TYPES OF NATIONALISM

These are civic nationalism, cultural nationalism, ethnic nationalism, religious

Civic nationalism: 
 This form of nationalism is based on the idea that strict adherence to the legal system of a
given nation for a certain period of time will make an individual a member of that nation,
that is to say, the nation is defined by adherence to its laws and rules and behaving in a
moral and ethical manner according to those rules.
 It is the most inclusive form of nationalism. Examples of countries which adhere to civic
nationalism are the United States and Russia. It is perhaps the most common form of
nationalism. The obvious positives of this form of nationalism are that anyone can
become a citizen of a nation which practices civic nationalism, as such, civic nationalist
countries such as the US thrive on high-skilled and medium-skilled immigration, as
people all around the globe are enticed to emigrate to the country and to work hard to
achieve their dreams, which in turn exponentially benefits the nation’s economy.
 However, the obvious negatives of this form of nationalism are the multicultural and
multiracial connotations, which undeniably cause conflict and problems with social
cohesion, additionally, civic nationalism would eventually result in the dilution of the
nation’s original culture or ethnic group, as people from a wide variety of religions,
cultures, races, and ethnicities would migrate to these nations and eventually either form
a plurality of the population or even the majority.

Cultural nationalism: 
 This form of nationalism is based on the idea that having a shared culture, either by
assimilating into it or being born into it is the prerequisite for citizenship and thus
national belonging. The nation is defined by culture, as such, culturally nationalist
countries tend to be culturally homogeneous.
 It is probably the 2nd most common form of nationalism and definitely the 3rd most
inclusive. It is very difficult to differentiate between countries which de facto adhere to
cultural nationalism and countries which de jure adhere to cultural nationalism, however,
it can be said that countries such as China adhere to cultural nationalism.
 There are many positives to cultural nationalism, the most obvious is that cultural
nationalism can unite a multiracial nation by breaking down cultural barriers between the
races thereby reducing the differences between these groups and uniting them under one
flag, government, and nation. The obvious negatives are that cultural nationalism does
not always successfully unify the nation, countries such as the Roman Empire embraced
cultural nationalism and yet that did not prevent it from being shattered by separatism.
 Another negative is that, although cultural nationalism does preserve the culture of a
given ethnic group, it fails to protect the unique ancestry of that ethnic group, as such,
 much like civic nationalism, cultural nationalism eventually results in the dilution of the
nation’s original ethnic group, due to a large-scale change in that group’s heritage and
ancestry.

Ethnic nationalism: 
 This form of nationalism is based on the idea that being of the same or similar ethnic
group is the prerequisite for citizenship and national belonging. The nation is defined by
ethnicity, as such, ethnic nationalist countries tend to be ethnically, culturally and racially
homogeneous.
 Ethnic nationalism is most definitely 5th most inclusive form of nationalism and the 3rd
least common form of nationalism. No countries in the world, to my knowledge, are
completely ethnically nationalist, however, countries such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and
Japan have certain laws which can be regarded as ethnic nationalist in their nature.
 The obvious positive of ethnic nationalism is that it allows for the complete preservation
of the ethnicity, as such, ethnic nationalism is the only type of nationalism which leads to
the complete preservation of a people. There really is no objective negatives of ethnic
nationalism, however, it cannot be denied that ethnic nationalism excludes many people
from immigrating into and from becoming citizens of an ethnic nationalist country.

Racial nationalism:
 This form of nationalism is based on the idea that belonging to the same racial or sub-
racial group is the prerequisite for citizenship and national belonging.
 The nation is defined by the race or sub-race, as such, racial nationalist countries tend to
be racially homogenous, although this certainly does not imply cultural or ethnic
homogeneity, White Nationalists such as Richard Spender, who are really racial
nationalists, not ethnic nationalists (“White” or “European” isn’t an ethnicity) would have
no issues with a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multireligious Pan-European ethnostate,
provided that all the ethnicities within that state were “European”.
 Racial nationalism is definitely the 4th least inclusive form of nationalism and the 2nd
least common form of nationalism. An example of a completely racial nationalist state
would be Liberia, as only individuals who are “Negroes” or of “Negro descent” can
become citizens. A positive of racial nationalism is that all the members of a racial
nationalist country are, theoretically, biologically linked to a degree, which provides for
reduced tensions and greater social cohesion, however, the multiculturalism and multi-
religiousness of such a state would still bring about problems.
 A negative of racial nationalism is that its foundations are extremely shaky, in the
example of a Pan-European ethnostate, the idea that all the myriad European ethnicities
would feel “kinship” towards each other on the basis of loose and distant biological ties is
very ignorant and definitely not scrupulous.

Religious nationalism: 
 This form of nationalism is based on the idea that belonging to the same religion is the
prerequisite for citizenship and national belonging. The nation is defined by the religion,
 as such, religious nationalist countries would be very religiously homogeneous, but not
racially, ethnically, or culturally homogenous.
 Religious nationalism is the 3rd most inclusive form of nationalism, and the least popular
form of nationalism. An example of a religious nationalist country would be the Vatican
City, which only grants citizenship to the Cardinals which reside in the Vatican or in
Rome, the Holy see’s diplomats, and people who reside in the Vatican due to their office
or service, such as the Swiss Guard. The requirements for all of these things is to be a
Catholic, which by extension means that only Catholics can become citizens of the
Vatican. A positive of religious nationalism is that, by introducing religious homogeneity,
it decreases social tensions in regards to differing religions.
A negative of religious nationalism is that it seeks to unite all members of a religious
group, regardless of any other demographic factors, which would most definitely cause
tension and issues with social cohesion