nationalism

Introduction & Top Questions
The modern nature of nationalism
Identification of state and people
Cultural nationalism
History of nationalism to the 1980s
- European nationalism
  - English Puritanism and nationalism
  - French nationalism
  - The 1848 revolutionary wave
  - Twentieth-century developments
- Asian and African nationalism
  - The new nations
  - Political and religious differences

References & Edit History Related Topics

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nationalism summary

Related Questions

How can immigration create disagreements about national identity in a nation-state?
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External Websites

KPU Pressbooks - Political Ideologies and Worldviews: An Introduction - Nationalism: A Modern Ideology Summoning an Eternal Past
University of Oslo - Center for Research on Extremism - What is nationalism?
Pew Research Center - Nationalism and politics
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Nationalism
Social Sciences LibreTexts - Nationalism
CFR Education - Understanding the Constructive and Destructive Natures of Nationalism
E-International Relations - What Is Nationalism? A Nation? A Nationalist?
The Balance - What is Nationalism?
Cato Institute - The Case Against Nationalism
OpenCommons at UConn - Innovation Nationalism (PDF)
Brookings - Emergence of Nationalism
Alpha History - Nationalism as a cause of World War I
University Center for International Studies - The Effects of Nationalism and Populism on Political Participation
Digital Commons at University of South Florida - Psychopolitics of the Current Nationalism

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

nationalism - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
nationalism - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

nationalism

politics

Written by

Hans Kohn

Professor of History, City College, City University of New York, 1949–62. Author of Political Ideologies of the Twentieth Century.

Hans Kohn

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 31, 2026 •History

nationalism, ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests. This article discusses the origins and history of nationalism to the 1980s. For later developments in the history of nationalism, see 20th-century international relations; European Union; and Euroskepticism. Nationalism is a modern movement. Throughout history people have been attached to their native soil, to the traditions of their parents, and to established territorial authorities,...

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