what’s the difference between nationalism and patriotism?
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There are a lot of biased, America-centric comments here, some of which are just wrong.
Patriotism is love for the country, that’s it. Nationalism is love for the nation, that’s it.
Those Americans who gave their lives fighting the South in the Civil War, they were patriots. The Chechens following Kadirov, fighting for Russia in Ukraine, they are patriots.
The Québecois separatists, campaigning for separation from Canada, those are nationalists. BLM could even be called nationalists.
No “patriot good, nationalist bad” required.
A lot of the answers in this thread deal with connotations rather than the denotations of the words (ie national is liking your country too much and patriotism is liking it just enough).
The importance of the distinction comes from the difference between a country and a nation.
A nation is a people. It’s really a modern phenomenon, frequently dated to around the French Revolution. While the idea that people were “French” existed beforehand, it only really gained potency as an identity around then. Before then, and for a long time after, most people identified themselves by religion, by family, and by town. They were subjects of certain aristocrats and even a king, but they had no identification with them. In the 1800s the concept came into being that there was a shared identity for a people, that all were part of a nation.
It came into being both in nation states, like France, and nations without a state like Germany and Italy. Almost every state was forced to adopt it for its military utility in allowing for large, highly motivated armies. People will die for the idea of nation in droves, not so much for a king.
Now crucially there are two types of nationalism. There’s *Romantic nationalism* characteristic of Germany and the Balkans, which emphasizes the cultural and linguistic aspects of it, with the nation defined by blood. There is also *civic nationalism* which was characteristic of the United States and France, which emphasized citizenship as the basis for membership in the nation.
Romantic nationalism was most prevalent in nations without a state, for obvious reasons. It’s emphasis on blood descent also gave it a clear dark side. Groups with a different language and culture were not part of the nation and could never be, unless they gave those things up.
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism most commonly spoken of today outside of academic circles because civic nationalism has become virtually ubiquitous. Thus, nationalism means loving the nation, which is defined as an exclusive group defined by blood and culture, rejecting pluralism. Whereas a patriot loves their country, which is a much vaguer term with connotations towards civic nationalism.
An example that might be helpful would be that if someone were to be a (romantic) nationalist in America, that would be unpatriotic, in that it contradicts the civic nationalist value of pluralism. Civic nationalism means Americans are the people who are citizens, whereas to take a romantic nationalist position would be to say that there’s a nation of “real” Americans in existence regardless of the legal structure that should have a state for themselves exclusively.
I see patriotism as loving and standing up for the principles of your country, such as freedom, equality, self-sufficiency, industriousness, etc. You don’t need to be born there or have the same skin color or religion as the majority…it’s reverence for the ideals associated with a country.
Nationalism is a superiority complex about your country, and is a slippery slope to supporting non-defensive military aggression against other countries, as well as blindly obeying your government even when they’re wrong.
To me, a patriot may love their country but hate their government. But a nationalist follows their government even when it goes against basic morality.
Patriotism is a love of country. As with love more generally, it does not assume that the beloved is perfect, superior, or immune to criticism.
I think nationalism is best understood as a kind of chauvinistic patriotism. The advantage of one’s own nation or ethnicity (nations are not always about nation states) is pursued in a self-interested way.
It’s about contemporary connotations, and not original meanings or strict logic.
If you’re American, patriotism has a positive connotation and nationalism has a negative connotation. So you use one if you intend to praise, and the other if you intend to criticize.
This thread has suggested to me that other English-speaking people’s don’t have the same connotations.
I’ll leave it to others to define Patriotism, but Nationalism is believing your country is the best even when it’s not.
Unless you’re Irish like me in which case it is. What a wonderful coincidence! 🙂
Patriotism is almost uniquely American. I can’t think of any other nation that even uses it seriously in its lexicon.
TL;DR: Patriotism and nationalism are used interchangeably, but usually it’s the French school of nationalism people (usually unwittingly) mean when they say patriotism, while the word ‘nationalism’ has almost become synonymous for the 19th century German school of nationalism.
A slightly more detailed version:
There are three main ‘schools’ of nationalism:
1. The French school of nationalism, also often called ‘Patriotism’. Simply put, a follower of the French school of nationalism will focus on citizenship, civic duty and the like and generally ignore race, religion, culture etc. Famous examples: Most modernized nations in the 21st century, the Soviet Union, Indonesia etc*.
2. The German school of nationalism (also called ethno-nationalism): A form of nationalism centered around race and/or ethnic background. For an follower of this school of nationalism, it doesn’t matter how loyal or integrated you are: if you’re not part of the main ethnic group, you’re considered an outsider. Famous examples: Nazi Germany, white supremacists, Imperial Japan etc.
3. Then there is something called ‘Religious nationalism’ or ‘Theo-nationalism’. A religious nationalism will first and foremost care about which religion and/or denomination you’re part of as a qualifier for membership into the national fold. Famous examples: ISIS (It’s even in their name: Islamic state. One of their main goals was the recreation of the Caliphate of old for Sunnis), certain christian evangelicals.
So to answer your question: patriotism and nationalism are used interchangeably, but usually it’s the French school of nationalism people (unwittingly) mean when they say patriotism, while the word ‘nationalism’ has almost become synonymous for the German school of nationalism.
*Important note: This is just the philosophy behind these schools. Few states conform to only one school at a time. e.g. every nation has a substantial amount of ethno-nationalists, even if they don’t get to call the shots most of the time. And some nations who’s institutions have embraced the French school of nationalism can engage in racist or even genocidal policies. And there is a lot of overlap as well. e.g. religious nationalists can also often be ethno-nationalists.
These classifications are just there to give people roughly an idea where a movement has its main focus around nationhood. Do they value race, religion or culture? Or do they value loyalty and love for the country first and foremost?
Finally, many of these schools can in turn be divided into sub-schools. e.g. The Soviet Union had a pretty big ideological component to its nationalism (even though they called themselves internationalists), making it distinct.
All of these forms of nationalism usually crash against the concept of internationalism, but the French school tends to be the one most compatible with internationalism whereas the German school is the least compatible.
Patriotism is a mind set of being proud of and supporting your country. General dictates social behaviours.
Nationalism is a political belief that will dictate someone’s political or world views. May either be purely political, that you feel your nation should have more power to govern itself. This may or may not be borne from a more extreme, right wing, belief that your country and people are superior to others and should be prioritised at all costs. This latter point is where there can be significant overlap with more extreme patriotism.
There is no difference and it’s so annoying how people are implying that chauvinism is now the definition for nationalism
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