1/11/2021 The Dangers of Nationalism

The H u m an Truth Fo undation

The Dangers of Nationalism

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By Vexen Crabtree 2019

#globalisation #nationalism #politics #popularism

N ationalism is the ideological embrace of geographic boundaries to identity, law and power,
based on political borders. It marches most readily alongside traditionalism and conservativism, but
unfortunately, also with racism and xenophobia1,2. Because nationalists normally endorse a
particular view of appropriate appearances, language and beliefs, it often results in division on
superficial and prejudiced lines (such as skin colour and religion). This causes discrimination, social
and legal, and can lead to runaway intolerance and denial of human rights2. Therefore, nationalism
needs to be tempered by strong support for human rights. As democratic countries are responsible
for all citizens, not just selected demographics, there is usually some form of tussle between radical
nationalists and mainstream democrats. This frequently gets simplified as a battle between the right
(nationalism) and the left (liberalism).

Demagogues find it easy to manipulate voters in the name of nationalism, because it appeals to
simple them-versus-us emotions3. At its extreme, nationalism turns into ethnic supremacism2 and
jingoism, and when these coincide in the halls of power, the result is mass atrocities, genocide and
conflict. Two world wars have resulted from unchecked nationalism1,4. The late 2010s has seen the
resurgence of the kind of destructive and divisive nationalism that many were beginning to hope that
we'd outgrown; but now many are worrying again about the spectre of aggressive tribalism5. The
solution has been for countries to work close together and create economic and cultural ties, so that
hate-mongering can be checked by civil association. Opposed to the nationalist division of
continents into competing powers, bodies such as the European Union (EU). and African Union (AU)
have received their founding charters, and the EU won a Nobel Prize for its ending of conflict
between member states as a result of its "ever-closer union". The international community of
nations tends to flux between periods of support for national competition, versus support for
international harmony. In total, nationalism has suffered from the realities of the globalisation of
society, economics and information, meaning that nation-states are no longer in control of the most
important parts of their cultural infrastructure. The solution is that nationalism only works when the
international order is upheld, in order to support a peaceful democratic regional neighbourhood.

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1. Popularism: When Mass Instincts Defeat

National Strategy
2. The Tyranny of the Majority: How “ A nation is a society united by a
delusion about its ancestry and by a
Democracy Can Be Bad common hatred of its neighbours.
3. From Nationalism to Conflict William Ralph Inge”
4. Links Dean of St Pauls 1911-346

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1. Popularism: When Mass Instincts Defeat National Strategy

#democracy #nationalism #politics #popularism

We saw above the nationalism is associated with popularism - but what is it, and why is it bad for
democracy?

In politics, popularism is the effect of uninformed mass opinion on governance. It can transpire
through the government being too sensitive to the loudest voices of the masses, through grassroots
movements that are too narrow in scope to represent the entire population, through nasty forms of
nationalism and jingoism. Popularist slogans are often catchy policies based on simple one-line
policies that do not have a proper depth of research or meaning; hence, they appeal to 'the masses'
and it is the job of politicians to convince the populace to pursue wiser courses of action than they
would if left to their own devices. In the modern world, Internet-based and social media campaigns
are becoming the most important source of public pressure on governments7 and this is giving
enemies of democracy powerful new tools of interference8. The worst aspects of popularism are a
disregard for minorities9 and any unpopular subcultures (wherein popularism becomes 'the tyranny
of the majority')10 and the other main disadvantage is the pursuit of shallow and short-sighted
policies that harm the nation in the long-run11,12,13; issues that require strong international co-
ordination and long-term planning such as environmentalism and protecting biodiversity are
suffering as the result of selfish nationalism14. The solution to popularism is to ensure the politicians
are professional, well-trained, well-educated, and who are not afraid to engage in long-term strategy
that is unpopular in the short term.

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2. The Tyranny of the Majority: How Democracy Can Be Bad

#democracy #good_governance #nationalism #politics #popularism

A situation can arise where nationalists insult, dehumanize and demonize those who they think
don't fit the national picture. It is often easy to spread such intolerance, and the result can be that
disliked portions of the populace can find themselves as a victim of 'the tyranny of the majority'.

