Whether nationalism is an ideology or not is complicated and difficult to clarify. The are many conflicting views on nationalism from Ian Adams who states that nationalism is an ideology however flawed it maybe “ among modern ideologies, nationalism is the clearest and least theoretically sophisticated but it is also the most widespread and has the strongest grip on popular feelings… Nationalism is a political doctrine; an ideology because it insists that one particular political form is natural and therefore right”. Whereas Terence Ball and Richard Dagger claim “nationalism and anarchism take on so many forms and are entwined with so many different ideologies that we think it better not to treat them as distinct ideologies”.
Nationalism works best in the international sphere, because its conceptual structure fits well in a simplified political world in which nation-states are the main actors and acquire a prominence and power that they rarely do in the national 3. Paul Treanor states “Nationalism is 100% global, integral part of the world order”. However nationalism does not work so strongly on the national sphere, it is unfair to want it to do so regarding its weighting in the international sphere. This is demonstrated by when nationalism is put to competition with another ideology, for example in Northern Ireland. It becomes part of a broader ideological structure and will then relate the broader concerns of the ideologies it attacks. It can be classed that nationalisms core ideas do not work as well in the national sphere as they do in the national, however it can be argued that other mainstream ideologies do not work so well in the international sphere.
To qualify as an ideology, nationalism will have to complete the needs stated by a definition of an ideology above. “Values, conceptions of the world, and symbol systems” Nationalism fulfils these easily the common value amongst nationalists is the nation above all else, with conceptions it is the inherent belief that their nation is superior to anywhere else and they have a system of flags, national anthems and so forth as symbols. “These ideas (often embedded in symbols and cultural practices) orient people's thinking in such a way that they accept the current way of doing things, the current sense of what is 'natural,' and the current understanding of their roles in society.” For this section of an ideology, nationalism is the most concrete and reachable of ideologies to the public; all individuals are slightly nationalist in their respect for their country this is inherent and reaffirmed through education when growing up.
Nationalism is frequently defined and referred to as a political doctrine not an ideology. However I find this to be an unfair categorization of nationalism, though weak centred on certain aspects, it is important to remember that the question is not asking what type of ideology nationalism is, or whether it is a good one, just merely does it qualify as one! I believe that it can qualify as an ideology, although as with everything an argument can be formed against this belief.
“Nationalism is an ideology about individuated being. It is an ideology concerned with bounded-ness, continuity, and homogeneity encompassing diversity. It is an ideology in which social reality, conceived in terms of nationhood, is endowed with the reality of natural things.” Richard Handler.
It is necessary to remember the dispute over nationalism’s categorization when answering this question, it does not a clearly defined result nationalism can be classed as a variety of processes from a kind of sentiment or identity, a form of political rhetoric, an ideology, a principle and a kind of social movement. [Beiner, 1999:56]. I believe however that nationalism is best suited to being called and ideology; it fulfils the above criteria and is most commonly referred to in the same arena as liberalism, socialism and other mainstream ideologies.
“The term nationalism admits of no simple definition. It is a complex phenomenon, often vague and mysterious in character. Its most perplexing feature is that it may differ in its forms according to specific historical conditions and the social structure of any given country”. Just like any other ideology it can differ form country to country so does nationalism slightly, however all nationalists hold certain views in common; especially a belief in history and tradition as well as a sense of belonging and importance of their own group despite what nation they are from, it is these views that allow them to qualify as one! [Adams, 1993:97] Nationalism is present in almost every nation in certain ways or forms. This is mainly divided into two categories, the organic community and the nation itself, which has many contrasting views depending on which variance of nationalism it is viewed from.
“Nationalism is a condition of mind, feeling, or sentiment of a group of people living in a well-defined geographical area, speaking a common language, possessing a literature in which the aspirations of the nation have been expressed, and in some cases, having a common religion. There are, of course exceptions to every part of this definition” L. Snyder.
It is with the organic community and the nation itself that need further explanation. Nationalists are unified by their belief that all nations are organic communities [Heywood, 2003:159]. This is the belief that the world is naturally divided into a collection of nations, each possessing a distinct character and separate identity. Nationalists argue that there is a higher loyalty to the nation, which precedes class, gender and religion. This was demonstrated in WW1 and WW2 when the proletariat/working class fighters fought against each other but for the nation.
A sense of “nation” or “nationhood” is inherent by a shared common history and traditions, past glory and celebration of great leaders also help to reinforce this. Although it is difficult to define what the nation exactly entails a road description is the nation can be defined by ‘objective’ factors, these are people who satisfy certain criteria and can fit into the nation; and those who do not fit the criteria which can be classed as non-nationals and belong to a foreign nation [Heywood, 2003:159].
“To have common glories in the past, a common will in the present; to have accomplished great things together, to wish to do so again is the essential condition for being a nation” Ernest Renan.
Nations can be divided and defined by certain factors. Language for intance, New Zealand and Australia talk English as a first language but they do not classify themselves to be English or part of the English nation. Or religion also can divides and makes a nation, countries with many diverse religions might not have such a strong nation identity as Poland, Italy, Brazil etc which share a strong Roman Catholic religion. It is these characteristics that define us by what we are not as opposed to for example England and North America both speak English, however it is rare for any American Citizens to belong to the Church of England, therefore by looking at individuals from the two countries you can see that the North Americans are not of Church of England belief thus they are American not English.
Additionally the nation gives all individuals a cultural identity. The universal spirit of nationalism also includes the belief that one's nation is better off as an autonomous state. (Autonomy is defined as a nation governing itself independently from a centralized point). Still another universal aspect of nationalism included in this category is the willingness to go to extreme measures in achieving autonomous self-rule.
I believe that nationalism has almost been over analysed by political thinkers, the simple question of is nationalism an ideology has been lost, it has been too looked into on higher levels that the core ideas become blurred. I believe that nationalism does fulfil all the characteristics given by a classical ideology description. In a more complex view of nationalism certain ideas and cross over into other mainstream ideologies. This however cannot be too criticized because it is inherent in almost all ideologies. Due to this, it an help answer the question of are there views that all nationalist hold in common, as with all ideologies there are basic similarities then finite variables. For this you can just look at variables of liberalism, from classical to modern. However all of these small details I find only contribute to nationalism’s status as an ideology.
Freeden, M. Is Nationalism a distinct ideology?
Freeden, M. Is Nationalism a distinct ideology?