what is nationalism for you essay

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The modern nature of nationalism

Identification of state and people, cultural nationalism.

• English Puritanism and nationalism
• French nationalism
• The 1848 revolutionary wave
• Twentieth-century developments
• The new nations
• Political and religious differences

What is the difference between a nation and a state?

What is a nationalist movement, when did nationalist movements first arise.

• How did Giuseppe Garibaldi become famous?
• How did Benito Mussolini rise to power?

nationalism

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• BCcampus Open Publishing - Nationalism as an ideology
• University of Oslo - Center for Research on Extremism - What is nationalism?
• Pew Research Center - Nationalism and politics
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - 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
• The Balance - What Is Nationalism?
• nationalism - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• nationalism - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

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.

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). A state may comprise one or more nations (as did the Roman Empire and Austria-Hungary ), and a nation may be represented in (or ruled by) one or more (usually contiguous) states, as in the early modern principalities of Germany. A state comprising or dominated by a single nation is often called a nation-state.

A nationalist movement may be political or cultural or both. A political nationalist movement is a political, sometimes also military, struggle by a national group for statehood or for some measure of independence from or autonomy within a larger political association, such as another state or an empire. It may also be a struggle by a national group within its own nation-state for wider rights for its members, or it may be a (reactionary) struggle by such a national group against wider rights for minority groups. A cultural nationalist movement, which historically often precedes a political movement, is an effort to rediscover, preserve, study, or reinvigorate the language or cultural traditions of a nation.

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. Later, nationalist movements inspired the Revolutions of 1848 on the European continent, the establishment of a unified Italian state in 1861, and the formation of new nation-states in central and eastern Europe after World War I .

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 .

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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, but it was not until the end of the 18th century that nationalism began to be a generally recognized sentiment molding public and private life and one of the great, if not the greatest, single determining factors of modern history. Because of its dynamic vitality and its all-pervading character, nationalism is often thought to be very old; sometimes it is mistakenly regarded as a permanent factor in political behaviour. Actually, the American and French revolutions may be regarded as its first powerful manifestations . After penetrating the new countries of Latin America , it spread in the early 19th century to central Europe and from there, toward the middle of the century, to eastern and southeastern Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, nationalism flowered in Asia and Africa. Thus, the 19th century has been called the age of nationalism in Europe, while the 20th century witnessed the rise and struggle of powerful national movements throughout Asia and Africa.

Nationalism, translated into world politics, implies the identification of the state or nation with the people—or at least the desirability of determining the extent of the state according to ethnographic principles. In the age of nationalism, but only in the age of nationalism, the principle was generally recognized that each nationality should form a state—its state—and that the state should include all members of that nationality. Formerly states, or territories under one administration, were not delineated by nationality. People did not give their loyalty to the nation-state but to other, different forms of political organization: the city-state , the feudal fief and its lord, the dynastic state, the religious group, or the sect. The nation-state was nonexistent during the greater part of history, and for a very long time it was not even regarded as an ideal. In the first 15 centuries of the Common Era, the ideal was the universal world-state, not loyalty to any separate political entity. The Roman Empire had set the great example, which survived not only in the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages but also in the concept of the res publica christiana (“Christian republic” or community) and in its later secularized form of a united world civilization.

As political allegiance , before the age of nationalism, was not determined by nationality, so civilization was not thought of as nationally determined. During the Middle Ages, civilization was looked upon as determined religiously; for all the different nationalities of Christendom as well as for those of Islam , there was but one civilization— Christian or Muslim—and but one language of culture— Latin (or Greek ) or Arabic (or Persian ). Later, in the periods of the Renaissance and of Classicism , it was the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations that became a universal norm, valid for all peoples and all times. Still later, French civilization was accepted throughout Europe as the valid civilization for educated people of all nationalities. It was only at the end of the 18th century that, for the first time, civilization was considered to be determined by nationality. It was then that the principle was put forward that people could be educated only in their own mother tongue, not in languages of other civilizations and other times, whether they were classical languages or the literary creations of other peoples who had reached a high degree of civilization.

From the end of the 18th century on, the nationalization of education and public life went hand in hand with the nationalization of states and political loyalties. Poets and scholars began to emphasize cultural nationalism first. They reformed the mother tongue, elevated it to the rank of a literary language, and delved deep into the national past. Thus, they prepared the foundations for the political claims for national statehood soon to be raised by the people in whom they had kindled the spirit.

Before the 18th century there had been evidences of national feeling among certain groups at certain periods, especially in times of stress and conflict. The rise of national feeling to major political importance was encouraged by a number of complex developments: the creation of large centralized states ruled by absolute monarchs who destroyed the old feudal allegiances; the secularization of life and of education, which fostered the vernacular languages and weakened the ties of church and sect; the growth of commerce, which demanded larger territorial units to allow scope for the dynamic spirit of the rising middle classes and their capitalistic enterprise. This large unified territorial state, with its political and economic centralization, became imbued in the 18th century with a new spirit—an emotional fervour similar to that of religious movements in earlier periods. Under the influence of the new theories of the sovereignty of the people and of individual rights, the people replaced the king as the centre of the nation. No longer was the king the nation or the state; the state had become the people’s state, a national state, a fatherland, or a motherland. State became identified with nation, as civilization became identified with national civilization.

That development ran counter to the conceptions that had dominated political thought for the preceding 2,000 years. Thitherto, the general and the universal had been commonly stressed, and unity had been regarded as the desirable goal. Nationalism emphasized the particular and parochial , the differences, and the national individualities. Those tendencies became more pronounced as nationalism developed. Its less attractive characteristics were not at first apparent. In the 17th and 18th centuries the common standards of Western civilization, the regard for the universally human, the faith in reason (one and the same everywhere) as well as in common sense, the survival of Christian and Stoic traditions—all of these were still too strong to allow nationalism to develop fully and to disrupt society. Thus, nationalism in its beginning was thought to be compatible with cosmopolitan convictions and with a general love of humankind, especially in western Europe and North America .

History of nationalism to the 1980s

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Nationalism Essay | Essay on Nationalism for Students and Children in English

February 14, 2024 by Prasanna

Nationalism Essay: Nationalism is a term that has been used frequently nowadays by media outlets, politicians, journalists and the common man. It is disappointing to say that the term and the meaning for nationalism have been taken out of context and misunderstood by certain sections of society that has led to showing nationalists in negative limelight. In this nationalism essay, we shall be talking about what nationalism is, how important it is for a country to survive and certain examples of what has happened with aggressive nationalistic countries.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Nationalism for Students and kids in English

In this article, you can find a 600-word nationalism essay and also a brief 200-word nationalism essay for school students and children. These essays can be used by students of class 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Long Essay on Nationalism 600 Words in English

Nationalism Essay is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

A country is run by its people. And to maintain unity in diversity for the country, there should be a sense of belonging inculcated amongst the citizens towards their country, and nationalism does exactly that. There is no one particular definition of nationalism, but the popular discourse is that nationalism is an ideology or set of beliefs that the people of the country follow to promote the interest of the nation above anything else. Usually, nationalism and patriotism are used as synonyms.

While both the terms help in developing a sense of love towards the nation, they both are fundamentally different. Nationalism is about the interest of the country, from economic development to cultural and social status, but patriotism, on the other hand, is more towards the love and affection for the country in terms of military power and defensive capabilities. While there is no prescribed definition for both the terms, the context with which nationalism and patriotism are used is quite different.

On the other hand, aggressive nationalism, usually called as jingoism, defeats the whole purpose of nationalistic feelings. Jingoism is less about developing a sense of belonging towards the nation among its citizens, but more about war-mongering and propagating hate towards enemy countries. Aggressive nationalism does not entertain critics and dissent. It is a one-sided sentiment, which does not, and more importantly, should not have a place in a democratic and a secular country.

Nationalism is at the core of Indian values and the democratic and the secular fabric of the nation. Indian freedom fighters who fought the mighty Britsh for more than 100 years were nationalistic and patriotic in nature. Nationalism is at the heart of India and its independence movement. It was because of nationalism that India could snatch freedom from the British and finally gain independence on August 15th, 1947. But the nationalism that existed during the freedom movement is quite different from the nationalism that we are witnessing in the 21st century.

The nationalism during the early 19th century was about gaining independence from the British. Nationalism then didn’t divide Indians into any lines. It developed a true sense of patriotism amongst the people and motivated them to come out on the streets and fight against the British’s atrocities on Indian soil. But the nationalism that we witness now is different from the previous one and not is a good way. Nationalism, due to misunderstanding by certain sections of the population, has made it a synonym for hate-mongering and communism. Nationalism now is being compared with religious and ethnic sentiments of people.

Nationalism has absolutely nothing to do with culture, religion or ethnicity of the people. Unfortunately, nationalism, instead of developing a sense of belonging in the people, has developed fear in the crowds, especially for the ones with dissenting and critical voices.

Nationalism has been turned into a tool and litmus test for people’ patriotism. This form of nationalism is sowing seeds for diving the country on ethnic and religious lines. Such type of nationalism, which create hate and animosity amongst the people against the ruling dispensation can no more be called nationalism. Its pure jingoism, which is harmful to the unit of the country.

Elections are fought in many counties in the name of nationalism. Leaders like Donald Trump, Vladamir Putin and Narendra Modi are proud nationalists who have propagated nationalistic feeling amongst the people to win their support. While this is good for the nation, but it is the responsibility of these leaders to make sure that nationalism is not turned into jingoism.

Short Essay on Nationalism 200 Words in English

Nationalism Essay is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

You can find below a short nationalism essay in English with a word limit of 200. This can be used by students and schoolchildren for essay writing, test, assignment, project works and examination.

The terms nationalism refers to an ideology that the leaders of the country propagate to the masses that helps them develop a sense of belonging and unity in the country. The Russian revolution, the American Revolution, the French revolution, the Indian independence movement and many other historic events in the world could take place only because of nationalism among the people. While nationalism is different from patriotism, both help is developing love and unity in the country.

The tallest leaders in India such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallebhai Patel or Indira Gandhi were all nationalist leaders who put their country first and everything else was of secondary and tertiary priorities. The nationalism was shown in its pure sense all throughout the 19th century. But the terms nationalism was understood differently by the people at the turn of the country.

Nationalism Essay Conclusion

In the 20th century, the feeling of nationalism of the people of the country was taken advantage of and used to win elections and spread hate and animosity among certain sections of people. Nationalists of India need not necessarily hate people from Pakistan. Loving one’s own country does not mean he or she should hate another country. This misunderstanding has led to a widespread war mongering situation, not just in India but elsewhere in the world as well.

This form of hate-mongering and the aggressive nationalism is referred to as jingoism. Jingoist in the USA hate Russians and vice-versa. The same things hold true of jingoist in India and Pakitan. People should understand the difference between nationalism and jingoism and spread love and positivity in the world. One thing we should remember is, we are all humans before being Indians or Americans.

10 Lines on Nationalism Essay in English

• Nationalism is an ideology and a movement in a country that helps in uniting its people.
• The purpose of nationalism is to develop a sense of belonging for the people in the country towards their nation.
• Nationalism unites people across different languages, gender, religion, cultures or ethnicity.
• Indian freedom movement against the Britsh Raj was fought because of strong nationalistic sentiments.
• Events like the American revolution and the french revolution took place because of nationalism.
• Both patriotism and nationalism helps in uniting people.
• Dissent and debates are a part of a healthy democracy.
• Aggressive nationalism which tends to propagate hate and warmongering between countries is called as jingoism.
• While nationalism is good for the country, jingoism can prove to be a disaster for the country.
• Leaders should inculcate nationalistic and patriotic feelings amongst the citizens to keep the country united.

FAQ’s on Nationalism Essay

Question 1. What are the two types of nationalism?

Answer: There are two types of nationalism, left-wing nationalism and right-wing nationalism

Question 2. Is nationalism good for a country?

Answer: Yes, nationalism unites people of the country

Question 3. Who is the father of Indian nationalism?

Answer: Bal Gangadhar Tilak is known as the father of Indian nationalism

Question 4. What is jingoism?

Answer: Aggressive nationalism that harms the people of the county is called jingoism

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Nationalism Essay for Students and Children

400 words essay on nationalism.

First of all, Nationalism is the concept of loyalty towards a nation. In Nationalism, this sentiment of loyalty must be present in every citizen. This ideology certainly has been present in humanity since time immemorial. Above all, it’s a concept that unites the people of a nation. It is also characterized by love for one’s nation. Nationalism is probably the most important factor in international politics.

Why Nationalism Is Important?

Nationalism happens because of common factors. The people of a nation share these common factors. These common factors are common language, history , culture, traditions, mentality, and territory. Thus a sense of belonging would certainly come in people. It would inevitably happen, whether you like it or not. Therefore, a feeling of unity and love would happen among national citizens. In this way, Nationalism gives strength to the people of the nation.

Nationalism has an inverse relationship with crime. It seems like crime rates are significantly lower in countries with strong Nationalism. This happens because Nationalism puts feelings of love towards fellow countrymen. Therefore, many people avoid committing a crime against their own countrymen. Similarly, corruption is also low in such countries. Individuals in whose heart is Nationalism, avoid corruption . This is because they feel guilty to harm their country.

Nationalism certainly increases the resolve of a nation to defend itself. There probably is a huge support for strengthening the military among nationalistic people. A strong military is certainly the best way of defending against foreign enemies. Countries with low Nationalism, probably don’t invest heavily in the military. This is because people with low Nationalism don’t favor strong militaries . Hence, these countries which don’t take Nationalism seriously are vulnerable.

Nationalism encourages environmental protection as well. People with high national pride would feel ashamed to pollute their nation. Therefore, such people would intentionally work for environment protection even without rules. In contrast, an individual with low Nationalism would throw garbage carelessly.

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Contemporary Nationalism

Nationalism took an ugly turn in the 20th century with the emergence of Fascism and Nazism. However, that was a negative side of Nationalism. Since then, many nations gave up the idea of aggressive Nationalism. This certainly did not mean that Nationalism in contemporary times got weak. People saw strong Nationalism in the United States and former USSR. There was a merger of Nationalism with economic ideologies like Capitalism and Socialism.

In the 21st century, there has been no shortage of Nationalism. The popular election of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is proof. Both these leaders strongly propagate Nationalism. Similarly, the election victory of other nationalistic leaders is more evidence.

Nationalism is a strong force in the world that is here to say. Nationalism has a negative side. However, this negative side certainly cannot undermine the significance of Nationalism. Without Nationalism, there would have been no advancement of Human Civilization.

500 Words Essay on Nationalism

Nationalism is an ideology which shows an individual’s love & devotion towards his nation.  It is actually people’s feelings for their nation as superior to all other nations. The concept of nationalism in India developed at the time of the Independence movement. This was the phase when people from all the areas/caste/religion etc collectively fought against British Raj for independence. Hence nationalism can be called as collective devotion of all the nationals towards their country.

Introduction of Nationalism in India:

The first world war (1919) had far-reaching consequences on the entire world. After the first world war, some major movements broke out in India like Satyagrah & Non-co-operation movement. This has sown the seeds of nationalism in Indians.  This era developed new social groups along with new modes of struggle. The major events like Jalianwala Bagh massacre & Khilafat movement had a strong impact on the people of India.

Thus, their collective struggle against colonialism brought them together and they have collectively developed a strong feeling of responsibility, accountability, love, and devotion for their country. This collective feeling of the Indian people was the start of the development of Nationalism.  Foundation of Indian National Congress in 1885 was the first organized expression of nationalism in India.

Basis of Rising of Nationalism in India

There could be several basis of rising of nationalism in India:

• The Britishers came to India as traders but slowly became rulers and started neglecting the interests of the Indians. This led to the feeling of oneness amongst Indians and hence slowly led to nationalism.
• India developed as a unified country in the 19 th & 20 th century due to well-structured governance system of Britishers. This has led to interlinking of the economic life of people, and hence nationalism.
• The spread of western education, especially the English language amongst educated Indians have helped the knowledgeable population of different linguistic origin to interact on a common platform and hence share their nationalist opinions.
• The researches by Indian and European scholars led to the rediscovery of the Indian past. The Indian scholars like Swami Vivekanand & European scholars like Max Mueller had done historical researched & had glorified India’s past in such a manner that Indian peoples developed a strong sense of nationalism & patriotism.
• The emergence of the press in the 19 th century has helped in the mobilization of people’s opinion thereby giving them a common platform to interact for independence motion and also to promote nationalism.
• Various reforms and social movements had helped Indian society to remove the social evils which were withholding the societal development and hence led to rejoining of society.
• The development of well-led railway network in India was a major boost in the transportation sector. Hence making it easy for the Indian population to connect with each other.
• The international events like the French revolution, Unification of Italy & Germany, etc.have  awakened the feelings of national consciousness amongst Indian people.

Though a lot of factors had led to rising of nationalism in India, the major role was played by First world war, Rowlatt act and Jaliawala bagh massacre. These major incidences have had a deep-down impact on the mind of Indians. These motivated them to fight against Britishers with a  strong feeling of Nationalism.  This feeling of nationalism was the main driving force for the independence struggle in India.

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Nationalism Essay: Topics, Examples, & Tips

A nationalism essay is focused on the idea of devotion and loyalty to one’s country and its sovereignty. In your paper, you can elaborate on its various aspects. For example, you might want to describe the phenomenon’s meaning or compare the types of nationalism. You might also be interested in exploring nationalism examples: in various countries (South Africa, for instance), in international relations, in government, in world history, or even in everyday life.

