical
opposite of Australians, whose interest in these things (and exceptionally) increases with age.
The French writer, Pierre Manent, complains in A World beyond Politics? Published this year by

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Princeton that the construction of the European Union surely more a French project than
anyone’s undermines the sense of nationhood. In a flat assertion typical of this topic, he
describes nationhood as the most important sense of identity in a fast-globalizing world. Part of
his objection seems to be to the dilution of Europe as a Christian club, especially by the proposal
to incorporate Turkey. This is all about teams, portrayed as indispensable. The EU is a league of
teams. The reality is that the component teams are starting to subvert the European league now
that their individual interests are threatened. The editor of the European edition of the Financial
Times argues that the welfare states with which European countries replaced militarized states
after the war was falling out of favor by the mid-1970s but the post-states that followed is
reaching its limits today. His case seems to be that as problems of pollution, terrorism and so
forth mount at the global level, only the state can protect the individual against them. But who
has suggested privatizing, say, anti-terrorist policymaking or handing it over entirely to the EC?
The nation-state is not really under threat; for one thing the share of GDP taken in tax is not
falling. The issue is just how intrusive and all-embracing we want the nation-state to be. Do we
really wish to treat it as the default option, surrendering to it all functions other than those
specifically exempted, we merely want to opt in, as it were, when collective action promises to
be more efficient than individual initiatives and market solutions? Globalization might be
expected to have reduced the appeal of nationalism and the scope for intervention. But greater
competition compresses the space for monopolists and rent seekers and this is what has provoked
the backlash. In addition, more bureaucrats can be afforded in prosperous times (the French
employ 12,000 cultural bureaucrats); their raison deter is to administer, whether or not any need
10 for intervention genuinely exists; and thus they offer patronage and grants to some enterprises
rather than others. At any one date national cultures may be distinct but they have not and do not

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remain unchanged through time. Nationalists wish to freeze the passing moment. They claim for
their current national cultures a sort of holy uniqueness, even though everyone continues to be
built up by adoptions from others. All cultures are syncretic and none the worse for it. American
culture, above all, is created by endless immigrant streams and the mingling of their ideas. The
same is evident, though to a lesser extent, in smaller and poorer new countries like Australia and
Canada. Syncretism is present in old countries, too, but buried deeper in their histories.
EXPLAINING THE EXCLUSIVENESS OF NATIONAL CULTURES
How did national cultures come to be so venerated? Theodore von Laue suggested that
insisting on the uniqueness (and presumably the incompatibility) of cultures is a reaction on the
part of peoples frightened by modernism, egged on by writers who rationalize the fear, supported
by the self-interested (like France’s cultural bureaucrats), and promoted by politicians who
capitalize on fear. The current wave of cultural nationalism seems to stem from the threat to
elites from the renewed integration of the second globalization boom. Cultural producers feel
less secure from foreign competition than hitherto. Von Laue was thinking of German history.
Late eighteenth-century Germany felt English competition sorely and its response constituted
one of what he called the counterrevolutions set off by the modernizing of the western fringe of
Europe. The English thought the world would copy them and the sequence of industrial follower
countries partly bears them out. The notion of rule-bound, limited government and the rights of
the individual also captured many minds. The American Revolution rested on Lockean
principles; whereby political power is delegated to governmental institutions by individuals. The
French system followed Rousseau’s alternative principle in which individual rights are subsumed
by government. Abridgements of legislative power by individual rights are viewed as anti-
democratic restraints on the general will expressed through popular representation and majority

