Nationalism

Nationalism is an ideology which holds that the nation, ethnicity or national identity is a fundamental unit of human social life, and makes certain political claims based on that belief, above all the claim that the nation is the only legitimate basis for the state and that each nation is entitled to its own state. In this form nationalism is a universal ideology, but the term also refers to the specific ideology of nationalist movements, which make political claims on behalf of a specific nation. These movements may dispute each others specific claims, but nevertheless they share the general nationalist ideology.

Historical impact of nationalism

Historical events (not just wars) in which nationalism played an essential role included:

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• The Indian independence movement of the 20th Century and the rise of Mahatma Gandhi.
• The French Revolution between 1789 and 1799
• The Rebellions of 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada
• The 1848 Revolutions in Europe
• The Italian unification under the rule of Piedmont and Sardinia
• The Anglo-Irish War and the partition of Ireland into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
• The Arab Revolt of 1916-1918
• The rise of Reza Shah in 1921.
• The establishment of the apartheid state in South Africa by the National Party of South Africa, the Afrikaner nationalists.
• The unification of Syria and Egypt under the United Arab Republic and its demise.
• Nationalism and resistance in Algeria as a prelude to the Algerian War of Independence.
• The decolonisation of Africa during the 1960s and 1970s.
• The anti-colonial opposition to white rule in Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia during the 1960s and 1970s
• The conflict between the Canadian nationalism and Quebecois nationalism in Canada, and the violence of the FLQ.
• The Fiji coups of 1987 and 2000.
• The rise in white nationalist or anti-immigrant violence in western countries since the 1970s.