This article by our custom-writing experts will help you succeed with your assignment. Here, you will find:

• Definitions and comparisons of different types of nationalism;
• A step-by-step nationalism essay writing guide;
• A number of nationalism examples;
• A list of 44 nationalism essay topics.
• 🔝 Top 10 Topics
• ❓ Definition
• ✔️ Pros & Cons
• 📜 Nationalism Essay Structure
• 🌐 44 Nationalism Topics
• 📝 Essay Prompts & Example
• ✏️ Frequent Questions

🔝 Top 10 Nationalism Essay Topics

• Irish nationalism in literature
• Cultural nationalism in India
• Can nationalism promote peace?
• The politics of contested nationalism
• How does religion influence nationalism?
• Does globalization diminish nationalism?
• Does nationalism promote imperialism?
• Nationalism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• How liberalism leads to economic nationalism
• Link between national identity and civic nationalism

❓ Nationalism Essay: What Is It About?

Nationalism is an idea that a nation’s interests are above those of other countries or individuals. It implies identifying with a nation and promoting its independence. In particular, nationalism ascribes value to a nation’s culture, traditions, religion, language, and territory.

In fact, “nationalism” is a very complicated term. It has many types and gradations that are exciting to explore. Besides, it has a long and varied history. In countries such as India and France nationalism helped to achieve democracy and independence. At the same time, in it extreme forms it led to wars and terrorism. Any of these aspects can be the focus of your nationalism essay.

Types of Nationalism

As we’ve mentioned before, nationalism is a complicated notion. It varies a lot from country to country as well as historically. That’s why scholars proposed a classification of nationalism types. It helps to reflect these differences. Check out some of the most popular forms of nationalism in the list below.

• Cultural nationalism. This type is centered on a nation’s culture and language. In the 1800s, it became a popular idea in Europe and postcolonial states. Cultural nationalism is reflected in the celebration of folklore and local dialects. For example, in Ireland it led to an increased interest in the Gaelic language. We can still find ideas related to this ideology today. A prominent example is Americans’ appreciation of their cultural symbols, such as the flag.
• Civic nationalism. Civic nationalism’s definition is an idea of belonging through common rights. According to this ideology, the interests of a state are more important than those of a single nation. Civic nationalism is based on modern ideas of equality and personal freedom. These values help people achieve common goals. Nowadays, civic nationalism is closely associated with liberal Western countries.
• Ethnic nationalism. This type is focused on common ethnicity and ancestry. According to ethno-nationalists, a country’s homogenous culture allows sovereignty. This ideology is considered controversial due to its association with racism and xenophobia. Ethnic nationalism’s pros and cons can be illustrated by its effects on culture in Germany. On the one hand, it influenced the art of the Romantic era. On the other, its extreme form led to the rise of Nazism.
• Economic nationalism. A simple definition of economic nationalism is the idea that a government should protect its economy from outside influences. It leads to the discouragement of cooperation between countries. Such an approach has its benefits. However, it is often counterproductive. Scholars point out many failures throughout the history of economic nationalism. The Great Depression, for example, was prolonged due to this approach.
• Religious nationalism. The fusion of politics and religion characterizes this ideology. Its proponents argue that religion is an integral part of a national identity. For instance, it helps to unite people. The rise of religious nationalism often occurs in countries that fight for independence. Notable examples are India, Pakistan, and Christian countries like Poland.

The Globalism vs Nationalism Debate

One of the fiercest debates concerning nationalism is focused on how it relates to globalism. These two attitudes are often seen as opposed to each other. Some even call globalism and nationalism “the new political divide.” Let’s see whether this point of view is justified.

Nowadays, communities around the world are becoming more and more homogenous. This unification and interconnectedness is called globalization , while an ideology focused on its promotion is known as globalism.

Naturally, these tendencies have their pros and cons . Want to learn more? Have a look at the table below.

As you can see, both notions have their strong and weak aspects. But can globalism and nationalism coexist? In fact, many scholars say “ yes, they can .” Instead of choosing either option, people can combine their best traits. This way, we will promote effective communication and collaboration.

Nationalism vs. Patriotism

You may be wondering: Is nationalism a synonym for patriotism? The answer is that both words denote pride and love for one’s country. However, there is an important distinction to be made. While patriotism has a generally positive meaning, nationalism has a negative one.

The main difference lies in the attitude towards other nations:

• Patriotism doesn’t imply that one’s nation is superior to others. Generally, this term refers to how the state approaches its ideals, values, and culture. In this case, a patriot of a particular country can represent any nation, regardless of their origin.
• In contrast, nationalism implies an idea of a nation’s sovereignty. This means that a country’s interests are viewed separately from the rest of the world. It also focuses on the importance of nation’s culture and ethnicity. In extreme situations, these values may result in an idea of supremacy.

In short, nationalism is patriotism taken to the extreme. With this in mind, let’s have a look at positive and negative effects of nationalism. An essay on any of the following points will surely be a success.

✔️ Nationalism Pros and Cons

If you have to write an essay on “why nationalism is good”, here are some of its key benefits for you to consider:

But what about the concept’s drawbacks? After all, nothing can be 100% beneficial. For a credible investigation, it’s necessary to examine both sides of the topic. Here are some disadvantages to consider for a paper on nationalism:

As you can see, nationalism can lead both to prosperity and destruction. Now you know why keeping the balance is crucial to a nation’s well-being. Think about it when you write your argumentative essay on nationalism.

📜 Nationalism Essay Structure

Now, let’s take a closer look at the essay structure. When writing your paper on nationalism, follow this outline:

So, was the writing process as hard as you expected? Nationalism essays indeed require a little bit more time and research than other papers. Nonetheless, you can only benefit from this experience.

🌐 Nationalism Essay Topics

Don’t know which nationalism essay topic to choose? Try one of the ideas below:

• How do nationalism and patriotism differ? The former is linked to acquiring territories perceived as the homeland. The latter means taking pride in the nation’s achievements. Scholars sometimes consider patriotism a form of nationalism.
• How does nationalism affect the distribution of the Sars-CoV-2 vaccine? Determine whether the countries with nationalist tendencies are more successful in getting their population vaccinated.
• Nationality politics in the Soviet Union. Under the rule of Stalin, the USSR transformed into a totalitarian state. But before that, Lenin took care to enact extensive ethnicity laws. What happened when Stalin slammed the brakes on the program?
• Perceiving nationalism as bad: why is it common? For many, the word itself evokes negative associations. For a person who considers themselves a liberal, it may seem like a great evil. Where does this perception come from? What benefits does nationalism have for liberals?
• Nationalist ideology and its many categories. In nationalism studies, the main distinction is between its ethnic and civic types. But there are many other categories that you can explore. Use this prompt to give an overview of such concepts.
• Religious nationalism: Crusades vs. Jihad. In the Middle Ages, Christians tried to stop Islam’s expansion via bloody crusades. In modern times, the call to jihad is used to mobilize extremist Muslims. What are the major differences between these types of holy war?
• What role does nationalism play in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israel and Palestine have been fighting for decades over what they believe to be a holy land. The dispute appears to be unsolvable. What arguments do both parties bring forth? How does Arab nationalism come into play here?
• The development of nationalism over time . The French Revolution was the result of nationalist thinking. However, what we perceive as nationalist today is different from what it was back then. In your essay, trace the origins and evolution of the term “nationalism” and its meaning.
• Prominent dictators then and now: a comparison. Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco are well-known names. But how do they compare to modern authoritarian leaders? When answering this question, evaluate the role of nationalist ideology.
• What are some political disadvantages of nationalism? Populist leaders are often unpopular with other politicians. Some examples are Poland’s PiS party and Donald Trump. Discuss how a nationalist stance can affect domestic policies.
• Arab nationalism and its influence on the world economy.
• Nationalism vs. liberalism.
• German nationalism and the World Wars.
• Economic nationalism: pros and cons.
• European nationalism in the 20th century.
• Globalism vs. nationalism: how do they differ ?
• Jewish nationalism and its influence on the formation of the Israeli state.
• Relationship between nationalism and religion.
• Nationalism in Orwell’s novels.
• The French Revolution: how nationalism influenced the political system change.
• Is nationalism objectively good or bad?
• Nationalism, transnationalism, and globalism: differences and similarities.
• Russian nationalism in the 21st century and its impact on the world political system.
• Nationalism as a catalyst for war.
• Liberal nationalism and radical nationalism: benefits and disadvantages.
• Evaluate the significance of national identity.
• What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
• How can love of a country positively impact a state’s healthcare system?
• What fueled the rise of nationalism in the post-socialist space?
• Trace the connection between nationalist ideology and morality.
• What countries are considered nationalizing?
• Compare the conflicts where nationalism hinders solution.
• Choose five aspects of neo-nationalism and analyze them.
• Nationalist expressions in art .
• Nationalism in Ukraine: consequences of the Crimean annexation.
• Revolution and nationalism in South America.
• Examine the significance of street names to spread nationalist views.
• Why do people grow attached to a specific territory?
• The political power of nationalist language and propaganda.
• What does the feminist theory say about chauvinism?
• What makes post-colonial nationalism unique?
• Assess the difference between Western and non‐Western nationalism.
• Sex and gender in nationalism.
• Civic and ethnic forms of nationalism: similarities and differences.

📝 Nationalism Examples & Essay Prompts

Want more ideas? Check out these additional essay prompts on some of the crucial nationalism topics!

Nationalism in South Africa Essay Prompt

South African nationalism is a movement aimed at uniting indigenous African peoples and protecting their values. An essay on this topic can consist of the following parts:

• The factors that led to the rise of African nationalism. These include dissatisfaction with colonial oppression, racial discrimination, and poor living conditions.
• Effects of African nationalism. One significant achievement is indigenous peoples regaining their territories. They also improved their status and revived their culture that was distorted by colonialism.
• Conclusion of African nationalism. With time, the struggle for autonomy evolved into an idea of Pan Africanism. This concept refers to the unification of indigenous South African peoples.

Nationalism in India Essay Prompt

Nationalism in 19 th -century India was a reaction against British rule. One of its defining characteristics is the use of non-violent protests. Your essay on this topic may cover the following aspects:

• Mahatma Gandhi and Indian nationalism. Gandhi was a pioneer of non-violent civil disobedience acts. His adherence to equality inspired many human rights activists.
• Cultural nationalism in India. Pride rooted in national heritage, language, and religion played a crucial role in Indian nationalism. One of the most important figures associated with this movement is Bengal poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Nationalism in the Philippines Essay Prompt

Nationalism in the Philippines has a unique chronological pattern. It’s also closely related to the Philippino identity. You can explore these and other aspects in your essay:

• The rise of Filipino nationalism in the 19 th century. Discuss the role of José Rizal and the Propaganda Movement in these events.
• Nationalism and patriotism in the Philippines. Compare the levels of patriotism at different points in the country’s history.
• Is there a lack of nationalism in the Philippines? Studies show that Filipinos have a relatively weak sense of nationhood and patriotism. What is your perspective on this problem?

How Did Nationalism Lead to WWI?: Essay Prompt

Nationalism is widely considered to be one of the leading causes of WWI. Discuss it with the following prompts:

• Militarism and nationalism before WWI. Militarism is a belief in a country’s military superiority. Assess its role in countries such as the British and Russian Empires before the war.
• How did imperialism contribute to WWI? Imperialism refers to a nation’s fight for new territories. It fuelled the rivalry between the world’s leading countries before the war.
• Nationalism in the Balkans and the outbreak of WWI. Write a persuasive essay on the role of the Balkan crisis in Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. How did this event lead to the outbreak of war?

Want to see what a paper on this topic may look like? Check out this nationalism essay example:

Now you have all you need to write an excellent essay on nationalism. Liked this article? Let us know in the comment section below!

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✏️ Nationalism Essay FAQ

You can define nationalism as the identification with nation and support of its interests. Nationalism is aimed at protecting a nation from foreign influences. This idea is important because it helps a country be strong and independent.

Most specialists highlight religious, political, and ethnic nationalism. Different classifications suggest various types of nationalism. It can be positive and negative, militant, extreme, etc. The phenomenon is complex and multidimensional. You can find it in most societies.

Nationalism is a complex phenomenon. It has positive and negative sides. Because of this, it’s crucial to write about it objectively. In any academic text on nationalism you should provide relevant arguments, quotes, and other evidence.

A nationalism essay focuses on the concept’s principles, advantages, and disadvantages. You can find numerous articles and research papers about it online or in your school’s library. Beware of copying anything directly: use them only as a source of inspiration.

🔗 References

• A New Dawn in Nationalism Studies? European History Quaterly
• The SAGE Handbook of Nations and Nationalism: Google Books
• Nationalism Studies Program: 2-year MA Student Handbook (CEU)
• Nationalism: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Nationalism is back: The Economist
• Working-class Neo-Nationalism in Postsocialist Cluj, Romania: Academia
• Nationalism: Encyclopedia Britannica
• Nationalism: Definition, Examples, and History: The Balance
• The Problem of Nationalism: The Heritage Foundation
• Effects of Nationalism: LearnAlberta
• The Difference Between Patriotism and Nationalism: Merriam-Webster
• Varieties of American Popular Nationalism: Harvard University
• Not So Civic: Is There a Difference between Ethnic and Civic Nationalism?: Annual Review
• Globalism and Nationalism: Which One Is Bad?: Taylor & Francis Online
• African Nationalism and the Struggle for Freedom: Pearson Higher Education
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Hi. Can you please help me out in getting a simple topic to discuss/write for my final essay in my masters programme pertaining to nationalism. I’m new to this field of study and would want to enjoy reading and writing this final essay. Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks to historians all over the world!

I have to write a 3000-word essay on the following topic: “Is it possible to imagine nationalism without the nation”? I find the readings difficult to understand and would greatly appreciate any help you could give me. Thank you. Noreen Devine

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To Whom it May Concern, Thank you so much for your help. This morning I was reading your tips on how to write an essay about nationalism, and I find that it’s so helpful. I will contact you soon for help.

Essay on Nationalism

Students are often asked to write an essay on Nationalism in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Nationalism

Understanding nationalism.

Nationalism is a deep love for one’s country. It’s a feeling of pride, loyalty, and protectiveness towards your nation. It’s about valuing the culture, history, and identity of your country.

Nationalism’s Role

Nationalism: a double-edged sword.

While nationalism can unite people, it can also lead to conflicts if it fosters superiority over other nations. Therefore, it’s essential to balance nationalism with respect for global harmony.

Also check:

250 Words Essay on Nationalism

The concept of nationalism, origins and evolution.

Nationalism emerged in the late 18th century during the French Revolution, where the concept of ‘nation’ was used to unite citizens against the monarchy. It evolved during the 19th and 20th centuries, playing a crucial role in the formation of modern states and independence movements.

Nationalism’s Dual Nature

Nationalism has a dual nature. On one hand, it can foster unity, patriotism, and social cohesion. For instance, nationalism was instrumental in decolonization movements, helping countries gain independence. On the other hand, excessive nationalism can lead to xenophobia, discrimination, and conflict. The two World Wars are stark examples of destructive nationalism.

Nationalism in Today’s World

In today’s globalized world, nationalism is experiencing a resurgence. It is being used as a tool by politicians to consolidate power, often at the expense of minority groups. This has led to a rise in populist movements and anti-immigrant sentiments in many parts of the world.

The Future of Nationalism

The future of nationalism is uncertain. While it can potentially serve as a unifying force, unchecked nationalism can lead to societal discord. Therefore, it is essential for societies to strike a balance, fostering a sense of national pride without compromising on inclusivity and diversity.

500 Words Essay on Nationalism

Introduction to nationalism, the many faces of nationalism.

Cultural nationalism emphasizes the shared cultural heritage and traditions, while liberal nationalism champions individual rights and freedoms within the nation-state. These diverse forms of nationalism highlight its complex and dynamic nature, which can both unite and divide societies.

Nationalism can be a powerful force for good, fostering unity, identity, and a sense of belonging. It can motivate citizens to contribute to the nation’s progress, preserve cultural heritage, and resist external threats. Nationalism has played a pivotal role in the decolonization movements and the establishment of nation-states in the 20th century.

Nationalism in the Globalized World

In the era of globalization, the role of nationalism is evolving. Globalization, with its emphasis on transnational connections and interdependence, seems to challenge the very idea of the nation-state. However, rather than diminishing, nationalism has adapted to these changes, often intensifying in response to perceived threats to national identity or sovereignty.

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What Is Nationalism? Definition and Examples

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Nationalism is an ideology expressed by people who fervently believe that their nation is superior to all others. These feelings of superiority are often based on shared ethnicity, language, religion, culture, or social values. From a purely political standpoint, nationalism aims to defend the country’s popular sovereignty —the right to govern itself—and to protect it from the political, social, and cultural pressures posed by the modern global economy. In this sense, nationalism is seen as the antithesis of globalism .

Key Takeaways: Nationalism

• Politically, nationalists strive to protect the nation's sovereignty, the right to govern itself.
• Nationalists’ feelings of superiority are usually based on shared ethnicity, language, religion, culture, or social values.
• Extreme nationalists believe that their country has the right to dominate other nations through military aggression if necessary.
• The ideologies of nationalism are contrary to those of globalism and the modern globalization movement. 
• Economic nationalism strives to protect a nation’s economy from foreign competition, often through the practice of protectionism.
• Carried to its extremes, nationalism can lead to authoritarianism and the exclusion from the society of certain ethnic or racial groups.

Today, nationalism is generally recognized as a shared sentiment that because of the extent to which it influences public and private life, serves as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, determining factors of modern history.

History of Nationalism

Despite the common feeling that people who believe their country is the “best” have always existed, nationalism is a relatively modern movement. While people have always felt an attachment to their native land and the traditions of their parents, nationalism did not become a widely recognized sentiment until the end of the 18th century.