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rule. This is a sort of divine right of government. The illiberal democracies springing up in the
developing world similarly ride over individual rights, though this is not apparent from their
rhetoric. In the developed countries professional initiative is being replaced by bureaucratic
regulation in the name of the mass electorate and its lobby groups. 11 In 1781 Friedrich Schiller
(1759-1805), poet and historian, wrote to a friend about the University of Jena, where he was
thinking of accepting a chair. He was clear that his intellectual freedom would be protected at
Jena, not by fine-sounding proclamations but because the governance of the university was
divided among the four Dukes of Saxony. Economists find it natural to accept Schiller’s faith in
competition whereas others prefer political and legal promises, which they trustingly accept as
guarantees.
Schiller’s near contemporary, Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803), took the opposite line and
laid the basis for German nationalism. He provided the justification for national separateness by
attacking claims to universality on the part of western European society. Herder dreamt up the
notion that each people possess ‘a unique collective spirit and an inherent right to it.’ He treated
‘people as utterly and permanently separate nations. He introduced biological analogies to
describe nations, without seeing that these are only metaphors, and inappropriate ones at that.
Nations do not die in the same way as organisms. Peoples, nations, are not essentialist categories,
they are social and political constructs. In my view, Schiller had the right of it. Constrained
competition among western countries by and large shielded them from extreme particularism.
They continued to borrow and learn from one another. The collectivist arrangements of Soviet
Russia, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy proved to be near-fatal deviations from the European
norm, disastrously imitated (or at least the Soviets were imitated) by the first generation of
independent ex-colonies. Thus inspired, India chose autarky after Independence and between

23
1947 and1992 grew only at the slow rate of ‘Hindu economic growth’. Its planned economy was
overwhelmed by the complexity of the economic system, despite efforts to reduce this by
impeding foreign trade and investment and curtailing the number of goods produced. The
glorification of indigenous roots, as von Laue put it, is an attempt to counter the modernizing
revolutions. The present conservative reaction in parts of the Islamic world may be seen in this
light. The second globalization boom presents Muslim countries with an intense challenge to
modify, strengthen and confirm the essence of their cultures and Faith. In East Asia there is
likewise a struggle over the onset of pluralism, though that region has been more open to foreign
influences, which have indeed conduced to its economic growth. Growth tends to encourage
pluralism, without absolutely guaranteeing it. Von Laue’s view was not entirely new. In the
Open Society and Its Enemies (1945), Karl Popper presented history as a struggle between
tribalism and civilization. By referring to hostilities within as well as 12 among civilizations, he
revealed the ubiquity of conflict between modernity and reaction. Popper wrote that his book
was meant to demonstrate that ‘civilization had not yet fully recovered from the shock of its birth
the transition from the tribal or closed society, with its submission to magical forces, to the “open
society” which sets free the critical powers of man.’ The book ‘attempts to show that the shock
of this transition is one of the factors that have made possible the rise of those reactionary
movements which have tried, and still try, to overthrow civilization and to return to tribalism.’
The shock of the second globalization boom is having a similar effect. In many places, Britain
for example, the melting pot is working better than the contrary incidents beloved of the
newspapers would have us think. Nevertheless, sixty years after Popper, strident voices are again
risking a great deal for us all by celebrating the differences rather than the commonalities among
the world’s people.

24
Advantages of Nationalism
One advantage of nationalism is that it might be a great tool to unite a country. Especially
in difficult economic and social times, it is crucial that people believe in their nation in order to
stay motivated and carry out their work. In difficult times, people also often get frustrated and
the social tensions increase significantly.
Through the promotion of patriotism, people can be united since they feel that there is a higher
goal and that they all must work together in order to achieve the goal to make their country great
again.
People may be better able to identify with their culture
Many people also feel the need to really identify with their country and their culture.
Since our overall technological progress advances quite rapidly and our way of life in general
changed significantly over the past years, people often feel quite overwhelmed and may not feel
as part of society anymore.
In order not to feel lost, those people may profit from their belief in nationalism since this might
be the only thing that is left for them. Therefore, nationalism may also give some people a
feeling of security.
May promote solidarity
Patriotism may also help to promote solidary amongst the local population. Life can be
heard from time to time and unexpected adverse events in our lives may really hit us in a way
that we don’t know how to handle those things.

