Nationalism is an ideology that emerged in the 19th century when the nation-states in Europe were affirmed.
The term is used to describe the feeling and attitude that members of a nation have when forming national identity.
Nationalism comes after Napoleon conquered much of Europe. Against the resistance to the French general, the idea arises to strengthen the characteristics of each country in order to differentiate themselves from the invader.
State and Nation
Before we understand what nationalism is, it is necessary to define the concepts of State and Nation:
- Nation is an ethnic, cultural or linguistic community of individuals who are united by a common tradition.
- State is an administrative entity that will guard the territory. Within one state, different nations can coexist.
To understand better: State are nations in every way, but there are nations that are not sovereign states.
An example that facilitates understanding: Brazilian indigenous nations maintain their culture, language and ethnic differences, but they have neither the authority nor the sovereignty necessary to define foreign affairs. This role falls to the Brazilian State, which is sovereign.
Another example that we could mention is the Kurds who are a people dispersed among countries like Iraq, Syria and Turkey that do not have a state.
Meaning
Thus, nationalism has two main conceptions: ideology and political action.
In the first, nationalism corresponds to national identity, defined in terms of common origin, cultural ties, language and ethnicity. This point also considers the formation of a nation as an independent state or inserted into another.
Nationalism as a political action includes issues such as self-determination, involving sovereignty over internal and international affairs.
Nationalism will be fundamental as an ideology for German Unification and Italian Unification . Both territories were made up of small independent states, but united by the same past.
This was the main theme of Romanticism that extolled the national roots of each country.
Brazilian Nationalism
Brazilian nationalism was used by governments, intellectuals and artists to justify certain political attitudes.
In this way, we have the Republic that builds the idea of a “modern country” in the face of the backward monarchy in order to justify the republican coup.
Later, in the Estado Novo (1937-1945), nationalism will be used to build state-owned companies such as Petrobras and Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional.
Finally, we can mention the nationalism promoted by the military dictatorship (1964-1985), which had an authoritarian nature summarized in slogans such as ” Brazil love it or leave it “.
Patriotism
Patriotism is the love of an individual and identification with the homeland coupled with concern for the well-being of countrymen.
It is related to an individual’s need to belong to a group, to relate to the past, to the social, political and cultural conditions of a nation.
Nationalism is different from patriotism, even though some authors use the terms interchangeably, which is not correct.
Among the scholars who differentiate the terms is Lord Acton (1834 -1909) who defined nationality as the individual’s connection to race and patriotism as the awareness of moral duties towards the political community.
Equally, patriotism differs from nationalism because it does not contain militaristic elements.
Ufanism
Pride is also called exaggerated or exaggerated nationalism. Boasting tends to exaggerate the qualities of their homeland, often without a basis for it.
The word comes from the Spanish language where it means to boast, to be proud of your land or your group.
Likewise, pride can be aggressive when considering that only your homeland is worthy and deserving of prosperity and peace.
In Brazil, the concept of ufanism appeared in the publication ” Why me Ufano of my country “, by Count Afonso Celso, from 1900.
Another author who worked with this concept was Lima Barreto, in his work ” Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma “.
The first Brazilian modernist generation also used ufanism as an inspiration for their works, seeking to think of Brazil as it entered the industrial era.
Curiosity
A phrase attributed to the French general Charles De Gaulle sums up the difference between nationalism and patriotism:
Patriotism is when love for your own people comes first. Nationalism is when hatred for other peoples comes first.