The 18th century American and French revolutions are often considered to have been the first impactful expressions of nationalism. During the 19th century, nationalism penetrated the new countries of Latin America and spread throughout central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. During the first half of the 20th century, nationalism arose in Asia and Africa.

Pre-20th Century Nationalism

The first true expressions of nationalism occurred in England during the Puritan Revolution of the middle 1600s.

By the end of the 17th-century, England had assumed a reputation as the world leader in science, commerce, and the development of political and social theory. After the English Civil War of 1642, the Puritan work ethic of Calvinism merged with the optimistic ethics of humanism .

Influenced by the Bible, an expression of English nationalism emerged in which the people equated their perceived mission to that of the people of ancient Israel . Swollen with pride and confidence, the English people began to feel that it was their mission to usher in a new age of reformation and individual liberty throughout the world. In his classic 1667 work “Paradise Lost,” English poet and intellectual John Milton described the English peoples’ efforts to spread what had by then become "England’s vision of liberty as being “celebrated for endless ages as a soil most genial to the growth of liberty,” to all the corners of the earth.

The nationalism of 18th century England, as expressed in the “ social contract ” political philosophy of John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau would influence American and French nationalism during the rest of the century.

Influenced by ideas of liberty put forth by Locke, Rousseau, and other contemporary French philosophers, American nationalism arose among the settlers of the North American British colonies . Stirred to action by current political thoughts expressed by Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine , the American colonists began their struggle for liberty and individual rights during the late 1700s. Similar to the aspirations of 17th century English nationalism, 18th-century American nationalism envisioned the new nation as humanity’s guiding light to liberty, equality, and happiness for all. Culminating with the American Revolution in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the influence of the new American nationalism was clearly reflected in the French Revolution of 1789.

In America as well as in France, nationalism came to represent a universal adherence to the progressive idea of a future of freedom and equality rather than the authoritarianism and inequality of the past. The new belief in the promise of “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and “Liberty, equality, fraternity” following the American and French revolutions inspired new rituals and symbols, such as flags and parades, patriotic music, and national holidays, that remain the common expression of nationalism today.

20th Century Movements

Beginning in 1914 with the onset of World War I , and ending in 1991 with the dissolution of Communism in Central-Eastern Europe, the 20th century saw the emergence of new forms of nationalism shaped largely by World War I and World War II .

After World War I, Adolf Hitler based a new brand of fanatical nationalism in Germany on racial purity, authoritarian rule, and the mythical glories of Germany’s pre-Christian past. After the Second World War, most new forms of nationalism were driven by independence movements in the wake of decolonization. As they struggled to free themselves from their European colonizers, people created national identities to distinguish themselves from their oppressors. Whether based on race, religion, culture, or the political entanglements of the Cold War in Europe , all of these new nationalistic identities were in some way connected with the drive for independence.

World War I proved to be a triumph of nationalism in central and Eastern Europe. New nation-states of Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Romania were built from the remains of the Habsburg, Romanov, and Hohenzollern Russian empires. Budding nationalism in Asia and Africa produced charismatic revolutionary leaders like Kemal Atatürk in Turkey, Mahatma Gandhi in India, and Sun Yat-sen in China.

After World War II, the establishment of multinational economic, military, and political organizations such as the United Nations (UN) in 1945 and NATO in 1949 led to a general reduction of the spirit of nationalism across Europe. However, the policies pursued by France under Charles de Gaulle and the bitter Communism versus democracy division of East and West Germany until 1990 proved the appeal of nationalism remained very much alive.

Nationalism Today

It has been argued that at no time since Words War I has the power of nationalism been as evident as it is today. Especially since 2016, there has been a significant increase in nationalist sentiment across the world. For example, it was a nationalism-driven desire to regain lost national autonomy that led to Brexit, the controversial withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union . In the United States, presidential candidate Donald Trump rode nationalistic appeals to “Make America Great Again” and “America First” to the White House.

In Germany, the nationalist-populist political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), known for its opposition to the European Union and immigration, has become a major opposition force. In Spain, the self-proclaimed conservative right-wing Vox party won seats in the Spanish parliament for the first time in the April 2019 general election. Nationalism forms the basis for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to make China a world economic leader. Similarly, nationalism is a common theme among right-wing politicians in France, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Poland, the Philippines, and Turkey.

Economic Nationalism

Most recently characterized by the reaction to the global financial crash of 2011, economic nationalism is defined as a set of policies and practices designed to create, grow, and most of all, protect national economies in the context of world markets. For example, a 2006 proposal to sell port management businesses in six major U.S. seaports to Dubai Ports World based in the United Arab Emirates was blocked by political opposition motivated by economic nationalism.

Economic nationalists oppose, or at least critically question the advisability of globalization in favor of the perceived safety and stability of protectionism . To economic nationalists, most of not all revenue from foreign trade should be used for what they consider to be essential national interests such as national security and building military power, rather than for social welfare programs. In many ways, economic nationalism is a variant of mercantilism—the zero-sum theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which the government should encourage through protectionism.

Based on an often unfounded belief that it steals jobs from domestic workers, economic nationalists oppose immigration. For example, President Trump’s Mexican border security wall followed his nationalistic immigration policies. In convincing Congress to allocate funds to pay for the controversial wall, the President claimed the loss of American jobs to undocumented immigrants . 

Issues and Concerns

Today, developed nations are typically made up of multiple ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious, groups. This recent increase in anti-immigration, exclusionary brand of nationalism could become dangerous to groups considered to be outside the politically favored group, especially if taken to extremes, as it was in Nazi Germany . As a result, it is important to examine the potential negative aspects of nationalism.

First of all, nationalism’s sense of superiority differentiates it from patriotism . While patriotism is characterized by pride in one’s country and a willingness to defend it, nationalism extends pride to arrogance and potential military aggression. Extreme nationalists believe that their country’s superiority gives them the right to dominate other nations. They justify this by the belief that they are “liberating” the people of the conquered nation.

As it did in Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries, nationalism was used to justify imperialism and colonization . Under the shield of nationalism, western nations overtook and controlled countries in Africa and Asia, the crippling economic and social consequences of which linger today. During World War II, Adolf Hitler mastered nationalistic propaganda to rally the German people to rationalize his tactics of ethnic Aryan supremacy as being in the best interest of Germany. When used in this manner to establish one group to be the only rightful citizens of a country, nationalism can be extremely dangerous in an increasingly globalized world.   

At several times throughout history, nationalistic fervor has led nations into prolonged periods of isolationism —the stifling and potentially dangerous doctrine of playing no role in the affairs of other nations. For example, widely supported isolationism during the late 1930s played a significant role in preventing the United States from becoming involved in World War II until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Nationalism inevitably creates a competitive “us” vs. “them” or “love it or leave it” attitude among the people. As George Orwell put it in his 1945 essay Notes on Nationalism, “A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige… his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs and humiliations.”

Nationalism can also contribute to domestic division and unrest. By demanding that the people decide who is and isn’t truly part of the nation, it encourages discrimination against anyone within the nation’s borders who is identified as part of “them” instead of “us.”

• “ Nationalism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , September 2, 2020, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nationalism/.
• Sraders, Anne. “What is Nationalism? Its History And What It Means in 2018. The Street , 2018, https://www.thestreet.com/politics/what-is-nationalism-14642847.
• Galston, William A. “Twelve Theses on Nationalism.” Brookings , August 12, 2019, https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/twelve-theses-on-nationalism/.
• Pryke, Sam. “Economic Nationalism: Theory, History and Prospects.” Global Policy , September 6, 2012, ttps://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/articles/world-economy-trade-and-finance/economic-nationalism-theory-history-and-prospects.
• Walt, Stephen M. “The most powerful force in the world.” Forbes , July 15, 2011, https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/07/15/the-most-powerful-force-in-the-world/.
• Holmes, Ph.D., Kim R. “The Problem of Nationalism.” Heritage Foundation , December 13, 2019, https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/commentary/the-problem-nationalism.
• Orwell, George. 1945. “ Notes on Nationalism .” Penguin UK, ISBN-10:‎ 9780241339565.
• Manfred Jonas. “Isolationism in America 1933-1941.” Cornell University Press, 1966, ISBN-10: 187917601
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• Nationalism Essay

Long and Short Nationalism and Patriotism Essay

The word ‘Nationalism’ itches a question in everyone’s mind - what is it and the significance of nationalism in a country. To define nationalism, it is simply nothing but patriotism towards the country. Every citizen must have some kind of sentiment towards their country and nationalism defines that. It is really significant in the field of international politics. Nationalism is a magical term that binds the people of a country altogether. 

Below are the samples of short and long essays on Nationalism provided keeping the students’ convenience in mind. Take a look for a better understanding. 

Long Nationalism and Patriotism Essay

Nationalism is synonymous with the word ‘Patriotism’. It is believed to be an ideology that depicts an individual’s love and respect towards the nation. It is nothing but the common man’s feeling towards their country. 

The concept of nationalism originated during the pre-independent era in India. As the Britishers stepped into this country as traders and slowly turned into rulers, it became inevitable to get them out of the country. As a consequence, all the Indians bonded together, became stronger and a lot of major events and movements followed in order 

Movements like Satyagrah, the Salt March, the non-co-operation movement, Quit India movement broke out and that’s how the concept of nationalism was evoked amongst the Indians irrespective of gender, race, or religion. In that era, many social groups were formed and they had a strong impact on the people of India. Followingly, some major events like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Khilafat movement took place. 

Indian National Congress was formed in 1885 in order to provide a civil platform for the common Indians. The struggle against Britishers helped the Indians to develop a feeling of responsibility and devotion towards their motherland. This collective power of devotion helped the Indians to understand the power of nationalism. 

Below are a few factors that are responsible for the rise of nationalism in India. Take a look -

The British came to India for trading purposes as a part of the East India company. But eventually became rulers of the country and violence started erupting everywhere which spoils the communal harmony among all the nationalists. 

However, India has been developed as a unified nation under the government of the Britishers. This had a strong influence on the economic development of the country and thus led to a strong sense of nationalism among every Indian. 

There was a lot of influence left by the Britishers such as the English language has become one of the popular international languages used by the Indians. All the knowledgeable people of the country started communicating in English and this has become the interactive medium between all the linguistic groups. 

While Indians are under the rule of Britishers, a bunch of good and bad things happened. Among the good deeds, one is the development of transportation in the country and as a result, the Britishers developed a well-led railway system across the country. It helps all the Indians to get connected well and bond together. 

Along with the independence movement, various social movements also took place at that time period in India which helped to reform many superstitious practices and social evils in order to develop the basic social structure of the country. 

Short Essay on Nationalism

Nationalism is nothing but an ideology that happens due to several factors. Among those factors, a few are - history, territory, mother tongue, culture, heritage, tradition, mentality etc. with the help of these factors, a sense of belonging develops among the people. It somehow also helps to nurture the love and devotion of an individual towards the entire nation. 

The concept of nationalism was there for a long time. But in India, the concept took birth during the time of the independence movement. That was the phase when all the Indians came forward irrespective of caste, religion, language, or region etc. and fought against the British monarchy. That’s how the collective devotion of all the staunch Indian nationalists became prominent and bonding became stronger. 

Nationalism is the common factor among all the citizens that would bind them together and give them the unity and strength which is required. Nationalism is the hardcore reason behind national integration. People of an individual nation get strength through this magical term. It puts all the countrymen together and keeps all the hatred and crimes at the bay. 

In India, the term ‘nationalism’ has been misused quite frequently by the politicians, media, and common man. However, there were a lot of factors that worked in favour of nationalism in India. From World War I to the Jallianwala bagh massacre, these major incidents in Indian history accelerated the entire nation and motivated the Indian citizens against the British rulers. This is how nationalism became the main factor for the Independence movement in pre-independent India.

FAQs on Nationalism Essay

1. Who is the Father of Indian Nationalism?

Ans: The father is Indian nationalism is Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

2. How Many Categories of Nationalism are There in Our Country?

Ans: There are two kinds of nationalism i.e. left-wing nationalism and right-wing nationalism. 

3. Define Nationalism.

Ans: Nationalism is nothing but the desire to support the nation in its true aspect. Every citizen’s responsibility is to maintain loyalty towards the nation. 

Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Nationalism — Positive And Negative Effects Of Nationalism

Positive and Negative Effects of Nationalism

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Published: Mar 13, 2024

Words: 517 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Positive effects of nationalism, negative effects of nationalism, implications and conclusion.

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Essay on Nationalism in English for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Essay on Nationalism: India is a land of cultural, religious, and linguistic diversity. Nationalism is the only thread that binds the people together in the thread of oneness, despite their belonging to different cultural-ethnic backgrounds. It plays an important role in uniting all Indians from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

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Students are supposed to write essays on nationalism in various examination and competitions. Here we are providing essays of varying words-length – 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 400 words – and they can take their pick as per their needs to articulate their sense of pride in the oneness of their vast, beautiful and strong nation.

Long and Short Nationalism Essay in English

Below we have provided short and long essay on nationalism in English. These essays have been written in simple English language to avoid any complications arising due to complex words and also to ensure that you easily get an insight on the subject.

These nationalism essay have been written covering all the vital facts on nationalism. After going through the essays you will understand the meaning of nationalism and its significance in protecting the freedom and integrity of India.

You can use these essays on your several school or college essay writing, debate competitions.

Also Check: Essay on India

Essay on Nationalism 100 words

Nationalism means the spirit of devotion to the nation, which must permeate the hearts and minds of every citizen of the country. This is the reason why national anthem is played in educational institutions, and now even in cinema halls before the start of the movies, and the curriculum is enriched with the life stories about the nation’s great sons, heroes and the freedom fighters.

Nationalism is the feeling which gives courage and strength to the soldiers to guard the borders of their country. If the citizens stand united despite being the followers of different religions, speaking different languages, and practicing diverse cultures of their regions, no internal or external threat can harm their country. India is a prominent example of this all-pervasive sense of nationalism that has always served the nation well.

Essay on Nationalism 150 words

Nationalism is a concept according to which the nation is considered to be supreme – deserving the highest priority. Nationalism is an ideology that promotes the shared identity of the citizens of any country. For a nation’s progress and prosperity, it is imperative that its citizens rise above their regional identities and strengthen the sense of pride in their nation.

There are many countries, including India which are culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse and in these countries the sense of nationalism helps achieve unity in diversity. For the development of India, it is imperative that its citizens work together despite being different in their thoughts and ideas and it can be made possible only through developing a sense of nationalism among them.

Indians have a deep sense of nationalism and this is the reason why they always stand untied when it comes to respecting and honouring their national flag, national anthem and national symbols, which all leads towards preservation of the unity and integrity of the country.

Also Check: Essay on Patriotism

Essay on Nationalism 200 words

Nationalism means rising about narrow identities of caste, religion and regions to feel a deep sense of pride in our nation. Lord Ram rightly told brother Lakshman after defeating Ravan that the famed golden city of Lanka hardly appeals to him as Janani janmabhoomischa swargadapi gariyasi (Mother and motherland are superior to heaven).

The idea of nationalism in India grew during the Independence movement. This was a time when people from all different areas, castes, religions, and so on joined together to fight against British rule for freedom. So, nationalism can be described as the shared love and loyalty of all citizens toward their country.

Our country does not practice any sense of discrimination to any citizen as they enjoy all rights and privileges. It is the duty of all of us to foster the unity and integrity of India by a sense of nationalism that transcends all barriers of region, religion and language.

It was this overriding spirit of nationalism that won India freedom from the British after years of hard struggle and innumerable sacrifices. At that time India was divided into several princely states but it stood as one nation in the struggle for freedom. We have to preserve and protect this freedom as even seven decades after independence; there are threats to national security and unity from the separatist and secessionist forces within and outside India. Only a deep-rooted feeling of nationalism can save India from any further division in the name of right to self-determination in Kashmir or insurgent movements in North-East India.

Essay on Nationalism 250 words

Nationalism means that we carry in our hearts, respect, love and gratitude for our motherland. Although this sense is bestowed on us naturally, but due to some external causes, or may be due to a little ignorance or vicious propaganda, there have been movements espousing anti-national feelings such as the ones witnessed in Kashmir or North-East India. But thanks to the unwavering sense of nationalism in its citizens, India has stood firm as one nation, foiling the designs of separatist forces.

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Putting the nation first

As a mother gives birth to her children and overpowers many obstacles to extend love and care on them, our nation also does the same for us. Just like a mother, our motherland also bears the pain while producing means of survival and nourishment for all of us. Scholars have said all the vegetation, rivers and other natural resources of the place where we take birth act as the greatest gifts to live a happy and peaceful existence. It is the affection and the sense of honour towards our motherland that makes us stand strongly in front of the other nations around the world.

In fact, a nation is born only when all citizens living in its boundary share a sense of oneness in cultural heritage and involvement with each other. It is this undiluted sense of nationalism that binds India in one thread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The feeling of nationalism has always prevailed over differences of cast, creed and religion in a vast country like India. Indians justifiably take pride in living in the largest democracy of the world, known for its values of peace, human brotherhood and collective progress.

Essay on Nationalism 300 words

The kind of love, affection and the blessings that a mother showers on her baby while nursing him is incomparable and the same is true with our motherland. Just like a mother who can never think of anything other than the betterment of her children, our nation also showers motherly love on us, without expecting anything in return from us. But it is imperative for every Indian to have a sense of pride and gratitude towards the nation, in other words, practice nationalism in words and deeds.

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India is one nation, despite religious and regional diversity

Nationalism binds us all in a spirit of oneness, despite all of us having different customs, holding different beliefs, observing different festivals and speaking in different languages. It is the sense of nationalism that protects the nation against all threats and dangers to its unity and integrity. We can have our different identities as people living in culturally and linguistically distinct states, but stand together as one under one flag, national anthem and national emblem. We can take our place with pride among citizens of the world as proud and loyal citizens of the largest democracy of the world.