25
In those dark times, it is crucial to have people around us who give us power to move on.
Patriotism can promote this kind of solidary towards others since it promotes common national
values and people may be more willing and eager to help each other in difficult times of their
lives.
Patriotism may give you a goalin life
Some people may also be quite desperate to find a goal and purpose in life. Many people
may feel lost in our current state of the world since they have not found their passion yet and
therefore, they may suffer from serious mental issues. In order to improve the quality of life for
those people, nationalism might be a valid tool since it may give people a purpose in life.
You may find many people with similar attitudes
Most of the local population of a country is usually quite proud of their country and their
national values. Thus, especially if you want to fit in society and rely on the admiration and
confirmation of others, practicing patriotism is a great way to do so since you will find many
like-minded people. Yet, in my opinion, relying on the admiration of other people is a quite toxic
and unstable construct and may lead to a great level of unhappiness in the long run.
Hence, in my opinion, it is better to form your own character and belief system since it will give
you much more stability in difficult times and you will become independent from the opinions of
others.
May promote sensual human values
If patriotism is lived in a moderate manner, it can also lead to the promotion of sensual
human values. For instance, freedom and justice are values that are not country-specific but

26
should be promoted on a global scale since those values tend to improve the overall quality of
life for people, independent from where people live on our planet.
Therefore, nationalism can also lead to the promotion of sensual human values amongst the local
population.
Increase in wealth of the localpopulation
Since nationalism also aims to protect the local economy through the introduction of
trade barriers and tolls, the national economy will be strengthened, which in turn can also lead to
an overall improvement in wealth for the local population.
Therefore, also from a financial standpoint, nationalism can make sense to increase the overall
wealth of locals, at least in the short run.
Can be beneficial for localfirms
Nationalism often implies some sort of protectionism where local companies are
protected against the fierce global competition through subsidies or other measures that make
buying those products from local companies more attractive.
Thus, also from a profit-maximizing perspective of local firms, nationalism can be a good thing
under certain conditions, especially if those firms would not be able to compete against big
global players otherwise.
Creationof jobs
Since local firms can be better protected through nationalism, they will also be more
likely to increase their profits and to create many new jobs for the local population. In turn, also

27
unemployment rates may drop significantly, which may in turn improve the quality of life of
many locals.
May increase the productivity of workers
Another advantage of patriotism is that it may also significantly increase the productivity
of workers. Since people may be more motivated if they can serve their country and local firms,
they may be more eager to work hard. In turn, the overall productivity of workers tends to
improve, which in turn also contributes to higher profits for companies and to higher wages for
employees.
Higher level of independence from other countries
Dependence is almost never a good thing and the same is true when it comes to trade
with other countries. A high level of dependence often implies that one country must accept
unfavorable trading conditions that can be dictated by another country.
Therefore, it is crucial for countries to stay as independent as possible in order to avoid those
dependencies and the adverse effects related to them. One way to avoid a high level of
dependence on other countries is a nationalistic attitude since by engaging in nationalism, more
goods will be produced inside the country borders and the dependence on imports may be greatly
lowered due to that.
Confidence levels may improve
Patriotism can also help to boost the level of confidence of people. Many people
nowadays feel quite lost and not as valuable members of society. However, through the

28
promotion of nationalism, those people get a feeling of self-worth and confidence since they
think that they can serve a bigger goal.
Disadvantages of Nationalism
May lead to the socialexclusionofminorities
Apart from the many advantages of nationalism and patriotism, there are also many
issues related to them. One disadvantage of nationalism is that it may lead to the social exclusion
of minorities. If people are told that their national values are the gold standard and that
everything else is not in line with the goals of a country, people may become quite intolerant
towards minorities since they will not recognize those alternative values as useful for their goal
to strengthen the national values of a country. Thus, patriotism may also lead to the social
isolation of minorities if it is taken too seriously by the general public.
Some people may take it too far
Nationalism also poses the danger that some people may take cultural values and
ideologies too far. There are many examples in human history where this led to quite horrible
outcomes. One of them happened in German history which led to WW2. Hence, if nationalism is
used by the wrong people, it can imply serious dangers on a global scale.
May promote arrogantbehavior
Patriotism may also often lead to a state where people become quite arrogant since they
think that their value system is the only thing that matters and that other nations should adapt to
their value system as well since it is the only right way to go. Thus, in such a case, people may