The 'tyranny of the majority' refers to the unfortunate occasion where a majority of a population
come to care mostly about their own concerns at the expense of others, and often support policies
and actions that suppress minorities9. This can be accident through ignorance of issues, or, on
purpose, through malice and intolerance, and often results from overly nationalist movements. The
solution is that 'majority rules' are not enough to ensure good governance and fair society11. There
are "circumstances where the idea of majority rule has to be modified"15. The result of unchecked
popularism is the loss of democracy and human rights followed by social instability, strife,
sectarianism and national developmental degradation12,13. Additional checks and balances are
needed in any democracy to ensure that popularist ideas that are short-sighted or biased cannot
simply be shouted through by the loudest voices9,12. In history, human rights have proven to be the
surest and strongest bulwark against such 'mob rule'.9,16 Other strong factors are good general
education, a liberal culture of tolerance and the strong rule of law with limited powers for the
executive.

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3. From Nationalism to Conflict

#france #history #nationalism #politics

Before the idea of the 'nation', countries were "realms" or "kingdoms", where people on the land
were all subjected to a ruler17. Patriotism was expressed purely in terms of loyalty to the leader, with
no importance given to national values. In 1789, the French priest Augustin Barruel was the first to
pen the word 'nationalism', influenced by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau1. His ideas were
of a people's self-governance - what today, we call democracy.

By the mid-nineteenth century nationalism was widely recognized as a political

“ doctrine or movement, for example as a major ingredient of the revolutions that
swept across Europe in 1848. [...] Nationalism was therefore a revolutionary and
democratic creed, reflecting the idea that 'subjects of the crown' should become 'citizens
of France'. [...] In many respects, nationalism developed into the most successful and
compelling of political creeds, helping to shape and reshape history in many parts of the
world for over two hundred years.
”
"Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)1

Hence, all people would together rule themselves, forming a single national body of mutual
interests. Nationalism was used to end foreign rule by empires1. But as nationalism became
successful, it also turned toxic. Many popularist nationalists today want 'nation' to mean a narrow
people of the correct skin colour, who speak the correct language and have the right beliefs18, an
undemocratic notion that fails to protect all peoples within the country. Therefore, it is a return to
tribalism and the abandonment of democracy and good governance. This road to conflict has been
a woefully common result of nationalism, resulting in both world wars and an uncountable number of
other conflicts.

By the end of the nineteenth century nationalism had become a truly popular
“ movement, with the spread of flags, national anthems, patriotic poetry and
literature, public ceremonies and national holidays [and] became the language of
mass politics, [facilitated by] popular newspapers. [It was] taken up by conservative and
reactionary politicians. [...] Patriotic fervour was no longer aroused by the prospect of
political liberty or democracy, but by the commemoration of past national glories and
military victories. Such nationalism became increasingly chauvinistic and xenophobic.
Each nation claimed its own unique or superior qualities, while other nations were
regarded as alien, untrustworthy, even menacing. [This] contributed to a mood of
international suspicion and rivalry [and] nationalism was therefore a powerful factor
leading to war in both 1914 and 1939.
”
"Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)1

In 1937, the philosopher Gerald Heard was sounding the alarm on them-and-us nationalism, quite
correctly stating that it's no good creating strong collective identities if you are simply repeating the
mistakes of tribalism, which led to feudalism and constant strife between communities.

We have nations (these communities growing in self-consciousness) who refuse to

“ acknowledge any laws between themselves. This is the international anarchy. Each
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state maintains it is complete judge of its right. This was bad enough. It becomes almost
a desperate condition when these conflicting judges maintain that they may use any
means to enforce their verdicts, and when science puts in their hands methods which
allow each judge to destroy his fellow.
”
"The Third Morality" by Gerald Heard (1937)19

When Europe suffered from the mass movements towards dictatorships in the run up to World War
II, a series of popular, charismatic and powerful speakers enchanted the public20. They offered
simple solutions to national problems, making sweeping promises20. The public (and the press) had
forgotten the dangers of having politicians that lacked depth and policy detail. In 1920, there were
26 democracies in Europe. In the run up to World War II, 16 of them had turned into dictatorships21.
The rise of these European dictatorships was expressed as a valid method of gaining self-
determination as a struggle against other nationalities4 but the result was division and the loss of the
ability to co-operate or understand other nations: in the name of national pride, aggressive and loud-
mouthed politicians made it impossible to avoid war.

Since then, increasing inter-nationalism has reigned-in most developed states into a grid of
international accords, which although limiting on some national freedoms, has the effect of
improving the life of all people in general. When peoples have economic or military aims in
common, it has the effect of reducing war and engendering togetherness. Some countries choose to
stay outside of the international system. Almost every single one of those non-integrated countries
is a serious human rights abuser, a rogue state, that is failing to protect and develop its citizens and
its culture.

There is a good way, and a bad way to be patriotic: one can be productive and civil, the other is
destructive and causes national decline. Modern citizens must ask themselves: when I vote, which
style of government am I supporting?