The importance of our motherland surpasses all other considerations of caste, creed, and religion. It is only through this deep sense of nationalism and patriotism that we can safeguard our freedom that we achieved after supreme sacrifices and sufferings by millions of sons and daughters of India. Let us never dilute the spirit of nationalism to repay our debts to our motherland.

There are some forces at work which want to weaken the country by spreading separatist feelings and cries for azadi (as witnessed in troubled parts of Kashmir and North-East India). It is unfortunate that some educational institutions in India were recently in the thick of anti-India sloganeering and protests with cries of tearing apart India rending the air. Only an unwavering sense of nationalism can save the country from falling a prey to the evil designs of anti-India forces.

Essay on Nationalism 400 words

A sense of attachment and dedication towards the country in which one resides is called nationalism. Nationalism is the only reason which keeps every citizen of a country united despite their differences on linguistic, ethnicity and cultural fronts.

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Equating nation with mother

Not only in our country but in the entire world, the nation is commonly treated as mother, because as a mother does for her children a nation cares for its citizen and rears and support them with the help of various natural resources without which requirements and purpose of life cannot be completed. It has been observed that during the times of conflicts and war, common citizens of the nation also get united and support their soldiers and the government.

Nationalism binds people in one thread

Nationalism is a collective sense of idea, the power of which can be sensed through the reality that the people living in the country’s borders ignore their differences and give importance to the loyalty towards the nation. Even they do not hesitate to give supreme sacrifice for their nation if it becomes necessary for the survival of their nation. Only because of the sense of nationalism, the people of different part of a country who may be completely unknown to each other get united, develop consensus and also discuss together on the issues related to their nation and find a common solution.

Nationalism and Globalization

According to some scholars, the process of globalization has influenced the nationalist thinking up to a major extent and now because of it the sense of national borders as well as the nationalism no longer exit and it has become a challenge to be handled. They argue that globalization and technological progress, such as internet and mobile phones have together turned the world into a global village and thus there is no sense of nationalism as a core value. However, this interpretation of nationalism is immaterial.

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For the progress of any nation it is important that its citizen keep alive the sense of nationalism within them. Observing keenly the importance of developing sense of nationalism and spirit of love for their country in their citizens, every government around the world essentially organize their national festivals in which honouring the national flag is an important activity. Overall, the progress of any nation largely depends on the sense of nationalism in their citizens which is an important feeling to bind all the citizens together despite them hailing from different religions, castes, or social strata.

Also Check: Essay on Freedom of Speech

Essay on Nationalism FAQs

What is nationalism in 150 words.

Nationalism is a strong love and loyalty towards one's own country. It involves a deep connection to the nation's history, culture, and a sense of pride in its achievements.

What is nationalism in short notes?

Nationalism is a deep affection and allegiance to one's own country, fostering a sense of unity and shared identity among its people.

What is nationalism in few words?

Nationalism is a strong love for and devotion to one's own nation, promoting a sense of belonging and pride among its citizens.

How do you write a nationalism essay?

To write a nationalism essay, start by defining nationalism, discuss its impact on society, and explore examples. Emphasize the positive aspects of fostering unity while acknowledging potential challenges.

What is the topic of nationalism?

The topic of nationalism revolves around the love, loyalty, and pride individuals feel for their own country. It explores how this sentiment shapes societies and influences global dynamics.

What are the 10 types of nationalism?

The 10 types of nationalism include civic nationalism, ethnic nationalism, cultural nationalism, religious nationalism, liberal nationalism, expansionist nationalism, anti-colonial nationalism, territorial nationalism, left-wing nationalism, and right-wing nationalism.

Is nationalism in India essay?

Yes, an essay on nationalism in India would discuss the strong sense of patriotism, unity in diversity, and the historical struggle for independence that shaped India's nationalistic identity.

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Nationalism Essay

500+ words nationalism essay.

Nationalism is a feeling of love and pride for our country. Whenever we think about the term nationalism, we get thoughts related to patriotism, national flags, sacrifices for the country etc. The Republic Day parade in Delhi is a striking symbol of Indian nationalism, and it brings out the sense of power, strength, and diversity of the Indian nation. With the help of this nationalism essay, students will get to know what nationalism means and how it plays an important role in uniting the people of a country. They can also get the list of CBSE Essays on different topics for their practice. It will help them to increase their scores in the English exam, and they can participate in various essay writing competitions at the school level.

Meaning of Nationalism

Nationalism may be defined as a sentiment, loyalty or sympathy which binds a group of people together and thus creates unity among them. Nationalism consists of some basic elements, which can be like a common language, traditions, religion, race, history or geography of a place etc. It is not necessarily true that people of every nationality must have these basic elements. In India, several races, languages, and cultures contribute to the Indian nationality.

Nationalism in India

Nationalism is rooted in the popular principle of nationality. For India, the making of national identity was a long process whose roots can be drawn from the ancient era. India had been ruled by many emperors in different time periods. It was during the 19th Century, the concept of national identity emerged among the people of India. It gave rise to national consciousness. People had a desire to get the identity of their nation. The major reasons behind this were economic, social and political factors. People discovered their unity in their struggle story, and with the help of Nationalism, they got freedom.

Elaborating on the concept of Indian Nationalism, the Encyclopedia on Social Science says, “India is a nation in which the Hindu religion served as a cohesive traditional element in uniting people of various races, religions and languages. India achieved national unity through the influence of Western ideas, notably those of British origin, and in the struggle against British rule”.

The great Rabindranath Tagore spoke of nationalism as “the most powerful anaesthetic that man has invented.” He added further: “Under the influence of its fumes the whole people can carry out its systematic programme of the most virulent self-seeking without being in the least aware of its moral perversion.”

Role of Nationalism

Nationalism inspired intense loyalties among the people. It has united people and helped to liberate them from oppressive rule. But, it has also been the cause of conflict and bitterness and wars. It has been a factor in the breakup of empires and states. The struggles related to nationalism have resulted in redrawing the boundaries of several empires and states. As a result of this, today we can see that the world is divided into different nations and states. So, it’s important that we as citizens use the spirit of nationalism in a constructive way. It should contribute to the growth of the nation and should build a feeling of brotherhood among people.

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History and Impacts of Nationalism

Nationalism is a divisive issue. World history has plenty of examples of positive and negative effects of nationalism, and its implications are often contradictory. This paper explores the impacts of nationalism and its origins.

Introduction

Nationalism history overview, negative effects of nationalism, positive effects of nationalism, nationalism as a part of comparative politics.

Nationalism is considered to be a political principle which is based on the idea of political and national unity being congruent. The notion ‘nationalism’ is used for identification of national consciousness and identity; it is aimed at the determination of ethnicity, being regarded as a recent political phenomenon which occurred in the 18th century, at the period of the emergence of the first nation-state.

Historical overview of nationalism concept, the analysis of its effects and consequences will be thoroughly described in the paper in order to evaluate its positive and negative aspects. The concept ‘nationalism’ is still open to discussion among historians and politicians arguing as to its prints left on the world history.

The eighteenth-century Europe events are considered to be closely connected with the origin of ‘nationalism.’ Historically, this term was perceived as a purely political one; it is necessary to underline the fact that historians can hardly identify the precise state of the concept introduction.

Nationalism development is connected with such notions as ‘modern state’ and ‘popular sovereignty,’ following the period of the French Revolution. It should be noted that the period of the 18th century appeared to be identified through a wide promotion of nationalism in the sphere of politics and social forces.

Its development was merely observed under the influence of World War I, II, leading to fascism raise and the promotion of authoritarian and radical nationalist ideology. (Gellner, 2006)

In accordance with nationalistic ideology, people make the nation; and the nation-states are legitimately being founded on the basis of national self-determination. Nationalistic self-determination is considered to be the principal reason for international conflicts, as the states are predominantly multinational claiming national status.

Nationalism is also a strong social notion, being determined through national anthems, national flags, and divisions; besides, this phenomenon is a culture sentiment being described as ‘nationality; this term is used to avoid ‘ideological tarnished reputation.

It is important to stress that such phenomena as democratization, industrialization, and economic redistribution are closely related to the nationalism concept. The basic idea of nationalism prosperity was based on the creation of a separate state for every existing nation. The critique of this phenomenon lies in the investigation of its negative and positive aspects. (Lazarus, 1999)

The concept of nationalism has been viewed as a complete rejection of multi-ethnic empires’ existence in the 19th century. The result of this ideological; view caused a number of repressions on the part of autocratic governments; the atmosphere of secessionism and violence confronted smaller nations; the western world created different forms of nationalism under the influence of political traditions.

It is necessary to underline the fact that nationalism was perceived as the dangerous force being described as the principle war cause between nation-states. The phenomenon dominating in modern politics managed to encourage people for new conflicts between the nations. As a result, World War II and the Great War had nationalism as the basic component of the material promotion. (Smith, 1995)

One more negative aspect of nationalism is focused around its movement’s violence on the basis of militarism principles. It is necessary to underline the fact that nationalist movements, being inspired by chauvinism and jingoism, were closely associated with national conflicts.

The emergence of nation-states appeared to be the reason for racism promotion; it can be explained by the fact that they excluded other nations, providing empire only for one national group. The analysis of comparative politics through the era of nationalism means the thorough study of principle conflict management instruments.

Political mobilization and constriction of many ethnic groups are the results of nationalism domination, though inter-ethnic interference in most cases led to conflicts and struggles. Politicized ethnic identities appeared to be the result of nationalist politics activities, transformed from multinational state regulations.

The prominence in the sphere of comparative politics was connected with profound effects made by ethnic identities in the development of welfare state, constitution, and party system. The nationalism managed to create rapid changes in the institutional structures on the basis of continuity context.

It is necessary to underline the fact that there is a strong link between institutional change and nationalism being analyzed in comparative politics through conceptual tools called ‘institutional conversion and layering.’ Nationalism was a great contribution to the welfare state through the demonstration of positive changes in the economic and social development. (Lazarus, 1999)

It is necessary to underline the fact that nationalism movement is presented as the promotion of national welfare and economic stability rather than international fighting. This movement promoted the idea of having organic societies to protect nation-state and cultural heritage. Ethnic marginalization and gang violence were an integral part of the nationalist movement.

Despite this fact, it promoted a positive image aimed at providing a peaceful life for the nation, giving an opportunity to the society to have its own culture and state. The deep analysis of nationalism discloses the fact that people living in the period of this movement perceived it at the subconscious level. Media propaganda and touchy policy introductions influenced the social vision of the nationalist environment. (McKim, 1997)

Nationalism appeared to be the first step to homogenous societies, and positive organic culture. The movement contributed to the creation of a positive connection. The introduction of the New Right in world states appeared to be the beginning of national positive thoughts and desires.

Nationalism provided a degree of protection against opponents’ criticism; it demonstrated the basis for Political Correctness stifling the opposition. It is necessary to underline the fact that the opposition immunity was built upon the claim against violence, hate, injustice, and bigotry, rather than social Marxism virtues.

It should be noted that such notions as ‘other cultures’ understanding’ and ‘freedom, tolerance’ were opposed to each other through nationalist state advocating. (Gellner, 2006)

One can hardly balance all positive and negative effects of nationalism movement; this stage in the sphere of comparative politics is considered to be conflicting and contradicting enough to state whether the movement appeared to bring welfare or destruction to the states.

The reason for the spread and rise of nationalism is at issue among theorists and historians; having appeared among English intellectuals, nationalism was a distorted reflection of numerous battles observed in the external world. Regional nationalism has provided a strong ground for overcoming linguistic bonds. Political and economic effects of nationalism promotion left a significant print on the international relationship building.

Besides, this ideological movement was a former political development all around the world. It is necessary to underline the fact that nationalism was regarded as a prominent element in the comparative politics formation, as it demonstrated a number of changes, connected with sovereignty and democracy of the nation-states. (Harrop, and Hague, 2007)

Nationalism is considered to be analyzed from the position of a metapolitical approach disclosing all positive and negative aspects of its promotion.

The paper demonstrated the impact of the nationalist movement on the development of political, economic, cultural, and social spheres from the 18th century, the time when nationalism emerged. It is necessary to underline the fact that nationalism was the reason for massive debated among modern historians, who strived to identify the true causes of its introduction through the analysis of its positive and negative issues.

The analysis of nationalism as the way to national identity managed to show a number of positive elements in its prosperity; the contribution to political and economic stabilization through the violence and fights resulted in further international relationship building and cultural unity.

Nationalism is considered to be referred to as modern political movements providing the push to democratic promotion all around the world. Nationalism study is a controversial issue in modern history, though its effects can be successfully identified through the analysis of its raise and promotion period.

Gellner, E. (2006). Nations and Nationalism. 2 nd Edition. Wiley-Blackwell.

Harrop, M. and Hague, R. (2007). Political Science. Fifth Edition. Palgrave MacMillan.

Lazarus, N. (1999). Nationalism and cultural practice in the postcolonial world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

McKim, R. (1997). The Morality of Nationalism. Oxford University Press.

Smith, A. (1995) Nations and Nationalism in a global era. Cambridge: Polity Press.

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StudyCorgi. (2020, January 6). History and Impacts of Nationalism. https://studycorgi.com/nationalism-its-history-and-impacts/

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Advanced Essay #3: The Foundation of Nationalism

Introduction:

In this essay, my goal was to explain what comes along with nationalism, and how it relates to patriotism. While writting this essay, I was able to understand the world slightly better. Being in SLA allows me to interact with different people while giving me willingness to learn about others. These are experiences that many people might never experience outside of this school, city, or country. In a sense, I was brought back to the real world. Writing this reminder that the world, is not perfect.

Throughout the world, people are separated into different categories, which impacts their lives completely, in a good or bad way. Possessing a classification is completely inevitable, especially when the whole world is built around classifications and division. There is a reason why people are divided in this world, and it's all because of something most of us, see no problem with. Nationalism.

When a nation comes into being, an invisible barrier appears at the border of this nation. Inside of this barrier, lies a certain kind of belief. Thought. State of mind. A mindset that all of those, inside of this barrier possess. This mindset isn't unique to this nation, as all of the other nations also possess the same kind of mindset. People in these barriers are connected to one another when it comes to their own nations. They feel pride, love, and hope, as their nations succeeding could mean their own success. When they accomplish any great dead for their nation, they feel patriotic. These people would give their lives to keep those inside of the barrier safe, and to keep the barrier from shattering. Political activist, Emma Goldman, who criticizes the mindset behind patriotism, states, ¨“When the child has reached manhood he is thoroughly saturated with the belief that he is chosen by the Lord himself to defend his country against the attack or invasion of any foreigner…” This quote perfectly touches upon the mindset of those in a nation. Inside of this barrier people will be shaped from young, to protect it from any other outsiders who are not from within the barrier. This mindset isn't something new either as it reaches as far back as ancient times when knights would protect their homeland from intruders.  The moment you become part of a nation, being patriotic becomes something extremely important. Especially when trying to fit in. When everyone possesses the same mindset, the only way to fit in with everyone else is to possess the same mindset as well.

Nationalism plays a huge role when it comes to people's refusal of understanding other nations. These people are completely blind when faced with the truth. They believe in something completely imaginative. A concept, which restraints and shackles them to their own nations, preventing them from interacting with one another. Making learning and understanding each other much less probable. These are done through various ways as social media, education, books and many other things within a certain nation can cause a person to be this way. Especially if purposefully created to guide someone´s mindset, as we see today in North Korea and China.

These shackles and these barriers could be easily taken down as long if their ignorance and arrogance were to disappear. If they didn't allow themselves to become mindless sheep and followed their own thoughts, they wouldn't be like this. A quote from Benedict Anderson´s book, ¨Imagined Communities,¨ uncovers this, “It's an imagination because the members of even the smallest nations, will never know of their fellow members, meet them, or hear about them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” These people will never truly be capable of truly understand one another. They share the same mindset and choose not to go through the barriers of other nations to understand them as they are patriotic towards their own, even though, not a single one of these people know everyone in their own nation. “Indeed, conceit, arrogance, and egotism are the essentials of patriotism. “ This quote from Emma Goldman and her piece, ¨What is Nationalism¨, is perfect for this idea because it shows the reasons why many of these people, choose to not understand others. Even though patriotism can be seen as prideful, successful and helpful, in truth, patriotism is formed from arrogance, segregation, greed, and other evil ideas.

There is a reason we go to war. This idea of being better than others that nationalism brings, allows countries to become greedy, causing conflict with one another. Russia going after Ukraine, England and the many places it colonized many years ago, colonizers. The greed overshadows their emotions as even the cruelest of things, becomes something acceptable, just because they are doing it for your own nation. Emma Goldman declares ¨We Americans claim to be a peace-loving people. We hate bloodshed; we are opposed to violence. Yet we go into spasms of joy over the possibility of projecting dynamite bombs from flying machines upon helpless citizens.¨ This quote is a complete summary of how nationalism can turn people into beasts. Normal people who have never seen blood in their lives, from young to old, accept other citizens being killed for the sake of their greed. As long as nationalism exists, humans will never be able to come together and live in peace as Benedict Anderson states, ¨No nation, Imagines themselves, continuous with mankind.”

Bibliography:

Anderson, Bennedict. "Imagined Commmunities." Rebels library . N.p., n.d. Web. Jan. & feb. 2017.

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Student Essays

Essay on Nationalism | Types, Factors & Importance of Nationalism

Nationalism refers to the belief that one’s own nation is superior, or that it has a unique mission to fulfill in the world. This means that a nationalist will typically be proud of his/her country’s achievements, and see it as a model for others to emulate. Nationalism also means that a nationalist will likely take a dim view of other countries and their achievements, seeing them as inferior.