29
completely neglect the possibility that their values might be flawed, and the resulting level of
arrogance can lead to serious problems in the long run.
May prevent people to value other cultures
In general, nationalism may also contribute to a state where people will not value other
cultures and social norms anymore. For instance, there are some people on our planet who still
live a pretty basic and original life in remote parts of our planet. Those people are often quite
happy and there is no reason to devalue the cultural values of those people. Yet, through
excessive nationalism, the cultures of those people are often belittled which is not justifiable
under any circumstances.
People may feel superior to other nationalities
Another big problem of patriotism is that people may feel superior to other nationalities
and countries. This unjustifiable level of arrogance and flawed perception of the world can lead
to serious issues, especially if people and leaders of a country think they can dictate to other
countries how to behave.
May lead to the exploitation of foreign countries
Nationalism is also often used to justify the exploitation of other countries. For instance,
it is often claimed by politicians that in order to assure the wealth of the local population, we
must exploit other countries, no matter what. While the exploitation of other countries might
indeed be beneficial for some countries, it is quite detrimental to the exploited countries since
they may never get out of their misery. Thus, exploiting countries should not be the way to go
from an ethical perspective.

30
Patriotism may leadto unhuman behavior
As we can see from human history, too much patriotism can lead to serious adverse
outcomes. People may behave in a quite unhuman way and are quite easy to manipulate by
government authorities. Hence, in order to avoid those unpleasant outcomes from the past, we
should avoid nationalism or only promote it on a moderate level so that people don’t get the
impression that it is ok to behave in an unhuman manner.
May serve as justification to start globalconflicts
Nationalism can also be instrumented by politicians in order to justify starting conflicts
with other countries. The local population is often told that other countries behave in a way that
is against the value system of their home country and that this is reason enough to fight those
countries. Therefore, in case nationalism is used to engage in conflicts, that can lead to serious
detrimental outcomes on a global scale.
May lead to resentment towards other countries
Some people may even develop a high level of resentment towards other countries due to
the excessive promotion of patriotism in a country. Some people may start to think that their
values are the only values that matter and that everybody else must adopt those values and is an
enemy if he or she doesn’t comply with those values. Consequently, nationalism can also lead to
serious levels of resentment towards other foreign countries.

31
Immigrants may have a hard time
Since the level of tolerance towards minorities or towards people from foreign countries
tends to decrease through the promotion of nationalism, immigrants may have a quite hard time
since they may suffer from serious levels of social exclusion.
People may suffer from a serious level of blindness
Due to the promotion of nationalism, people may also become blind regarding their true
inner beliefs and their value systems. People are quite easy to manipulate and through media
channels and other instruments, nationalism can be used to lead people into flawed beliefs, which
may turn into serious unpleasant outcomes.
Too much nationalism may hurt international trade
If countries engage in excessive protectionism that is due to nationalism, this may also
significantly hurt international trade. A big fraction of the wealth in our rich Western World is
since countries specialize in some goods and produce them at a rather low price so that
consumers can buy them at a reasonable price.
However, if a country stops its trade activities, chances are that the overall wealth in this country
will significantly suffer over the long run.
People may become quite prejudiced
If nationalism is taught in school from an early age on, there is also the danger that those
children will become quite prejudiced in their opinion regarding their value system. This may

32
lead to a state where those children might become quite intolerant when they turn into grownups
and this kind of intolerance should not be the values that we want to promote as a global society.
GDP may suffer in the long run
Through nationalism and the protectionism that is often practiced around the world, also
the local GDP may suffer in the long run. While protectionism can have some positive effects in
the short run, it often leads to serious negative economic effects in the long run. Therefore,
through excessive levels of nationalism, also the overall income of people and the overall local
GDP may decrease significantly.

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