what’s the difference between nationalism and patriotism?
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Social studies teacher here. The answers inthis thread are alright, but not quite right.
Patriotism is an emotion. It’s a love for the nation. I want to stress that this is about the *nation* and not about the country. The nation is the people, who form its culture and society. This does not include the state/government. You can be a patriot without even remotely liking your government’s policies. Because of this, patriotism can be – and often is apolitical.
Nationalism is not an emotion, but a political ideology. It prosists mainly three things:
1. our policies should be based on what is good for our country, even if that is at the cost of the general good of all countries.
2. The state embodies the will of the nation, and therefore the nation should follow the instructions of the state.
3. The state should do more to protect the nation from outside influences, including other states and other nations. (This can manifest itself for example by wanting a bigger army, but also by wanting to prevent immigration)
There are also some other political ideas commonly associated with nationalism, for example expansionism and fascism, but these are not *inherently* part of nationalism.
Generally speaking, an increase in nationalism is caused by increased fears of outside influence, while an increase in patriotism is caused by the nation being genuinely better than other nations.
There are some who believe that not only nationalism is wrong, but also that patriotism is wrong, because they believe that all nations are ultimately equal or that there are no nations. Those people are called cosmopolitanists.
There’s a lot of nuances in the word and the cultural “tones” that may paint it but the best way, I think, to separate the two is by the etymological meaning:
A patriot’s love is rooted to the land (they grew up in).
A nationalist’s love is rooted to a (maybe large) group of people.
Nothing is considered bad at this point. Bad things arise when the love part gets excessive and/or selfish.
Patriotism is loving your country, in spite of its flaws.
Nationalism is loving your country, oblivious to its flaws.
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