Essay on Nationalism | Meaning, Types, Factors of Nationalism Essay for Students

Nationalism can be a perfectly healthy state of mind, providing it is kept in check by a sense of proportion. National pride often leads to national ambition: the desire to build or create a better society at home. This ambition can be a force for progress, if it is accompanied by a strong dose of realism and a sense of responsibility.

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It’s important to remember that not all countries are nationalists, and not all nationalists think alike. Nations differ in terms of the scale of their achievements, their sense of collective identity and the strength of their nationalist sentiments.

Types of Nationalism

There are three main types of nationalism, civic nationalism, ethnic nationalism and cultural nationalism. All these types have their own particular expressions of cultural identity, comprising many cultural idiosyncrasies.

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”.

Ethnic Nationalism:  This form of nationalism emphasizes a “pure” race, an ethnicity.  The state derives political legitimacy in the ancient rootedness of its people in their territory. Ethnic nationalists support the idea that national identity is inherent to a group’s genetic make-up, and that nationality is always defined by one’s blood.

Cultural Nationalism:   This form of nationalism reflects a shared culture. National identity is defined by a shared language, culture and history.

Factors that Strengthen Nationalism

Nations are important vehicles for the organization of populations, especially when they are associated with a state. A sense of belonging to a nation is an important factor for social cohesion. Hence, it is not surprising that many nationalist movements have aimed at strengthening this sense of belonging through various kinds of cultural symbols and practices.

Nationalism draws its roots from a number of different sources, including:

• Historical memories and the collective identity that they create.
• National languages and literature, which help create a distinctive identity.
• Geographical factors, in particular natural borders such as rivers, mountain ranges and coastlines.
• State or private organizations that promote national languages and cultural symbols (such as flags, anthems and museums).
• Political ideologies, such as socialism and liberalism.
• Emotional components, such as national pride or desire for freedom from foreign domination.

Role & Importance of Nationalism 

Nationalism is a major political and economic force, as well as a source of inspiration for institutions such as the state and the legal system. It is also a key factor in political and social mobilization, and therefore affects the public sphere.

Nationalism forms the basis of all states: without it, as Benedict Anderson famously put it, there would be no states. Nations without states are not merely imagined but also real through-and-through, since they are defined as sovereign entities by international law.

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Nationalism in a positive sense can play a constructive role in building a nation and its people. However, it can also lead to violence and wars.

It is a double-edged sword, and the same force that can either unite or divide. So it’s important to understand what type of nationalism is at play, while keeping in mind that nationalism’s roots are found in the past. Nationalism may feel like it is about today, but it is often rooted in history and past circumstances.

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Nationalism - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

Nationalism is an ideology and movement that promotes the interests of a particular nation, especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the nation’s sovereignty over its homeland. Essays on nationalism could explore its historical evolution, its impact on international relations, and its role in fostering or undermining societal cohesion and progress. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Nationalism you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Nationalism

This essay will seek to persuade the reader that nationalism as a whole contributed a more direct cause to the break out of World War I than assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914. Many argue that the cause of the first world war was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Bosnia in June of 1914. While the assassination of the Archduke prompted Austria to declare war on Serbia with Germany's support in July 1914, causing […]

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What is Nationalism?

A conversation with christopher demuth, distinguished fellow at hudson institute.

‘Nationalism.’ It’s a word getting thrown around a lot these days. Some say it is code for racism and xenophobia. Others contend it is the natural expression of  any  nation’s people. What does nationalism mean, and how does the concept apply to American politics today? These are the questions at the heart of an essay in the Winter 2019 issue of the  Claremont Review of Books  titled “Trumpism, Nationalism, and Conservatism.” It’s author is Chris DeMuth, who joins host Ben Judge in this episode of The American Mind Podcast.

In this interview, you’ll hear about DeMuth’s move towards appreciating President Trump, as well as a word of warning to conservative organizations dealing with Republican presidents. But at the heart of the conversation is this question: Are Trumpism, Nationalism, and Conservatism synonymous?

Christopher DeMuth is a distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute. From 1986 to 2008, he was the President of the American Enterprise Institute. His experience in government spans from working for Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the Nixon administration to serving in the Reagan administration as the Administrator for Information and Regulatory Affairs, colloquially known as the “Deregulation Czar.”

Judge:             All right, Chris, well, thanks for joining us.

DeMuth:         Good to be here, Ben. Thanks for having me.

Judge:             First sentence of your C.R.B. essay, the 8,000-word—

DeMuth:        [Laughs]

Judge:             [Laughs] —treatise.

DeMuth:        Endless essay.

Judge:             But the first sentence, it’s a strong start. Quote: “Trumpism has an essence, and that essence is nationalism.” So there’s a lot to unpack there. Let’s start with this: What is “Trumpism”?

DeMuth:         I was trying to take the political phenomenon of Trump, and his personality, and his policies, and this very unusual President, who got there by surprise, and all of the strong emotions, support, ideas—one way and the other—that surround him, and I wanted to step back and gain a little perspective on the whole thing. And I thought that the most important aspect of it was that this is the American version of this new spirit of nationalism that we see all around the North Atlantic nations, from Brexit to the new leadership in Poland and Hungary, and the nationalist movements in France, Germany, Italy.

I think it’s a larger phenomenon and that the most important aspects of Trump—“Make America great again,” “Put America first”—are expressions of a renewed spirit of nationalism as against other ideas that have come to the fore in American politics in recent years—most dramatically under President Obama, who was quite pointed in not even wanting to say that America was exceptional. I mean we’re exceptional, but Luxembourg is exceptional, and Antarctica’s exceptional. That sort of thing. And the increasing attachment to international institutions—if you have a treaty, if you think you can get it through the Senate, you take it to the Senate; but if you don’t, you take it to the United Nations, and that’s just as good and maybe better.

There’s a lot going on with the Trump phenomenon, but a big part of it—and I maintain its core and the most important part for us to think about what it means for the American near-term future—is this revived spirit of nationalism. We’re going to stand for America. We’re going to make America a better place.

Judge:             We’ll talk about nationalism a bit more later. Sticking with Trump for a second. I don’t remember people talking about Bush-ism or Clinton-ism or Obama-ism, maybe period, certainly in the same way.

DeMuth:         Yes. Reaganism though. I worked in the Reagan administration, and we were “Reaganots.” Right?

Judge:             [Laughs] Right.

DeMuth:         And then when Vice President Bush became president, we called them “Bushies.” So there’s a little bit of that, but “Obamanans,” you know, there hasn’t been much of that recently.

Judge:             But that’s different. Those are people who follow Bush or went to work for him. Same with Reagan. Reaganism’s a bit different, and we can talk about why. This is an idea though. When we talk about Trumpism you, even by your own admission, say Trumpism is bigger than Trump. So what is different in how we’re thinking about him in relation to an idea? How is that different than other presidents in relation to the political philosophy that they bring to office or they promote?

DeMuth:         I think that when people think of Trump and go beyond the things that we talk about every day—like what was his Twitter feed at 5:00am this morning, those sorts of things—his very strong opposition to the Washington establishment, the deep state, that sort of thing, and a lot of things, such as his rashness, his political incorrectness—a part of it is just he’s a defiant character, he defies the establishment. He defies the establishment much more bluntly than Ronald Reagan did, for example.

That’s one thing about him, and the other is his maintaining that both parties had to have been ignoring a very substantial segment of the American population that had been doing terribly in recent decades. He had his diagnosis of the reasons—trade, manufacturing jobs moving abroad—but he, from the very beginning, maintained that there was a substantial portion of the population that had been left out of establishment policy under both parties.

Judge:             Is that neglect the biggest single thing we’ve learned from Trump?

DeMuth:        Well, it is a very important thing that we have learned. There were warnings of this. It was not altogether unexpected. If you read, say, the writings of my former colleague, Henry Olsen, in 2014, -15, -16, he was pounding the table saying, “You Republicans have forgotten the Reagan Republicans, and they’re hurting, and if you want to hold on to majority status in Washington, you’re going to have to get back to them and a lot of their interests are pretty squarely opposed to what you think Republican Party interests and policies ought to be.” So there was some of it.

Another former colleague of mine from A.E.I., Michael Novak, who was this very high-concept theologian, Catholic, political analyst and philosopher, but he was a tough working-class kid from western Pennsylvania. He was from Johnstown, and he never forgot it. He saw it. I spoke with him shortly before the election, and I hadn’t talked with him in a long time, and it was a point when a lot of my friends on the Right—they were kind of going in all different directions on Trump—and I hadn’t talked with Novak for a couple of months. So I was kind of on edge. I said, “Well, Michael, what do you think about the election?” And he said, “Chris, if this country is going to divide into people who went to college and people who didn’t go to college, I’m going to be with the people who didn’t go to college.”—

Judge:             [Laughs]

DeMuth:         —So there were some inklings of this, but Trump saw it at a level nobody else did and made it his campaign; and a lot of people didn’t think he was actually going to win. There was a lot of speculation about that. But he saw a set of issues that would propel his campaign, and I think it just may have turned out to be that his discovery was even more powerful than he expected it would be.

Judge:             When was that conversation with Michael Novak?

DeMuth:         It was shortly before the election.

Judge:             General?

DeMuth:         The general election.

Judge:             When did you start to see that there was a divide between what was actually going on in the country and basically what Trump identified?

DeMuth:         No, I came late to the party myself. I began to see that there was something big and important going on in June of 2016, and it was clear he was going to get the nomination. He then spent two weeks attacking this judge in a personal case, and I thought, “This man is not up to it.” I just thought he was frittering things away, and I was wrong.

Judge:             Yes, because there’s a trajectory from that to this C.R.B. piece. So there are things you’ve learned in that time. When did this concept of nationalism and what Trump was articulating start to really crystallize in your mind. Was it events? Was it just thinking through the thought a little bit more—the thought behind what he was saying or what other people were saying?

DeMuth:         Well, I would say that I was struck by the similarities between the Trump phenomenon in America and what was going on from London to Budapest in Europe. I started reading up on this thing called “nationalism” because suddenly it was extremely controversial. If one was a nationalist, this was a bad thing, and I’d never thought about it enough to have strong feelings. Although, at A.E.I. we did have a group of people who were concerned about the sacrifice of American sovereignty. We’d commissioned work by people such as John Fonte, John O’Sullivan, and especially Jeremy Rabkin at G.M.U. now, Scalia Law School, and I had been an enthusiastic promoter of their work. I thought that a nation’s voluntarily giving up true sovereignty—that seemed to me a dramatic change and something that needed to be opposed.

So I knew a little bit about it in the past, but I started reading up and I read lots of things that important people wrote about this back in the—you know I went back to John Stuart Mill and others. But then I came across this new book by Yoram Hazony, the Israeli philosopher, and I was just really gripped by the book. I thought it was really—it encapsulated a lot of things that I felt were sort of up in the air. It summarized a lot of arguments. It was very controversial. So I found that quite interesting, and that helped me understand what I thought was, as I said, the essence of Trumpism better. So I wrote this essay to try to explore if we took this idea of nationalism seriously and it’s more than just we’re going to renegotiate trade agreements and we’re going to tell the Germans that they better pay up more for N.A.T.O.—I’m for all those things—but there has to be more to the idea of resuscitating a sense of national spirit and pride, and at a point when, in part as a result of the Trump phenomenon, Americans seem to be very divided, which is obviously a problem for a nationalist—if everybody’s at each other’s throats, you don’t have much of a nation—and it was thinking about that that led me to this Claremont essay.

Judge:             You in the essay at least implied that nationalism, and you’re saying it now, is not enough on its own. In the essay you talk about a more capacious nationalism. So what does that more capacious nationalism look like?

DeMuth:         It could mean different things. I would say in all successful nations there has to be a degree of cohesion. It doesn’t have to be strong cohesion. You know it’s not like we’re all Red Sox fans and hate the Yankees. It’s fairly weak, but it has to be strong enough so that people are willing to make sacrifices if you’re challenged, if the nation is challenged. If it comes under serious hardship, people have to be willing to make sacrifices. Sometimes they have to sacrifice their lives willingly. If you don’t have at least reservoirs of loyalty across small communities, races, creeds, your side of the river, my side of the river—if you don’t have that extent, you don’t really have a nation. If you have that extent of self-conscious loyalty, you have the makings of doing great things.

It was that amount of cohesion that made possible things such as the common law, the idea of due process, the idea that king was not above the law. These are huge advances in civilization, and they were all done in the context of pretty successful nations. So being a successful nation requires a degree of loyalty and a sense of common purpose. So my idea of a more capacious nationalism for America in the circumstances we are in in 2019 is to look for ways to make, not just people that wear mega-hats, but everybody feel that they’re really part of an important enterprise here that is greater than our divisions over immediate matters. That’s not an easy thing to do, but that’s where I wanted to start.

Judge:             Would your article lose anything if the title was [ sic ] “Patriotism and Conservatism”?

DeMuth:         I think it would—

Judge:             Why?

DeMuth:         —I’m not speaking of patriotism simply love of country, but patriotism as a means to achieve something.

Judge:             And what is that?

DeMuth:         Patriotism for me is a little bit too—it’s sort of weak tea. I think that we can get most people in the House of Representatives to say that they’re—probably not all—but we can probably get most people, including wide divergences in ideology, to say that they are patriots. But if you pressed a little bit harder, you would get a Emmanuel Macron version of patriotism, which is true patriotism means that we should not do anything in foreign affairs unless the United Nations agrees because that is the repository of our moral values. You would find people saying that, and I would say to that, “Absolutely not. That’s the opposite of what I mean by ‘patriotism.’” I mean being loyal to a set of ideas that are American ideas, that are distinctively American, that may be quite different than ideas that people in China or Hungary or Brazil are attached to.

Judge:             And you think nationalism covers that but patriotism does not?

DeMuth:         Yes.

Judge:             So in order to get to a more capacious nationalism, you say we need a spirit of common destiny. Charles Kesler, in a previous interview on The American Mind , talked about the Founding as the key to the meaning of America and what it means to be an American. Seems like a spirit of common destiny requires an appreciation for Founding principles. Does it?

DeMuth:         I think Charles is saying more than that, but I think that it certainly does require an appreciation of our history and our Founding. Absolutely, yes.

Judge:             But how central is that? How central is it to make an appeal to American principles when you are making a case for American nationalism?

DeMuth:         I’m not great at these questions about degree. I’m not going to say it’s the most. It is very important because having a history that we’re proud of is one of the exceptional things about America. There are some countries that I love—Mexicans cannot be proud of their history because there’s a lot of just one terrible thing after the other. Mexicans will tell you they search. They’re proud of certain things about Mexico today, but there aren’t these moments of great achievement and pride that are special about America. So this is something that we’ve got, and if you’ve got it, flaunt it.

So it’s one of the advantages that we have. Other nations have a better climate—

DeMuth:         —But this is something we’ve got, so let’s go with it, and it is a great story. The principles are true today, and one of the interesting things about American history is the nation changes, the challenges change; and every time we’re faced with what seem like new and different and strange problems, you go back to Madison—you know if you just start with Madison, he gives you a lot of solutions. One of the reasons the nation has lasted so long is that the Founding was so very deep.

Now it’s worrisome—more than worrisome, somewhere between worrisome and sickening—that high schools do not teach the important parts of the American history and the American Founding, but I’ll tell you, in my family I know some pretty good high school teachers in just kind of good schools around the country, and they take the history of the American Founding very seriously.

The most successful Broadway musical in the past 20 years is about the American Founding, and it’s playing in every big city in the country, and it’s sold out for 20 years. You can write a book about Benjamin Rush. It’ll be a bestseller. People are really interested in the subject. I think that the appreciation of the Founding, which is sort of a central idea of The Claremont Institute, there are a lot of big challenges, but we have a lot to work with in the sheer quality, the sheer greatness, and all of these interesting characters. And it seems to hold a lot of—I think the mystic chords are still there.

Judge:             So let’s shift and talk about how people divide themselves in today’s world. You talk about “Anywheres” and “Somewheres.” You say that you like the terms because they aren’t as politically loaded as “elites” and “establishment” on the one hand and “Trumpians” and “nationalists” on the other. So what is an “Anywhere”?

DeMuth:         I like them because they’re apolitical, but they describe circumstances of people’s lives, and the—Anywheres are people whose primary attachments in their lives are not geographic and local, and many of them are abstract. Imagine people whose lives are spent online, but also think of people who are professionals, who live in the world of ideas and knowledge, and their attachments are to groups that may or may not be in the vicinity of where they live.

Somewheres are people whose lives—their jobs, their work, their avocations—are in a place. They belong to a place. Most of their lives are spent with individuals who are actually physical people that they are dealing with on a day-to-day basis. That’s the essential division, and it is easy to see in it a distinction between people who are pro- and anti-Trump; but it is a different breakdown. And I should say, these are supposed to helpful metaphors. As they say, they’re heuristics. They’re supposed to help explain something, and I found them useful for explanatory purposes. But once it was published, and especially when a knockoff came out in The Wall Street Journal—

DeMuth:         —I thought everybody wanted to talk about whether they were an Anywhere, Somewhere, and I was being snobbish because of what I said about Somewheres, and didn’t I know that there were actually educated people that lived in small-town America? Well, yes, I actually did know that. People got all caught—it was sort of fun, but whenever you try to generalize for purposes of explaining something, people will think that you’re saying that everybody in the world in is one or the other and they’re completely in one or the other, so—

Judge:             Ride that to more publicity.

DeMuth:         [Laughs] Yes, that’s right. Go with it. Of course.