About This Page

Author: By Vexen Crabtree

Current edition: 2019 Aug 14

Last Modified: 2019 Oct 14

Web URL: http://www.humantruth.info/nationalism.html

Parent page: The Internal Challenges Facing Democracy

Links

The Internal Challenges Facing Democracy

Popularism: When Mass Instincts Defeat National Strategy

The Tyranny of the Majority: How Democracy Can Be Bad

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#politics #popularism

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References: (What's this?)

The New Statesman magazine. Weekly news magazine, published in

London, UK.

The Guardian. UK newspaper. See Which are the Best and Worst
Newspapers in the UK?. Respectable and generally well researched UK
broadsheet newspaper.

Beetham, David
(2005) Democracy: A Beginner's Guide . Published by Oneworld
Publications, Oxford, UK. A paperback book.

DCDC. Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre

(2016) Africa Out to 2045. Published by The Ministry of Defence. Strategic
Trends Programme.

Emmott, Bill
(2017) The Fate of the West . Subtitled: "The Battle to Save the World´s
Most Successful Political Idea". Published by The Economist via Profile
Books, London, UK. An e-book.

Grim & Finke. Dr Grim is senior researcher in religion and world affairs at the
Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C, USA. Finke is Professor of
Sociology and Religious Studies at the Pennsylvania State University.
(2011) The Price of Freedom Denied . Subtitled: "Religious Persecution
and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century". Amazon Kindle digital edition.
Published by Cambridge University Press, UK. An e-book.

Heard, Gerald. (1889-1971)

(1937) The Third Morality . Published by Cassell and Company Ltd,
London, UK. A hardback book.

Heywood, Andrew
(2003) Political Ideologies . 3rd edition. Originally published 1992. Current
version published by Palgrave MacMillan. A paperback book.

House of Commons (UK Government)

(2018) Disinformation and 'fake news´: Interim Report. Published by House of
Commons (UK Government). Fifth Report of Session 2017–19 together with
formal minutes relating to the report. Ordered by the House of Commons to
be printed 24 July 2018. A briefing paper.

Lee, Stephen J.
(1987) The European Dictatorships 1918-1945 . Published by Methuen &
Co. Ltd, The University Press, Cambridge. A paperback book.

Zakaria, Fareed
(2003) The Future of Freedom . Subtitled: "Illiberal Democracy at Home

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1/11/2021 The Dangers of Nationalism

and Abroad". Published by W.W. Norton & Company, New York, USA. A
hardback book.

Footnotes

1. Heywood (2003). Chapter 5 "Nationalism" p155-157.

2. The New Statesman (2019 Aug 02) Article "After a while, nothing
shocks you: The Swede who infiltrated the British alt-right" by Anoosh
Chakelian .
3. DCDC (2016). Chapter "Governance and Change" p51. Author notes
the risks of this re-occurring in Africa, as newly-dominant nation-states
gain fledeling senses of national identity. He writes 'it may also be
exploited by unscrupulous politicians, seeking to use it to gain support
by directing nationalist sentiment against neighbours or foreign
workers'.
4. Lee (1987). Chapter 1 "The Setting for Dictatorship" p1.
5. Emmott (2017). Chapter "Introduction" digital location 118. Added to
this page on 2019 Oct 14.
6. In Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations.
7. Zakaria (2003). Chapter "Introduction" p14.
8. House of Commons (2018). Chapter "Summary".
9. Grim & Finke (2011). Chapter 2 "Religious Freedom Broken Promises"
digital location 1433.
10. "The Tyranny of the Majority: How Democracy Can Be Bad" by Vexen
Crabtree (2018)
11. Beetham (2005). Chapter 1 "Introduction: What is Democracy?" p5-6.
12. Zakaria (2003). Chapter "Introduction" p17-18,20.
13. Emmott (2017). Chapter "Introduction" digital location 71.
14. Watts (2018 Nov 17) Habitat loss threatens all our futures, world leaders warned. Date last
accessed 2019 Feb 15. In UK newspaper The Guardian.
15. Beetham (2005). Chapter 2 "Democratic Ideas in Practice" p31.
16. Heywood (2003). Chapter 2 "Liberalism" p44.
17. Heywood (2003). Chapter 5 "Nationalism" p155.
18. Heywood (2003). Chapter 5 "Nationalism" p160.
19. Heard (1937). p17.
20. Lee (1987). Chapter 1 "The Setting for Dictatorship" p13.
21. Lee (1987). Chapter "Introduction".

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