Primordialism: The Origins And Basis Of Nationalism

Nationalism, like any political ideology, varies in intensity and nature from iterance to iterance. In the strictest of senses, Nationalism is a shared group feeling in the significance of a geographical region or “nation”. Its fundamental premise is that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the “nation” should surpass other individual or group interests. However, if one moves beyond the semantics of the word and attempts to truly understand nationalism, two main perspectives on the origins and basis of nationalism arise. One is the primordialist perspective. It describes nationalism as a reflection of the ancient evolutionary tendency of humans to organise into distinct units based on birth location – in other words people’s inherent attachment to their native soil, to the traditions of their parents, and to established territorial authorities. The other is the modernist perspective that describes nationalism as a recent phenomenon that requires the structural conditions of modern society, namely the existence of nation states, to exist. The nation-state was non-existent during the greater part of history. It was only at the end of the 18th century that, for the first time, the idea of nationality arose.

Nationalism has an unprecedented unifying effect on the peoples of a “nation”. There exists no

It is but another amoral political ideology that has been twisted and manipulated to suit the causes of politicians and leaders throughout history. In its most basic form it is benign. It can even promote cooperation and social cohesion. Welfare, social security and medical programs are all nationalist in nature. However, as history has shown us time and time again, humans by nature extremify ideologies, and extreme nationalism is cancerous. Albert Einstein said this much, “Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.” Its links the atrocities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries support