Understand the history and ideology of nationalism

Understand the history and ideology of nationalism

Questions and answers about nationalism.
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Transcript

Nationalism

What is nationalism?

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.

What is the difference between a nation and a state?

A nation is a group of people with a common language, history, culture, and (usually) geographic territory. A state is an association of people characterized by formal institutions of government, including laws, permanent territorial boundaries, and sovereignty (political independence).

What is a nationalist movement?

A nationalist movement may be political or cultural or both. A political nationalist movement is a political struggle by a national group for statehood or for some measure of autonomy within a larger political association. A cultural nationalist movement is an effort to rediscover, preserve, study, or reinvigorate the language or cultural traditions of a nation.

When did nationalist movements first arise?

Although the 17th-century Puritan Revolution in England was animated by nationalist sentiment, significant nationalist movements generally did not arise until the late 18th century. The American and French revolutions (1775–83 and 1787–99, respectively) were both expressions of political nationalism.

What are some contemporary nationalist movements?

Nationalist movements have included those by or on behalf of Tibetans in China, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Kurds in Turkey and Iraq, Chechens in the Soviet Union and Russia, and Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats in the ethnic republics that arose from Yugoslavia.