Judge:             Well, here’s [ sic ] some other terms that people have used: “elite,” “establishment,” “ruling class.” Tony Dolan, who you worked with in the Reagan administration, used to say “the capital class.” Irving Kristol said “the new class.” Yours seems broader. Is that accurate?

Judge:            Were those terms missing something that yours picked up on?

DeMuth:         That’s a very good question, and I’m not—let me give it a try. I was trying to get a little bit beyond those, including Tony Dolan. I was trying to get beyond those other generalizations because of my view, which is somewhat idiosyncratic, that the most important things affecting our politics are affluence and technology. And most people will describe things more in cultural and ideological terms, and there’ve been these big eruptions of one ideology or another.

I think, by far, the most important changes are that we’ve become very very affluent, and affluent people have a different set of interests and values; and they’ve got lots and lots of leisure time to pursue those interests and values, and it has produced a new and, sort of, extravagant set of demands on government than we ever had in the past. Technology makes it possible for people to press their demands on government to an extent that could not have happened before, and it has atomized government itself so that every member of Congress can be a solo practitioner, and you’re not just a cog in a committee or a party wheel.

I see all of the changes—some good, some bad—in our politics as resulting from these things, and when I came upon from these notions of Somewheres versus Anywheres—which are not my own ideas, they’re in a book by this British political analyst, David Goodhart—was that this division seemed very very close to those who were more affluent, had more leisure time, and were more connected, networked, living their lives in some larger world.

And I don’t just mean social media. It could be part of a not-for-profit organization that has its own software and we all communicate with each other, and you and I used to work together, but you married a gal from Claremont, so you’re now working in Claremont. But you and I still work together every day even though I’m across the continent. People that live their lives in that—that’s a different kind of division, and I think that people like that are much more comfortable with the kind of government we have that Donald Trump ran against than others.

Judge:             To stick with Anywheres for a little bit more—you said when we first started talking about Anywheres that they’re people who live in the world of ideas, that’s part of where they live. So were the American Founders Anywheres?

DeMuth:         The American Founders were so Somewhere—

DeMuth:         —They were so Somewhere. Jefferson could not wait to get back to Monticello. When things got rough for John Adams, he went up to Quincy for what? Six months? He’s President of the United States? None of these guys could wait to get home. George Washington. Probably the most Anywhere of them all was Hamilton. Of course, he was an immigrant, and he moved around.

I’m not a completely anti-Anywhere person. I’ve lived most of my life in the Anywhere sphere. There is this view of the American Founding that Hamilton—they don’t put it this way—but that Hamilton was so important because he was something of an Anywhere dealing with complete Somewheres. For example, he had some idea of the importance of finance, but it didn’t have anything to do with terroir . It wasn’t the land so it couldn’t be real; it must be corrupt. That was a pretty good tension.

I would say the attachment to place was important for essentially all of them, and while I don’t say so explicitly in my essay, if you look at it, I think you’d see that I think we need to have a discovery of the importance of place, human interaction, loyalty to particular communities, and a little bit less of this footloose disconnected spirit.

Judge:             But all of the examples that you just mentioned—Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, who spent a tremendous amount of time of his early life outside the United States—were removed from particular localities for long periods of time, but they never lost that attachment to America—

DeMuth:         Where they came from.

Judge:             —Right. So that was an attachment to ideas as much as it was a place. Correct?

DeMuth:         I would not agree with that. No. They were informed by a strong sense of ideas. There’s no question about that. Let me just tell you that my notion of nationalism that I think we need to recover is maybe a little bit different than the Claremont version. I think that this business that America is based on ideas, that we have this set of ideas, that we’re a doctrinal nation—equality, the Declaration of Independence, and all that—those ideas are very important. But we’re also based on several centuries of living together on this continent and the institutions that we have developed incrementally year over year over year.

So I think that we should not think of America as an abstraction. America’s actually a real place, and a lot of people—I have a very strong sense of your town of Claremont, and it’s very distinctive, and I can really imagine living my life in Claremont and that would be different than living my life in Washington. So I would say that when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were spending all of this time in Europe in the early days, and when John Quincy Adams was traveling abroad, it was not just that they were standing up for a bunch of ideas; but they were standing up for a people, a locality, a home that they were a part of.

George Shultz, the Secretary of State in the Reagan administration, used to meet with every new ambassador before he or she left to go off to the nation where they’d be representing America, and he’d always concluded the interview by walking over to a big globe and spinning it, and he said, “Would you point to your country?” If they were going down to Latin America, they’d point to Bolivia or something like that. He’d say, “No. No. That’s not your country. Turn it around. America. That’s your country.” He was talking about a place.

Judge:             A place that represents certain ideas—

DeMuth:         Oh, absolutely.

Judge:             —And brought together by certain things, right?

DeMuth:         We are held together by our amazing success at furthering a set of ideas and ideals about politics and society. Absolutely.

Judge:             The late Peter Schramm used to say that he was “born American, but in the wrong place”—

DeMuth:         [Laughs]

Judge:             —So he was talking about?

DeMuth:         America as an idea. That’s true.

Judge:             Let’s talk about Somewheres a little bit. We spent a lot of time on Anywheres, but ideally we have more Somewheres. We need more Somewheres to see this revival of American nationalism. That’s where I think your argument goes in this. I want to look at an example of place, say Austin, where a bunch of Anywheres from my home state are moving in part because they like it more. It’s a better government. It’s a better-run city—

DeMuth:         Wait. They banned Uber.

Judge:            [Laughs]

DeMuth:         This is supposed to be a well-run city?

Judge:             A bunch of Anywheres move to a place with a bunch of Somewheres, but the Anywheres don’t turn into Somewheres. They bring that set of ideas and that approach to government with them, and it has an effect on the place, whether it’s Austin, Nashville, Atlanta—different places where you have seen people who very much qualify in the Anywhere category move, but there hasn’t been an assimilation. Why? Why is it so hard to turn one kind of person in that setup in to another? Or is it possible? Are these just separate divides, and you can’t bridge them, and you’re in those categories?

DeMuth:         I think that there is a spectrum. I myself am familiar with several towns that are all Somewheres towns, but also some—Durango, Colorado is a town that I know that is half Anywheres—half Hollywood stars and half Marlboro cowboys. I think it is important not to think that these are two categories of people who are irredeemably in one spot or the other. So I could give you examples, and I’m a little bit older than you, and in your seventies you get to know a lot of people who’ve been jetsetters. They’ve lived in Germany representing a law firm or a corporation, or they’ve been teaching around. Now they live in a little town someplace, and they’re a reporter for the local newspaper, and I’ve heard from a lot of people my age. So there are people that change.

I don’t want to just kind of give examples. “No, no, no, Ben, there are these people that change. Anybody can—” No, no, no. I want to put it in terms of a proposition, which is that I think that an important technique—excuse me—an important means of our becoming more of a nation, and a more effective nation, and a people who are able to live with others of radically different views is for all of us to try to live more like Somewheres in the sense of—I’m sorry, it’s going to be very—get off of social media. Look around. Live your life, you know, with people. This sounds very bland, but I believe that where people live their lives with other real people that they confront and deal with every day, there is much less tendency to hate and vilify people that you disagree with.

A lot of this amazing fascination with identity strikes me as an Anywheres problem, that people are so obsessed with sex and race and things like this, but when you actually go in to a real community, people are not obsessed by these things. People live with these differences, and they actually tend not even to be that important, and they became terribly important when they’re created as abstractions by people that deal with others that they don’t even know.

Judge:             I want to approach this from a different way. Let’s take someone who Airbnb’s [ sic ] around the world going from city to city, stays in touch with most of their [ sic ] friend through social media, and still believes that that home, America—best place in the world. What is that person missing in terms of—

DeMuth:         No, that’s the person that I want. This is a person who has expanded her/his community, people traveling around and has met many people in many different circumstances, that actually regards them as friends, and uses all of these technologies to stay in touch with actual people, as opposed to obsessing over abstractions the way so many people in American politics do.

Judge:             Because that person’s rooted in a certain set of principles? What would you say that grounds that person compared with someone who Airbnb’s [ sic ] around the world, goes from city to city, stays in touch with people via social media, and considers themselves [ sic ] an international citizen?

DeMuth:         That this person is not completely narcissistically obsessed with himself and how wonderful it is to be traveling around the world. He’s actually interested in the people and cultures that he sees, and he likes them; but all of this fortifies his love for America.

Judge:             Got it.

So shifting gears a little bit. We’ve talked about issues of American identity and purpose needing to be revived. You said in the C.R.B. piece that those ideas needed to be brought to the forefront of political debate, but that it wasn’t Congress’s job to do so. Did you mean that it’s not Congress’s job as an institution or members of Congress?

DeMuth:         Both. That is there are large issues of national purpose and national identity that Congress as an institution, because of its design—you know there were some people that wanted to have—imagine we had a Congress where it’s bicameral, but every member of both chambers is elected nationally. Then you would have a system of competition for people that wanted to express some vision for the country as a whole.

That’s the not the legislature we have, and I don’t think it’s the legislature we want. It’s largely a reactive institution, and it is primarily our presidents—there are times that even a judicial restraint guy like myself would say that the courts have come in and spoken authoritatively on issues. Brown vs. Board of Education, I would say, would be one of those; many in the 19 th century. But it is largely presidents and civic leaders, I think governors over the years have been extremely important.

But Congress is not that institution. Congress is where we make peace. It is where people with different ideas come together and compromise. There’s a separate political function, which is articulating some larger ideals that everybody, despite their differences, ought to rally around. I wanted to give some sense of those, and I gave three that I offered because they were ideas that used to be consensus issues in America that suddenly have become extremely controversial and actually somewhat in doubt.

I know that there are people in the Congress, I know some of them, who believe in all of those things, but they’re not in a position—they can give speeches on the subject—but they’re not going to be leading a movement back to those large issues.

Judge:             But presidents can talk about those large issues?

DeMuth:        Presidents can.

Judge:             So—

DeMuth:         And I should say there have been legislators over the years that have articulated national views, not always views that I share, but basically the legislators, they vote on things, and they never get everything that they want. So it’s just a difficult situation.

Judge:             So you were President of A.E.I.—

DeMuth:         You remember when Ev Dirksen was being attacked by Republican backbenchers for being insufficiently principled—

DeMuth:         —in his negotiations with the L.B.J. White House? And Ev said, “I’ve always been a man of principle, and my first principle has always been flexibility.” [Laughs]

DeMuth:         That’s the ethos of the legislature. It’s a powerful one and it’s difficult to escape.

Judge:             So you were President of A.E.I. during three Republican presidencies: Reagan, Bush, and Bush. How should conservative organizations, think tanks, publications position themselves in relation to a republican president?

DeMuth:         A conservative right-of-center policy organization needs to beware of a Republican administration. It is a threat. It’s a threat, first of all, because if the President is smart, he’ll hire a lot of your best people. But it’s a longer-term threat because you and your people are coast to the corridors of power. You actually have lunch at the White House. You meet in one of those small little buildings in the Capitol that are impossible to find and get to.

And you are in the business of trying to come up with good ideas for people who are in government. And it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that they’re actually different lines of work—that trying to think and build capital on political and policy subjects is very different from you get in, you’re burning capital, you’re engaged in tactical maneuvers all the time. A think tank is trying to build up people and ideas so that when the moment comes those people can get in and do the best they can to further the ideals that they had come to when they are in think tanks.

But if the think tank itself comes to think of itself as part of that enterprise, it starts making compromises. It starts acting as if it is part of the government or that it has more power than it does. One risk is that you pull your punches because you have friends that are in the inside. The other risk is that you get furious with your friends for being quislings, you know, for making ridiculous compromises and abandoning principles, and you excoriate them.

Neither is correct. A degree of detachment is essential for serious scholarship, and a think tank—especially one in Washington, especially one very close to the flame of active politics—has to really work to maintain the degree of disinterestedness that’s essential to make good on this special calling, this special form of work.

Judge:             Has that dynamic changed with this administration?

DeMuth:         Let me think. I don’t think so. I would say that in the years before Trump came, I thought that the major think tanks on the Right and on the Left were becoming a little bit too political. They were losing some of their independence. They were becoming part of a party or a movement to an excessive degree, and so it may be that Trump’s having come along and scrambled everything has been helpful in that regard.

One thing I do—I have a private consultancy for which I’m paid nothing, which is talking to think tank chieftains and dispensing the wisdom of the ages and so forth—which they usually ignore, but I do give them advice—and I have had heads of think tanks say, “You know, we’ve been asked to do this with the Trump administration, and we actually think there’s some potential here; but we’re afraid that then we’re going to get attacked, and maybe CODEPINK is going to come over, or The Washington Post will dis us. Should we collaborate with them?”

There’s been a certain amount of that, but I think that the institutions have found their way. In all of the leading institutions I think you can find people that pretty much the whole spectrum in their attitudes towards Trump the personality and so forth, who are doing—not always work that I agree with—but work that is serious analyses of what he’s doing about the infrastructure problem, or the executive order on this, that, or the other thing, or the census issue. Actually I think I see probably more truly independent work now than I did several years ago.

Judge:             But you say he has changed the movement?

DeMuth:         Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I think—and I’m not somebody who feels he’s good at predicting the future—but I am impressed, and I see this in the think tanks, but I see it beyond the think tanks because the think tanks no longer have the monopoly that they used to—

Judge:             Sure.

DeMuth:        —The Claremont Institute is 3,000 miles away, and it’s a big part of the conversation right here in Washington. Quillette is halfway around the world. It’s a big part, and it’s just this nice young lady at the kitchen table—

DeMuth:         —But, you know, she’s really good at what she does. So there’s this amazing confluence of people, and institutions, and argumentation that is very very exciting.

I wish—I’m sorry to say this on the air here—I wish there were some of this on the Left. There are three or four people that are kind of the old-fashioned, progressive liberals that like to argue and do so at a very high level and aren’t just kind of down in the electoral pit from minute to minute.

So I just love the books and art, not all of them, but at their best— Claremont Review and many others, The New Criterion , First Things , not just the political ones. I’m a long-form essay guy, as you well know, so I like those things, but a lot of these new features on the web—some of them just by individuals or people that put up their own podcasts. Sam Harris. There’s just this enormous variety. I think that it augurs well for our movement.

It maybe will just splinter and fall apart. Sometimes, as happens, movements become parochial, and you and I agree on 99% of things. and then we just hate each other because of this 1%. Out of Claremont I’m sure you’re familiar with all of the debates between Harry Jaffe and Walter Berns and those sorts of things. I love both of them. Maybe I’m missing something, but I thought that that was, for the most part, a very helpful set of arguments that they had.

Judge:             Well, we’ll have to address those another time. [Laughs]

Judge:             Chris DeMuth, thank you.

DeMuth:        Good to be here. Thank you very much.

The American Mind presents a range of perspectives. Views are writers’ own and do not necessarily represent those of The Claremont Institute.

The American Mind is a publication of the Claremont Institute, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to restoring the principles of the American Founding to their rightful, preeminent authority in our national life. Interested in supporting our work? Gifts to the Claremont Institute are tax-deductible.

Charles Kesler joins “The Seth Leibsohn Show” 3.4.19

Charles Kesler joins "The Seth Leibsohn Show" to discuss the just-released Winter Issue of the Claremont Review of Books, including his new essay, "2020 Foresight," and Christopher DeMuth's "Trumpism, Nationalism, And Conservatism."

Jeremy Carl joins the Power Line Show 04.04.20

Senior Fellow Jeremy Carl joins the Power Line Show to offer insights and observations on many subjects including nationalism, populism, and foreign attitudes toward President Trump.

The American Mind Podcast: The Roundtable Episode #44

From lockdowns to the so-called "Great Reset"

The American Mind Podcast: The Roundtable Episode #79

The american mind podcast: the roundtable episode #84, tell me what you really think ep. 208.

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• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

100 Last-Day-of-School Activities Your Students Will Love!

The Big List of Essay Topics for High School (120+ Ideas!)

Ideas to inspire every young writer!

High school students generally do a lot of writing, learning to use language clearly, concisely, and persuasively. When it’s time to choose an essay topic, though, it’s easy to come up blank. If that’s the case, check out this huge round-up of essay topics for high school. You’ll find choices for every subject and writing style.

• Argumentative Essay Topics
• Cause-and-Effect Essay Topics
• Compare-Contrast Essay Topics
• Descriptive Essay Topics
• Expository and Informative Essay Topics
• Humorous Essay Topics

Literary Essay Topics

• Narrative and Personal Essay Topics
• Personal Essay Topics
• Persuasive Essay Topics

Research Essay Topics

Argumentative essay topics for high school.

When writing an argumentative essay, remember to do the research and lay out the facts clearly. Your goal is not necessarily to persuade someone to agree with you, but to encourage your reader to accept your point of view as valid. Here are some possible argumentative topics to try. ( Here are 100 more compelling argumentative essay topics. )

• The most important challenge our country is currently facing is … (e.g., immigration, gun control, economy)
• The government should provide free internet access for every citizen.
• All drugs should be legalized, regulated, and taxed.
• Vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco.
• The best country in the world is …
• Parents should be punished for their minor children’s crimes.
• Should all students have the ability to attend college for free?
• Should physical education be part of the standard high school curriculum?

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• Schools should require recommended vaccines for all students, with very limited exceptions.
• Is it acceptable to use animals for experiments and research?
• Does social media do more harm than good?
• Capital punishment does/does not deter crime.
• What one class should all high schools students be required to take and pass in order to graduate?
• Do we really learn anything from history, or does it just repeat itself over and over?
• Are men and women treated equally?

