When the “Donald” (aka Donald Trump) was the President of the United States, he was constantly referring to himself as a nationalist and as a person who believes in American interests first.
He said he wanted to give Americans their jobs back so that America can be wealthy and strong.
He believed that America should keep out illegal immigrants, and limit immigration and the sponsoring of refugees. He also believed that kicking out illegal immigrants was one of the best things for American interests.
This, to him, is nationalism.
But is it though?
What is Nationalism?
According to Oxford Languages, nationalism is:
“Identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.”
So, a nationalist is someone who supports all things that promote their nation’s interests. This could be keeping jobs in their nation. It could be reducing trade with another nation to prevent strengthening it economically.
It could be keeping (or bringing back) manufacturing and production to the nation.
It can also be fighting to keep the nation sovereign, where they govern themselves with no outside (or international) influence.
These are all things that would promote nationalism. Excluding “other” people, such as kicking out the illegal immigrants who contribute to the economy and society, is not something that promotes nationalism.
However, I will add that there are degrees to the definition, based on who you ask to define the term.
There will be some people who say they believe the term means to keep jobs in America. There will be some who say America shouldn’t allow international influence (or people who are opposed to globalization).
And then there will be some who say America should be White (as in it should be predominantly Caucasian).
Yes, there are some people who believe that American nationalism means America should have one ethnicity and one culture. These people are also white nationalists and thus, are racist and most likely voted for Trump.
Nationalism vs Patriotism
Anywhoo, I wanted to also add that there is a difference between nationalism and patriotism.
Patriotism, according to Oxford Languages, is:
“The quality of being patriotic; devotion to and vigorous support for one’s country.”
The two words are kind of the same. They both suggest promoting support for one’s country.
However, the difference between the two is that one talks about wanting to be its own entity (nationalism) and one talks about showing your love and pride for your country.
One is about political policies and one is about a feeling and certain behaviours.
For instance, a patriot would love and support their country for its culture, traditions, and people. They could show this by supporting their national sports teams.
But a patriot would also call out their country (its institution) for its wrongdoings from the past and in the present.
And those are the key differences between a nationalist and a patriot.
You can learn more about the differences in the following video:
Conclusion
So that’s what nationalism is. It’s a belief in putting your country and its interests above other countries and their interests. But there are degrees to the definition of this term and it will vary with who you ask.
How do you define nationalism?