TYPES OF NATIONALISM

1. Ethnic Nationalism:

Ethnic nationalism defines the nation in terms of ethnicity, which always includes some element
of descent from previous generations, i.e. genophilia. It also includes ideas of a culture shared between
members of the group and with their ancestors, and usually a shared language. Membership in the
nation is hereditary. The state derives political legitimacy from its status as homeland of the ethnic
group, and from its duty to protect of the partly national group and facilitate its family and social life, as
a group.

2. Civic Nationalism:

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”. Civic
nationalism lies within the traditions of rationalismand liberalism, but as a form of nationalism it is
contrasted with ethnic nationalism. Membership of the civic nation is considered voluntary. Civic-
national ideals influenced the development of representative democracy in countries such as the United
States and France.

3. Expansionist Nationalism:

Expansionist nationalism is an aggressive and radical form of nationalism that incorporates autonomous,
patriotic sentiments with a belief in expansionism. The term was coined during the late nineteenth
century as European powers indulged in the ‘Scramble for Africa’ in the name of national glory, but has
been most associated with militarist governments during the 20th century including Fascist Italy, Nazi
Germany, the Japanese empire, and the Balkans countries of Albania (Greater Albania), Bulgaria
(Greater Bulgaria), Croatia (Greater Croatia), Hungary (Greater Hungary), Romania (Greater Romania)
and Serbia (Greater Serbia).

4. Romantic Nationalism:

Romantic nationalism, also known as organic nationalism and identity nationalism) is the form of ethnic
nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy as a natural (“organic”) consequence and
expression of the nation, or race. It reflected the ideals of Romanticism and was opposed to
Enlightenment rationalism. Romantic nationalism emphasized a historical ethnic culture which meets
the Romantic Ideal; folklore developed as a Romantic nationalist concept.

5. Cultural Nationalism:

Cultural nationalism defines the nation by shared culture. Membership (the state of being members) in
the nation is neither entirely voluntary (you cannot instantly acquire a culture), nor hereditary (children
of members may be considered foreigners if they grew up in another culture). Yet, a traditional culture
can be more easily incorporated into an individual’s life, especially if the individual is allowed to acquire
its skills at an early stage of his/her own life. Cultural nationalism has been described as a variety of
nationalism that is neither purely civic nor ethnic. The nationalisms
of Catalonia, Quebec and Flanders have been described as cultural.
6. Revolutionary Nationalism:

Revolutionary nationalism, also known as radical nationalism, is an ideological theory that calls for a
national community united by a shared sense of purpose and destiny. It was first attributed to adherents
of the revolutionary syndicalism and heavily promulgated by Benito Mussolini. This intellectual synthesis
of “radical nationalism and dissident socialist” formed in France and Italy at the beginning of the 20th
century.

7. Post-Colonial Nationalism:

Since the process of decolonisation that occurred after World War II, there has been a rise of Third
World nationalisms. Third world nationalisms occur in those nations that have been colonized and
exploited. The nationalisms of these nations were forged in a furnace that required resistance to
colonial domination in order to survive. As such, resistance is part and parcel of such nationalisms and
their very existence is a form of resistance to imperialist intrusions. Third World nationalism attempts to
ensure that the identities of Third World peoples are authored primarily by themselves, not colonial
powers.

Examples of third world nationalist ideologies are African nationalism and Arab nationalism. Other

important nationalist movements in the developing world have included Indian nationalism, Chinese
nationalism and the ideas of the Mexican Revolution and Haitian Revolution. Third world nationalist
ideas have been particularly influential among the raft of left-leaning governments elected in South
Americain recent years, particularly on President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez’s ideology
of Bolivarianism which has been partly inspired by the anti-colonial ideals of Simón Bolívar. This type of
nationalism is our main subject of interest in this tutorial.

8. Liberation Nationalism:

Many nationalist movements in the world are dedicated to national liberation in the view that their
nations are being persecuted by other nations and thus need to exercise self-determination by liberating
themselves from the accused persecutors. Anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninism is closely tied with this
ideology, and practical examples include Stalin’s early work Marxism and the National Question and
his Socialism in One Country edict, which declares that nationalism can be used in an internationalist
context i.e. fighting for national liberation without racial or religious divisions.

9. Left-Wing Nationalism:

Left-wing nationalism, also occasionally known as socialist nationalism, refers to any political movement
that combines left-wing politics or socialism with nationalism. Notable examples include Fidel
Castro’s 26th of July Movement that launched the Cuban Revolution ousting the American-
backed Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Ireland’s Sinn Féin, Labor Zionism in Israel and the African National
Congress in South Africa.

10. Liberal Nationalism:

Liberal nationalism is a kind of nationalism defended recently by political philosophers who believe that
there can be a non-xenophobic form of nationalism compatible with liberal values of freedom,
tolerance, equality, and individual rights. Ernest Renan, author of “Qu’est-ce qu’une nation?” and John
Stuart Mill are often thought to be early liberal nationalists. Liberal nationalists often defend the value
of national identity by saying that individuals need a national identity in order to lead meaningful,
autonomous lives and that liberal democratic polities need national identity in order to function
properly.