Cause-and-Effect Essay Topics for High School

A cause-and-effect essay is a type of argumentative essay. Your goal is to show how one specific thing directly influences another specific thing. You’ll likely need to do some research to make your point. Here are some ideas for cause-and-effect essays. ( Get a big list of 100 cause-and-effect essay topics here. )

• Humans are causing accelerated climate change.
• Fast-food restaurants have made human health worse over the decades.
• What caused World War II? (Choose any conflict for this one.)
• Describe the effects social media has on young adults.

• How does playing sports affect people?
• What are the effects of loving to read?
• Being an only/oldest/youngest/middle child makes you …
• What effect does violence in movies or video games have on kids?
• Traveling to new places opens people’s minds to new ideas.
• Racism is caused by …

Compare-Contrast Essay Topics for High School

As the name indicates, in compare-and-contrast essays, writers show the similarities and differences between two things. They combine descriptive writing with analysis, making connections and showing dissimilarities. The following ideas work well for compare-contrast essays. ( Find 80+ compare-contrast essay topics for all ages here. )

• Public and private schools
• Capitalism vs. communism
• Monarchy or democracy
• Dogs vs. cats as pets

• Paper books or e-books
• Two political candidates in a current race
• Going to college vs. starting work full-time
• Working your way through college as you go or taking out student loans
• iPhone or Android
• Instagram vs. Twitter (or choose any other two social media platforms)

Descriptive Essay Topics for High School

Bring on the adjectives! Descriptive writing is all about creating a rich picture for the reader. Take readers on a journey to far-off places, help them understand an experience, or introduce them to a new person. Remember: Show, don’t tell. These topics make excellent descriptive essays.

• Who is the funniest person you know?
• What is your happiest memory?
• Tell about the most inspirational person in your life.
• Write about your favorite place.
• When you were little, what was your favorite thing to do?
• Choose a piece of art or music and explain how it makes you feel.
• What is your earliest memory?

• What’s the best/worst vacation you’ve ever taken?
• Describe your favorite pet.
• What is the most important item in the world to you?
• Give a tour of your bedroom (or another favorite room in your home).
• Describe yourself to someone who has never met you.
• Lay out your perfect day from start to finish.
• Explain what it’s like to move to a new town or start a new school.
• Tell what it would be like to live on the moon.

Expository and Informative Essay Topics for High School

Expository essays set out clear explanations of a particular topic. You might be defining a word or phrase or explaining how something works. Expository or informative essays are based on facts, and while you might explore different points of view, you won’t necessarily say which one is “better” or “right.” Remember: Expository essays educate the reader. Here are some expository and informative essay topics to explore. ( See 70+ expository and informative essay topics here. )

• What makes a good leader?
• Explain why a given school subject (math, history, science, etc.) is important for students to learn.
• What is the “glass ceiling” and how does it affect society?
• Describe how the internet changed the world.
• What does it mean to be a good teacher?

• Explain how we could colonize the moon or another planet.
• Discuss why mental health is just as important as physical health.
• Describe a healthy lifestyle for a teenager.
• Choose an American president and explain how their time in office affected the country.
• What does “financial responsibility” mean?

Humorous Essay Topics for High School

Humorous essays can take on any form, like narrative, persuasive, or expository. You might employ sarcasm or satire, or simply tell a story about a funny person or event. Even though these essay topics are lighthearted, they still take some skill to tackle well. Give these ideas a try.

• What would happen if cats (or any other animal) ruled the world?
• What do newborn babies wish their parents knew?
• Explain the best ways to be annoying on social media.
• Invent a wacky new sport, explain the rules, and describe a game or match.

• Imagine a discussion between two historic figures from very different times, like Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I.
• Retell a familiar story in tweets or other social media posts.
• Describe present-day Earth from an alien’s point of view.
• Choose a fictional character and explain why they should be the next president.
• Describe a day when kids are in charge of everything, at school and at home.

Literary essays analyze a piece of writing, like a book or a play. In high school, students usually write literary essays about the works they study in class. These literary essay topic ideas focus on books students often read in high school, but many of them can be tweaked to fit other works as well.

• Discuss the portrayal of women in Shakespeare’s Othello .
• Explore the symbolism used in The Scarlet Letter .
• Explain the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men .
• Compare and contrast the romantic relationships in Pride and Prejudice .

• Dissect the allegory of Animal Farm and its relation to contemporary events.
• Interpret the author’s take on society and class structure in The Great Gatsby .
• Explore the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia.
• Discuss whether Shakespeare’s portrayal of young love in Romeo and Juliet is accurate.
• Explain the imagery used in Beowulf .

Narrative and Personal Essay Topics for High School

Think of a narrative essay like telling a story. Use some of the same techniques that you would for a descriptive essay, but be sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. A narrative essay doesn’t necessarily need to be personal, but they often are. Take inspiration from these narrative and personal essay topics.

• Describe a performance or sporting event you took part in.
• Explain the process of cooking and eating your favorite meal.
• Write about meeting your best friend for the first time and how your relationship developed.
• Tell about learning to ride a bike or drive a car.
• Describe a time in your life when you’ve been scared.

• Share the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you.
• Tell about a time when you overcame a big challenge.
• Tell the story of how you learned an important life lesson.
• Describe a time when you or someone you know experienced prejudice or oppression.
• Explain a family tradition, how it developed, and its importance today.
• What is your favorite holiday? How does your family celebrate it?
• Retell a familiar story from the point of view of a different character.
• Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision.
• Tell about your proudest moment.

Persuasive Essay Topics for High School

Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative , but they rely less on facts and more on emotion to sway the reader. It’s important to know your audience, so you can anticipate any counterarguments they might make and try to overcome them. Try these topics to persuade someone to come around to your point of view. ( Discover 60 more intriguing persuasive essay topics here. )

• Do you think homework should be required, optional, or not given at all?
• Everyone should be vegetarian or vegan.
• What animal makes the best pet?
• Visit an animal shelter, choose an animal that needs a home, and write an essay persuading someone to adopt that animal.
• Who is the world’s best athlete, present or past?
• Should little kids be allowed to play competitive sports?
• Are professional athletes/musicians/actors overpaid?
• The best music genre is …

• Is democracy the best form of government?
• Is capitalism the best form of economy?
• Students should/should not be able to use their phones during the school day.
• Should schools have dress codes?
• If I could change one school rule, it would be …
• Is year-round school a good idea?

A research essay is a classic high school assignment. These papers require deep research into primary source documents, with lots of supporting facts and evidence that’s properly cited. Research essays can be in any of the styles shown above. Here are some possible topics, across a variety of subjects.

• Which country’s style of government is best for the people who live there?
• Choose a country and analyze its development from founding to present day.
• Describe the causes and effects of a specific war.
• Formulate an ideal economic plan for our country.
• What scientific discovery has had the biggest impact on life today?

• Analyze the way mental health is viewed and treated in this country.
• Explore the ways systemic racism impacts people in all walks of life.
• Defend the importance of teaching music and the arts in public schools.
• Choose one animal from the endangered species list, and propose a realistic plan to protect it.

What are some of your favorite essay topics for high school? Come share your prompts on the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out the ultimate guide to student writing contests .

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100 Thought-Provoking Argumentative Writing Prompts for Kids and Teens

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What does ‘Christian nationalism’ even mean?

Could it really be all the different things people say it is.

(Century illustration)

F ear over Christian nationalism is running rampant, showing up everywhere from books and podcasts about the January 6 insurrection to Sunday sermons about idolatry. But the way we talk about Christian nationalism comes with all kinds of problems. Until we resolve these problems, all this fear about Christian nationalism might amount to so much fearmongering.

First, what is Christian nationalism? Sometimes it’s presented as an ideology and sometimes as a conspiracy. Sometimes it identifies a specific group of people, other times a diffuse set of associations. Some see Christian nationalists as aggrieved Americans on the losing side of history; others see them as secretly pulling the strings of American politics. Christian nationalists might have arrived on the scene just in time to elect Donald Trump, or maybe they’ve been here all along. Their aspirations may be theocratic or libertarian. Some Christian nationalists consider Trump the second coming of Christ, while others see him as a regrettable means to an end. Lots of Christian nationalists are White racists, yet some of them are not even White. Oftentimes Christian nationalists are described as evangelicals, which, it so happens, comes with as many definitions as Christian nationalism.

The more things Christian nationalists are, the scarier they sound. Yet if Christian nationalists are all of these things, then they are none of them. Concepts that try to do everything end up doing nothing.

Second, lots of the literature on Christian nationalism deals in circular reasoning. We don’t easily see this because it often comes dressed in what looks like data. But as sociologists Jesse Smith and Gary Adler show in “What Isn’t Christian Nationalism?” it’s data that gets paraded out in tautological, question-begging ways.

One common rhetorical strategy goes something like this: “Christian nationalists are those who believe that God established America as God’s shining city on a hill.” What follows is usually an alarming data point such as, “Studies show that Christian nationalism is positively associated with denying anti-Black violence.”

This sounds well and good—until one thinks about it. Doesn’t the idea of God establishing America as a city on a hill already include within it a denial of anti-Black violence, namely, the erasure of American chattel slavery? And doesn’t denying anti-Black violence often come with the downplaying of slavery? In fact, isn’t the one simply an instance of the other? If so, then the data point’s conclusion is already entailed in its premise, such that it says little while implying a lot— something to the tune of “Christian nationalism caused the January 6 insurrection” when in reality the logic amounts to “Christian nationalism caused Christian nationalism.”

Third, those who worry a lot about Christian nationalism seem surprisingly unthoughtful about a central issue it raises: the question of how the church should relate to the state. This question can be approached as one for political theorists, who might wonder, for example, where the state ends and the church begins. It can be approached from the perspective of Christian ethics, which might wrestle with Christian citizens’ obligations to Caesar and to God. These are enormously complicated questions, and over the course of the millennia they have been debated we’ve seen many different answers. Yet people worried about Christian nationalism often talk about it as if there is but one settled answer to the question, and Christian nationalists are those on the wrong side of it.

Concepts that try to do everything end up doing nothing.

Until we come to some resolution on these problems, it will be hard not to see those scaring us about Christian nationalism as fearmongers, and unself-aware ones at that: isn’t fearmongering one of the things we worry most about with Christian nationalists? Aren’t we right to distrust their political dog-whistling, the way they scream “CRT!” or “fake news!” at everything they don’t like? But how is regularly using a term as undefined and question-begging as “Christian nationalism” any different? We might answer, “Well, the difference is they’re Christian nationalists and we’re not.” That answer speaks for itself.

It also reveals the hypocrisy of it all. Indiscriminately using a term that means everything and nothing licenses a view of one’s political rivals as unsophisticated, devoid of difference and diversity, simpletons of one mind, flat to the point of banality, reducible to one thing—something like January 6. Perhaps that’s really the reason for using the term so loosely: while it does little conceptually, it does so much politically—generating, as Brad East observes, little light but lots of heat.

And so with the rhetorical benefits that come with the other two problems. We question-beg so as not to have to come to any conclusions we didn’t start with, dealing in tautologies so that we can avoid anything that might make us think. We presume ourselves in possession of the only answer regarding church and state, presupposing we must be right because we’re us and they must be wrong because they’re them. And not just wrong but irremediably wrong, Christian nationalist wrong.

Many on the right, like many on the left, have suffered at the hands of a nation that cares more for profit than for people. To deny that suffering by disparaging people as Christian nationalists lends credence to something they might already believe: that America not only doesn’t care about them but doesn’t even see them. Calling them Christian nationalists will not help them feel seen. It might, however, lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where the unseen mobilize along sectarian lines marked out by dog-whistling. We might rather save our fear for that . 

Jonathan Tran

Jonathan Tran teaches theological ethics at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He is author of The Vietnam War and Theologies of Memory and Foucault and Theology .

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Alito’s Second Flag Is About More Than Just Jan. 6.

It’s a window into the supreme court justice’s ominous vision..

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that in addition to the upside-down American flag Justice Samuel Alito and his wife displayed outside of their home in suburban Virginia after the 2020 election, there was yet another provocative and highly political flag flown at an Alito household—this one hoisted on a flag pole outside of their vacation home in New Jersey in 2023.

This second flag, white with green pine tree, bears the words “An Appeal to Heaven.” Among certain circles, it has a very clear meaning: that the faithful should appeal to the forces of heaven to elect and seat Donald Trump as president.

If you look at the images from the Jan. 6 insurrection, Appeal to Heaven flags were everywhere. That the Alitos chose to display one outside of their home—in 2023!—cannot be separated from the flag’s ubiquity at the Capitol riots.

But in reality, the flag’s meaning is more complicated than just its association with Jan. 6—and in some ways, more ominous.

The Appeal to Heaven Flag is an old symbol from the American Revolution that was resurrected—and reinterpreted—around 2013 by a charismatic religious leader called Dutch Sheets. Sheets is associated with a network known as the New Apostolic Reformation that was started in the 1990s and is characterized in part by religious leaders and churches who are inspired to wage “spiritual warfare” against their enemies through the act of targeted prayer. NAR also preaches political organizing in the earthly realm, to conquer different facets of society for God.

To the charismatic Christians who this flag was meant to speak to in the early 2010s—that is,  particular nondenominational sects of Christians who believe in earthly miracles and the ongoing and constant intervention of the divine, and who often practice their faith through speaking in tongues and other similar displays—“appealing to Heaven” means praying for the intervention of God’s forces on earth. Many charismatic Christians in D.C. on Jan. 6 traveled there to pray, on the NAR leaders’ request, in proximity to the Capitol, against the forces of evil that they believe Trump was up against.

Sheets, who was already a prominent name among charismatic Christians, used the flag as a symbol of the spiritual fight to push Christianity deeper into society and especially into politics. In 2015, after Obergefell v. Hodges , which legalized gay marriage nationwide, his movement expanded—and the flag started to gain prominence in other conservative Christian circles. This was a moment when many conservative Christians felt the nation had turned away from Biblical values; they needed to appeal to heaven for God’s intervention.

The Appeal to Heaven flag began to pop up everywhere. But it truly took off when Trump lost the 2020 election. Charismatic Christian prophets and apostles had already declared that Trump was anointed by God to be the next president, to fight the forces of evil in America. So in the aftermath of Trump’s loss, when it seemed to charismatic Christians that demonic entities were gaining territory in this spiritual battle, believers once again called upon God’s forces for miraculous intervention. These Christians may not be told by their religious leaders to fight in the earthly realm, but they’ve still been primed to think of the world as a battlefield, and themselves as soldiers, in a very real sense.

Since the insurrection, the flag has continued to appear at events for Christian nationalist figures in politics such as former Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. House Speaker Mike Johnson, too, displays an Appeal to Heaven flag outside his office door .

Johnson, though, is Southern Baptist—not a background that aligns with Sheets’ particular Christian tradition. Alito is also not affiliated with charismatic Christianity. He comes from a Roman Catholic faith tradition. Nor is Leonard Leo, who also flew the flag . Leo, the Federalist Society figure often credited for the current makeup of the Supreme Court, is a traditionalist Catholic.

The spread of this symbol among various political conservatives shows just how much the Appeal to Heaven flag has caught on with Christian nationalists, defined as those who abide by the (ahistorical) belief that the United States was founded as an explicitly Christian nation and needs to be reclaimed as one. (A Christian nation can mean many things, but at its core, it means a government that operates by Christian values, with an explicit privileging of the Christian faith above other religions.)

In other words, the current iteration of the flag has expanded beyond the community that birthed it—a huge success for Sheets, who can now use it to excite a much broader audience. Some see the flag as a call to spiritual warfare. Others interpret it as a symbol that God backs their specific conservative, Christian visions for the country. And it is also, now, inextricably linked to the violence of Jan. 6 and the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Some conservatives have pointed defensively to the flag’s origin in the Revolutionary War to justify the Alitos’ actions. The idea that the symbol is pulled from U.S. history could grant the flag a veneer of democratic legitimacy—but no one should confuse it for a contemporary democratic symbol. It’s a resurrected emblem, with a uniquely theocratic twist.

Regardless, anyone who owns one of these flags knows the most basic message behind it: America needs to be re-won for God. It involves Trump. But the goal will outlast him.

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Nationalism and Its Negative Effects in the Modern World Essay

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Introduction

Definition of nationalism, how nationalism has been a negative force in our modern world, the eight islands dispute, works cited.

In the study entailing nationalism, one stumbles upon four major debates that scholars tend to engage in. The first one centers on how “nation” and “nationalism” should be defined. Secondly, there is a question of the time during which nations are thought to have first occurred.

The third debate tends to explore how nations and nationalism actualized. Finally, most classic works emphasize on European nationalism raising a debate as to whether nationalism began in Europe and spread to other non-western parts of the world or whether it developed on its own in non-western countries (Eschenhagen 2 ).

This work will not attempt to exhaust all these debates but will rather concentrate on the various definitions of nationalism and its negative effects in the modern world.

Nationalism can be understood in diverse perspectives depending on the context. Sociologically, nationalism can first be understood from the word nation, from which it is derived. The nation is Latin in origin – nation whose meaning during the medieval era was devoid of any political connotation.

It has a similar meaning with Greek word ethnos that stands for “people, nation, and country” (Norbu 25). It was until the Middle Ages that the nation began attaining a political interpretation, which was vividly outspoken especially in France and Germany. In these two places, the term nation was used to refer to the ruling cadre in contrast with the word volk , which is synonymous to the common people or populace (Norbu 25).

In view of this meaning, the word nation and the nationality concept were closely attributed to both sovereignty and power to imply that this concept was only common among those who were in rulership. Rather than belong to the people who embody it, the word nation rather referred to those in political power that had more say over state related concerns and held the key to the means of production.

During the absolute monarchy, the nation was closely associated with the monarch’s state. If for that matter political power’s place of residence is the epitome the nation, then the French revolution was a major protest against the aristocratic class. With the increase in social communication and mass awareness, the idea of nationalism ceased from being cocooned within the aristocrats. It spilled down to the common people as well.

