what’s the difference between nationalism and patriotism?
In: 1503
Patriotism: I love my country
Nationalism: My country and culture are the best in the world. Other countries and cultures suck and we don’t want their and ours values mix ever.
This is way overly simplified
“While nationalism emphasizes a unity of cultural past with inclusion of the language and heritage, patriotism is based on love towards people with a greater emphasis on values and beliefs”
[Source](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1234371.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiFm8HnuKn3AhVfGDQIHReFDw0QFnoECAQQBQ&usg=AOvVaw07sSz_Z8iMOrYa3aUs4Bd3)
Nationalist fantasize of a single culture, a single identity, a single language, a single (generally white, male centric) society
While patriotism is loving your country, caring for all your fellow citizens, and holding the values of your nation close. Like feeling the Constitution promises each person the freedom to be who they are, vs the belief every person should have the same language, culture, religion, etc.
I’ll add a another take to the other reply, which is excellent:
Patriotism is when you love your country because of what it does.
Nationalism is when you love your country in spite of what it does.
Patriotism: I love my country because it’s my country
Nationalism: I hate YOUR country because it’s not my country
The etymology and history of the words is complicated. The shirt version is that each is a kind of pride in something you belong to.
Patriotism, in the last century especially, has become associated with a love of the land and people you come from. It’s cultural. The word is also used when that love is mostly harmless. I can be a patriot watching the Olympics who feels pride when sunshine else from my homeland performs well, and I can enjoy the contest when someone from my homeland is beaten by another competitor or team.
Nationalism, on the other hand, started as something people thought was positive. It’s a love of your nation above all others. The word was gaining popularity when people started thinking of themselves as members of an artificial group (people living within lines on a map). It became a problem when that national pride was used to justify war right when humans were perfecting some really horrific tools of war during the Great War. (Some existed before the Great War and got a trial run putting down uprisings in colonies. But, as long as people felt nationalistic pride, they didn’t mind a machine gun that could mow down human beings by the hundred.)
Today, the differentiation is the result of the pride you feel. If I’m patriotic about where I come from, I can still appreciate someone else’s culture and understand their pride in it. If I’m nationalistic, then I will feel that my place or culture of origin is inherently superior, and I won’t be able to understand someone else’s pride in their culture. I might even take their pride as an attack on my beliefs and “defend” myself by harming them or trying to get them to leave my space.
It’s that last point that makes nationalism really dangerous, since enough nationalists getting together may have the power to actually force others to leave their territory or worse. As a current example, Hindu nationalists in India have removed political and judicial power from predominantly Muslim parts of India, like Kashmir, reducing the ability of Muslims to legally protect themselves from harm.
If you’re listening to NPR it’s called nationalism if you’re listening to Fox it’s patriotism
I honestly think both of these words have enough various uses and meanings that there’s no answer to your question. In particular, a lot of the replies have a very American-centered idea of what they mean, particularly for “nationalism,” that don’t really work fully for other countries.
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Patriotism is wanting the best for your country.
Nationalism is thinking your country is the best.
Two sides of the same coin, more or less. In general, you’ll see people be called nationalist when they’re being set up in a bad light, and called patriotic, when their actions are being portrayed as positive.
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