Ethnic Nationalism
A number of authors have suggested that a useful distinction be made between two visions of nationalism: ethnic and civic (Geertz 1994). Ethnic nationalism is founded on the people's allegiance is to the ethnic group (or nationality), and not to the larger political entity, or state, that may include many nationalities. The nation in this instance is envisioned as being founded on "not the cold contrivance of shared rights, but the people's pre-existing ethnic characteristics: their language, religion, customs and traditions (Ignatieff 1993: 4). The ethnic nation is a place to which people feel they can belong and pledge their allegiance, where "… an individual's deepest attachments are inherited not chosen" (Ignatieff 1993: 7-8). When a nation so defined has governmental authority, ethnic nationalism may become enshrined in definitions of citizenship or restrictive immigration laws.
In recent decades every continent (save Antarctica!) has witnessed cases of intense conflict provoked by ethnic nationalism. One form involves political actions based on claims of superiority of a dominant group over other groups that it seeks to subordinate, expel or even exterminate from its territory. The genocide in Rwanda in 1994 is a well-known example. In another expression of ethnic nationalism, ethnic minorities challenge majority dominance, in order to seek independence or greater autonomy over their home region. This has been seen in the cases of Tamils in Sri Lanka; Kurds in Iran, Iraq and Turkey; Basques in Spain; and Quebeçois in Canada.
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Date last modified: October 8, 2009.
NSF Project (AAG,Texas State, Northern Colorado)