Rousseau (1770 -1850) who refused equating nation to the higher political class and instead equating it with the populace (Norbu 25) agitated for the new concept of the nation. The meaning of nationality and that of nationalism are closely related in that they designate a people rather than a nation per se. Nationalism is therefore a unique type of politically motivated social awareness that is people-derived and people oriented (Norbu 25).

Another perspective of understanding nationalism is to look at it from the different kinds of nationalism and then elucidating that one of them can be defended and the other kinds cannot. In this light, the western form of nationality can be contrasted against the eastern form (Miller, 1995).

For instance, western nationalization has been perceived as perspicacious and favorable to progress or reform. On the other hand, eastern nationalization has been perceived as unprogressive and cryptic, based on a seeming tribal perspective of nationality (Kohn, 1944, cited in Miller 8).

The second contrast suggests that western nationalism was for people with outstanding cultural marks, able to measure up with those of known nation states such as Germany and Italy during the nineteenth century. On the other hand, Eastern nationalism was for people whose ancient culture was primitive and hence they had to curve an identity for themselves to able to fit competently in the modern world (Arnold 1976, cited in Miller 8).

Another difference suggests that in Eastern nationalism, people who within the same territory are governed by common laws and take part in similar civic culture while Eastern nationalism is genealogically- based suggesting the notion of individuals bound together by shared ancestry. In each case, the contrast is used to draw the fact that Western nationalism is friendly to a liberal state whereas eastern nationalism tends towards dictatorship and cultural constraint (Miller 9).

Another way of understanding nationality is looking at it from the standpoint of political philosophy. This is the difference between a nationalism of a nation that interferes with the rights of other nations as it strives to uphold its own objectives and a nationalism that is sensitive to the rights of other nations and aims at enhancing equality among all nations.

For example, MacCormick differentiates between acknowledging moral tussles while striving for national concerns from an egocentric drive of desiring that one’s nation should outdo others (Nathanson, 1993, cited in Miller 9).

Therefore, succinctly put, nationalism can be termed as opposition to foreign control, consciousness of being part of a certain nation and pride in the nation’s culture, norms, infrastructure, and achievements, awareness of shared political roles and a demand for self –motivated national governance (Okoth 1).

The 1962 Indian border war

Although the Indian border war in 1962 was not directly influenced by a western power, it elicited a rise in Chinese various nationalistic elements such as the sovereignty and legitimacy of China. When the raw over the border emerged within the mid nineteenth century, Apart from fear of losing its territorial loss, China hardened its position due to two other reasons. This was both the Tibet question and India’s non-negotiable attitude towards the borderline. Despite the known fact that Tibet has been within the Chinese territory since 1950, the Indian prime minister negated the fact that China had sovereignty over the territory. This really soured the relationship between India and China.

China interpreted the Indian prime minister’s challenge of their own sovereignty over Tibet as purely imperialistic. China then resolved to respond to this through a strike of equal magnitude. The borderline war between India and China was not only fueled by India’s imperialistic approach, but also by India’s hard-line attitude regarding the McMahon line.

Due to collective opinion from the Chinese republic and Taiwanian support, China finally got victory. Although the Chinese government had achieved its objectives, the war tainted China’s international position and was a major cause of a deadlock in bilateral associations for many years thereafter (Eschenhagen 6).

Besides the past borderline dispute between India and China, there is also a recent nationalistic dispute between Japan, China, and Taiwan regarding the ownership of eight islands found in the East Asia Sea. Although none of the three parties would like the issue to cripple their bilateral agreements, the conflict is motivated by both domestic and international politics.

Although ownership of resources found in the islands is the major cause of dispute, nationalistic claims have blown out of proportion. Although conflict among the three parties was improbable, resolution and shared exploitation of the resources was also elusive (Huang, 1997, cited in Eschenhagen 6).

A series of international conflicts then arose leading to protests from Chinese students. This was after a bomb attack in China that was thought to have been of western origin. The students’ protests led not only to the bombing of an American officer’s residents but also to the vandalism of other U.S related premises within the Chinese streets.

The protests moved from street-based to online-based and with this, the Chinese national leadership had to intervene since the move would have jeopardized the relations between China and the U.S. The western world was greatly baffled by the protests and the U.S media apportioned blame to the Chinese government for fueling the mayhem by misleading the masses with incorrect nationalistic information (Eschenhagen 8).

The U.S surveillance plane incident

In a separate incidence, an American spy plane collided with a Chinese jet over the sea located in the southern part of China. This was after the American plane penetrating into the Chinese airspace without verbal clearance.

This came at a time when other issues like human rights and support of Taiwan by the U.S had strained the relationship between Beijing and Washington. Although the U.S ambassador to China brought a message of apology to the Chinese people after a long impasse, the Chinese jet had been destroyed and its pilot killed in the collision.

Extreme Right wing voting

The reasons behind the popularity of extreme right wing in some countries of the European Union and their absence and low influence in other parts have been of much debate (Gijsberts 157). However, they have been attributed to a diversity of country-specific features. Factors leading to these variances in the extreme rightwing voting are three-fold: sociological, economic, and political (Gijsberts 157). Sociologically, variances in the population of different countries affect the voter turnout in the extreme right wing voting.

This is determined by both the public opinion and social structure of country. Economically, the economic doldrums and rivalry between the country’s main group and the immigrants could also explain the differences in extreme right wing voting. Politically, specific factors that characterize a party and the system of its operation influences voter turnout (Gijsberts 157).

Nationalism as a cause of major world conflicts and genocide

Xenophobia and chauvinism are both regarded as products of extreme nationalism (Auer 19). This is perceived in the sense that xenophobic nationalism being the fear and rejection of a stranger is an extension of any aspect of national identity. Additionally, even though patriotism is closely related to nationalism, critics of nationalism find it quite detrimental in its extreme manifestation (Kegley 408). Extreme patriots tend to gauge their patriotism via the level of hatred and protest extended towards alien nations.

Patriotism also makes them to blindly endorse all policies and practices of their own nation. In this vein, nationalism negates the aspect of universal values that elevates the values of all above those of individual nations. This is seen as an impediment to human rights and the harmony that exists among all nations in a world without borders.

Nationalism further contradicts Christian, Islamic, and Judaistic teachings that love should be manifested even towards one’s enemies. Looked at from this perspective, nationalism is therefore perceived as a cause for armed world conflicts. Nationalism’s double-faced character is believed to be the main cause armed conflict.

First, it is a common force that bonds nations with similar nationalities together and secondly, it does not only bring divisions among but it also divides nationalities and this is what justifies armed conflicts with other nations (Kegley 408).

Genocide is normally explained as state organized killings that targets a given political, religious, national, or ethical group (Scherrer 69). The Bosnia genocide is believed to have its causes embedded in nationalism. Although the concentration camps were used to carry out genocidal activities, other acts entailed not just mass rape but also destruction of both Islamic and Croatian symbols (Delanty and Kumar 327).

Such acts partly involve death but also involve annihilation either fully or partly, of a given national group. For instance, the mass rape psychologically torments and destroys the reproductive potential of all the groups (Delanty and Kumar 327).

Apart from the Bosnia genocide, both world wars were direct full-scale genocides. For example during the Second World War, Hitler ordered mass murder against many ethnic groups such as the European Jews and Russians among others (Scherrer, p. 76). There were also organized killings against millions of prisoners and slave workers. The Nazi terror took away of 50 million the lives and Fascist Germany war eliminated the lives of millions of the Roma and Sinti, Russian civilians, Serbs among others (Scherrer 76).

Nationalism is the social consciousness of the people in a particular nation that causes them to protest alien control as they pride in their own national traditions, achievements and political rights. The extreme manifestations of nationalism have had negative impacts in the world especially manifested through armed conflicts and genocides.

Auer, Stefan. Liberalism in Central Europe . London, Routledge. 2004. Web.

Delanty, Gerard and Kumar, Krishan. The SAGE handbook of nations and nationalism . London, Routledge. 2006. Web.

Eschenhagen, Paul. Nationalism in China: Implications for Chinese International Relations . Norderstedt, GRIN Verlag. 2006. Web.

Gijsberts, Merove I . Nationalism and exclusion of migrants: cross national comparisons . VT, Ashgate Publishing. 2004. Web.

Kegley, Charles. World Politics: Trend and Transformation . CA, Cengage Learning. 2009. Web.

Norbu, Dawa. Culture, and the Politics of Third World Nationalism . London, SAGE Publications Ltd. 1992. Web.

Okoth. Assa. A History of Africa . Kampala, East African Publishers Ltd. 2006. Web.

Scherrer, Christian. Ethnicity, nationalism, and violence . London, Ashgate Publishing Limited. 2003. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2019, February 7). Nationalism and Its Negative Effects in the Modern World. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nationalism-3/

"Nationalism and Its Negative Effects in the Modern World." IvyPanda , 7 Feb. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/nationalism-3/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Nationalism and Its Negative Effects in the Modern World'. 7 February.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Nationalism and Its Negative Effects in the Modern World." February 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nationalism-3/.

1. IvyPanda . "Nationalism and Its Negative Effects in the Modern World." February 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nationalism-3/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Nationalism and Its Negative Effects in the Modern World." February 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nationalism-3/.

Review: Germany’s Far-Right Surge Isn’t New 

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Germany’s Far-Right Surge Isn’t New 

The country’s failure to confront deadly extremists in the early 2000s should be a warning..

One morning in November 2011, two men walked into a bank in the eastern German city of Eisenach, pistol-whipped the bank teller, and stole around $99,000. After local police traced the men to a camper van on the side of a nearby road, gunshots rang out, and the vehicle went up in flames. Police officers found two men dead inside; one had shot the other and then turned the gun on himself. Later that day, after hearing what had happened in Eisenach, a woman about 100 miles away poured gasoline around her apartment and set it on fire before fleeing the scene.

Look Away: A True Story of Murders, Bombings, and a Far-Right Campaign to Rid Germany of Immigrants , Jacob Kushner, Grand Central Publishing, 336 pp., $30, May 2024

The two men, Uwe Böhnhardt and Uwe Mundlos, weren’t typical bank robbers: Along with the woman, Beate Zschäpe, they formed a trio of neo-Nazi terrorists intent on ridding Germany of immigrants and anyone else they believed would threaten the country’s white identity. And the police’s investigation uncovered far more than a string of bank robberies. Böhnhardt and Mundlos had stolen the money to fund the underground terrorist group they led, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which had planned and committed a series of murders across Germany while escaping the notice of authorities.

When the revelations about the NSU first emerged, they shook Germany to its core, but the story remains relatively unknown outside the country. Journalist Jacob Kushner’s new book, Look Away: A True Story of Murders, Bombings, and a Far-Right Campaign to Rid Germany of Immigrants , seeks to change that.

“A nation that liked to think it had atoned for its racist past would be forced to admit that violent prejudice was a thing of the present. That sixty years after [Adolf] Hitler’s Nazis led Jews and other minorities to their deaths during the Holocaust, German police were so blinded by bias that they couldn’t recognize the racist violence unfolding around them,” Kushner writes. “The case would compel Germans to acknowledge that terrorism isn’t always Islamist or foreign. More often, it’s homegrown and white. And that in an age of unparalleled mass migration, the targets of white terrorism are increasingly immigrants.”

Told primarily through the perspectives of the victims’ family members and others who proactively sought to root out right-wing extremist terrorism, Look Away is divided into three parts. First, Kushner describes how Böhnhardt, Mundlos, and Zschäpe radicalized in the eastern German city of Jena in the late 1990s. They didn’t come to their views alone: After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany saw a spike in the number of asylum-seekers arriving in the country. Those new arrivals were often met with protests and violence, including a handful of high-profile riots and attacks on refugee housing. Jena had a thriving right-wing extremist scene at the time. It was led by Tino Brandt, a kind of double agent: He served as a government informant who was supposed to report on the activities of neo-Nazis while funding his own groups promoting the same far-right ideology.

A view of the burnt-out remains of the apartment that was once the residence of Uwe Böhnhardt, Uwe Mundlos, and Beate Zschäpe in Zwickau, Germany, on Nov. 13, 2011. Marco Prosch/Getty Images

The second section of the book chronicles how the three extremists spent 13 years planning and executing the murders of 10 immigrants across Germany, all under the noses of German authorities. The murders were only connected and solved after the bank robbery in 2011. Kushner lays much of the blame for the NSU’s decade-long killing spree at the feet of the authorities, whose investigations were guided by harmful tropes—bolstered by the German media—about immigrants being involved in drugs or organized crime.

The firsthand accounts of victims’ families powerfully illustrate just how much police officers’ assumptions about the victims led them astray. For instance, Gamze Kubasik, whose father, Mehmet Kubasik, was murdered in their family kiosk in the city of Dortmund in 2006, explained that she and her mother were interrogated for hours about Mehmet’s supposed illicit activities. “I couldn’t listen to it anymore,” she said. “We felt like criminals.”

Some aspects of the investigations verge on the ridiculous. For instance, after Böhnhardt and Mundlos shot and killed Ismail Yasar at his kebab stand in Nuremberg in 2005, German police doggedly pursued the theory that Yasar had been dealing drugs from his stand. They spent a year and around $36,000 of taxpayer money selling kebabs and sodas undercover at a snack bar they had opened to help corroborate their theory, waiting for someone to come up and ask about buying drugs—“But nobody did, because Yasar wasn’t a drug dealer,” Kushner writes. Kerem, Yasar’s son, “couldn’t help feeling that if his father had been a native-born German, his murder would have quickly been solved.”

But Kushner also argues that German society writ large has been complacent in acknowledging the scope of anti-immigrant, white nationalist sentiment after World War II. White nationalism “had never gone away,” he writes. “Similar events that precipitated the Holocaust—pogroms, attacks against Jewish-owned businesses, the expulsion of Jews from their homes—were now happening to immigrants.” Especially in eastern Germany, the 1990s saw the proliferation of neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists, to the point that, in reference to skinheads who committed acts of violence across the east, that period is sometimes called the “ baseball bat years .”

The book’s third section covers the NSU trial, which culminated in 2018 with Zschäpe’s conviction on 10 counts of murder and charges for several of the trio’s accomplices. The verdict brought only cold comfort to the families of those killed. “The NSU murdered my father … but the investigators have ruined his honor—they murdered him a second time,” Gamze Kubasik said.

Zschäpe during her trial for murder in Munich on Dec. 9, 2015. Joerg Koch/Getty Images

Lest anyone believe that Germany has fully learned its lessons from the NSU affair, Kushner connects it with more recent instances of hate and violence against members of Germany’s immigrant community. The NSU scandal has never fully faded from German public discourse, but after the trial ended, it dropped out of headlines—and was most often mentioned in the wake of other incidents of right-wing extremist violence. In February 2020, a right-wing extremist killed nine people of immigrant background in the central German city of Hanau, targeting two shisha bars in his racist rampage. In November 2022, a 54-year-old man was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for sending threats to politicians, journalists, and other public figures, including Seda Basay-Yildiz, a lawyer of Turkish background in Frankfurt who represented the families of several NSU victims; the letters were signed “NSU 2.0.”

Part of the trouble with eradicating white terrorism in Germany is that anti-immigrant sentiment is alive and well in national politics, too. In January, the German investigative news outlet Correctiv published a bombshell report revealing that right-wing extremists had met in secret late last year to discuss their plans for deporting millions of people of immigrant background, including German citizens. Among those who attended the meeting in Potsdam, just outside Berlin, were high-level politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which holds 77 seats in Germany’s parliament and was polling at 22 percent nationwide at the time. (After the Correctiv report and a spate of other unrelated scandals since its release, the party’s support has now dropped to 16 percent, but it performed nearly five percentage points better in the recent European Parliament elections than it did in 2019.)

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These extremists’ plans for “remigration” of those with immigrant backgrounds shed light on the battle lines over who gets to belong in Germany and who doesn’t—and who ultimately decides. To many, they were also a reminder that German authorities have underestimated the threat posed by far-right ideology in a country that prides itself on how it has processed its Nazi history. The Correctiv report prompted widespread backlash among the German population, with millions of people taking to the streets to declare “Never Again.”

Still, the AfD is poised to make gains in three eastern German state elections this fall—including Thuringia, where Böhnhardt, Mundlos, and Zschäpe grew up, and Saxony, where they were based. AfD politicians remain the parliamentary voice of those who would prefer to rid the country of immigrants. “These new neo-Nazis feel emboldened by the rhetoric of a political party that believes Germany has become too fixated with remembering the terror of its past,” Kushner writes of the AfD.

Demonstrators struggle with riot police outside the entrance to the courtroom at the Oberlandesgericht München court building on the first day of the NSU murder trial in Munich on May 6, 2013. Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Although Look Away is a German story, Kushner draws connections to illustrate that the failure to confront anti-immigrant, right-wing extremist violence is a problem across Western democracies. The examples are myriad: Whether it led to the slaughter of Black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina; worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand; or Mexican American and other shoppers in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, the core ideology that fueled the NSU trio—that of white supremacy—transcends national borders.

That makes the NSU story a warning to the United States as it grapples with its own problems with white terrorism. Terrorist attacks by right-wing extremists have been on the rise in recent years: According to the Anti-Defamation League, such attacks, primarily carried out by white supremacists, killed 58 people in the United States between 2017 and 2022. “The United States will not be spared Germany’s crisis, or its carnage, if we continue to look away,” Kushner concludes.

Books are independently selected by FP editors. FP earns an affiliate commission on anything purchased through links to Amazon.com on this page.

Emily Schultheis is a journalist based in Los Angeles who has covered European elections and the rise of the far right. Twitter:  @emilyrs

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