FORMS OF POLITICAL NATIONALISM

Assignment No.3

By

USWA AZHAR

F23BA111

Course Instructor

MINAHIL ILYAS

Institute of Business and Information Technology

UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB

May,2024
Types of nationalism
Nationalism can take many forms, including liberal nationalism, conservative nationalism, post-
colonial nationalism, and expansionist nationalism. While they all essentially embrace the same
core principles of nationalism, there are significant differences.

Liberal nationalism
Liberal nationalism emerged from the Enlightenment period and supports the liberal idea of self-
determination. Unlike liberalism, liberal nationalism extends the right of self-determination
beyond the individual and argues that nations should be able to determine their own path.

A key feature of liberal nationalism is that it rejects hereditary monarchy in favour of a democratic
government. Liberal nationalism is progressive and inclusive: anyone who is committed to the
nation’s values can be a part of that nation regardless of ethnicity, religion, or language.

Liberal nationalism is rational, respects the sovereignty of other nations, and seeks cooperation
with them. Liberal nationalism also embraces supranational bodies like the European Union and
the United Nations, where a community of states can cooperate with one another, creating
interdependence, which in theory, leads to greater harmony.

Example
The United States can be an example of liberal nationalism. American society is multi-ethnic and
multicultural, but people are patriotically American. Americans may have different racial origins,
languages, or religious beliefs, but they are brought together by the Constitution and liberal
nationalist values such as 'freedom'.

Conservative nationalism
Conservative nationalism focuses on shared culture, history, and tradition. It idealizes the past –
or the notion that the past nation was strong, unified, and dominant. Conservative nationalism is
not as concerned with international affairs or international cooperation. Its focus lies solely on
the nation-state.

In fact, conservative nationalists often don’t trust supranational bodies such as the United Nations
or the European Union. They view these bodies as flawed, unstable, restrictive, and a threat to state
sovereignty. For conservative nationalists, maintaining a single culture is important, whereas
diversity can lead to instability and conflict.

Example
A good example of conservative nationalism in the United States was former President Donald
Trump's inward-looking political campaign slogan ‘Make America Great Again!’. There are also
conservative nationalist elements in the United Kingdom as seen under the Thatcher regime and
in the rising popularity of populist political parties like the UK Independence Party (UKIP).
Conservative nationalism is exclusive: those who do not share the same culture or history are often
left out.

Postcolonial nationalism
Postcolonial nationalism is the name given to the nationalism that emerges once states rid
themselves of colonial rule and have achieved independence. It is both progressive and
reactionary. It is progressive in the sense that it seeks to improve society and reactionary in that it
rejects colonial rule.

In post-colonial nations, we see many different iterations of governance. In Africa, for example,
some nations took on Marxist or socialist forms of government. The adoption of these models of
government serves as a rejection of the capitalist model of governing used by colonial powers.

In post-colonial states, there has been a mixture of inclusive and exclusive nations. Some nations
tend towards civic nationalism, which is inclusive. This is often seen in nations that have many
different tribes such as Nigeria, which is made up of hundreds of tribes and hundreds of languages.
Therefore, nationalism in Nigeria can be described as civic nationalism as opposed to culturalism.
There are few if any shared cultures, histories, or languages in Nigeria.

Some post-colonial nations like India and Pakistan however, are examples of exclusive and adopt
culturalism, as Pakistan and India are divided largely based on religious differences.

Expansionist nationalism
Expansionist nationalism can be described as a more radical version of conservative nationalism.
Expansionist nationalism is chauvinistic in its nature. Chauvinism is aggressive patriotism. When
applied to nations, it often leads to the belief in the superiority of one nation over others.

Expansionist nationalism has racial elements as well. Nazi Germany is an example of expansionist
nationalism. The idea of the racial superiority of Germans and the Aryan race was used to justify
the oppression of Jews and fostered anti-semitism.

Due to a perceived sense of superiority, expansionist nationalists often do not respect the
sovereignty of other nations. In the case of Nazi Germany, there was the quest for Lebensraum,
which led to Germany's efforts to acquire additional territory in eastern Europe. Nazi Germans
believed it was their right as the superior race to take this land from the Slavic nations who they
viewed as inferior.

Expansionist nationalism is a regressive ideology and relies heavily on negative integration: in

order for there to be an 'us', there has to be a ‘them’ to hate. Therefore, groups are 'othered' to
create separate entities.