Civic nationalism, otherwise known as democratic nationalism, is a form of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

that adheres to traditional liberal values of

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

, tolerance, equality, and individual rights, and is not based on

ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism in social science and anthropology—as well as in colloquial English discourse—means to apply one's own culture or ethnicity as a frame of reference to judge other cultures, practices, behaviors, beliefs, and people, instead o ...

. Civic nationalists often defend the value of

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...

by saying that individuals need it as a partial shared aspect of their identity (an upper identity) in order to lead meaningful, autonomous lives and that democratic polities need a

to function properly. Liberal nationalism is used in the same sense as 'civic nationalism', but liberal ethnic nationalism also exists, and " state nationalism" is a branch of civic nationalism, but it can also be illiberal. Civic nationhood is a political identity built around shared

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

within the state. Thus, a " civic nation" defines itself not by culture but by political institutions and liberal principles, which its citizens pledge to uphold. Membership in the civic nation is open to every person by citizenship, regardless of culture or ethnicity. Those who share these values are considered members of the nation and, in theory, a civic nation or state does not aim to promote one culture over another. German philosopher

Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas ( , ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt S ...

has argued that immigrants to a liberal-democratic state need not assimilate into the host culture but only accept the principles of the country's constitution ( constitutional patriotism). Civic nationalism is frequently contrasted with ethnic nationalism. According to Donald Ipperciel, civic nationalism historically was a determining factor in the development of modern constitutional and democratic forms of government, whereas ethnic nationalism has been more associated with authoritarian rule and even

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

. Indeed, the 20th-century revival of civic nationalism played a key role in the ideological war against

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

. However, as Umut Özkırımlı states, "civic" nations can be as intolerant and cruel as the so-called "ethnic" nations, citing French Jacobin techniques of persecution that were utilized by 20th-century fascists. Some argue civic nationalism inevitably involves an underlying ethnic concept of national belonging because abstract values cannot be related to a specific place.

History

Civic nationalism lies within the traditions of

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...

and

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

, but as a form of nationalism it is contrasted with ethnic nationalism. Ernest Renan is often thought to be an early civic nationalist. Philosopher Hans Kohn was one of the first to differentiate civic nationalism from ethnic nationalism in his 1944 publication '' The Idea of Nationalism: A Study in Its Origins and Background''. Membership of the civic

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

is considered voluntary, as in Renan's classical definition in " Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?" of the nation as a "daily referendum" characterized by the "will to live together". Some authors criticize that definition used by Renan, based on a "daily referendum", because of the ambiguity of the concept and its idealization. They argue that the arguments used by Renan at the conference "What is a Nation?" are not consistent with his thinking. Civic-national ideals influenced the development of

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a type of democracy where elected delegates represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies func ...

in countries such as the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(see the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

of 1776, and the ''

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...

'' of 1789). The Corsican nationalist movement organized around the FLNC is giving a civic definition of the Corsican nation ("destiny community") in the continuity of Pasquale Paoli and the ideas of the Lumières. The

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

and

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

, which advocate independence of their respective nations from the United Kingdom, proclaim themselves to be civic nationalist parties, in which they advocate the independence and popular sovereignty of the people living in their nation's society, not individual ethnic groups. The Republican Left of Catalonia supports a civic Catalan independentism and defends a Catalan Republic based on

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

and civic values within a diverse society. The Union of Cypriots define its ideology as Cypriot nationalism, a civic nationalism that focuses on the shared identity of

Greek Cypriots Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greeks, Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest Ethnolinguistic group, ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming al ...

and Turkish Cypriots. It highlights both communities' common culture, heritage and traditions as well as economic, political, and social rights. It also supports the reunification of Cyprus and the end of foreign interference by

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Outside

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, it has also been used to describe the Republican Party in the United States during the Civil War Era. Civic nationalism shares elements of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

concept of ', which is German for "nation by will", coined by Carl Hilty, understood as shared experience and dedication by citizens.

Criticism

Former Israeli minister Yael Tamir has argued that the differences between ethnic and civic nationalism are blurred. She posits: "By waving the civic flag, Western democracies pretend to be more peaceful and inclusive than they really are, fostering a self-image that allows them to exonerate themselves, leaving them unprepared to deal with internal conflicts". The distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism has also been criticized by scholars like Bernard Yack and Umut Özkırımlı. Yack rejects Renan's notion of "voluntary" civic nationality as an illusion, arguing this "misrepresents political reality as surely as the ethnonationalist myths it is designed to combat", going on to state how cultural memories form an inseparable part of every national political identity. Quoting Rogers Brubaker, Özkırımlı argues: Following Brubaker, John Etherington demonstrates how civic nationalism inevitably involves an underlying ethnic concept of national belonging. Because supposed civic values are abstract, universal and thus open to all, "they cannot be related to a specific place – the national homeland. Thus, any civic conception of the nation is dependent on a prior ethnic conception because of the need to establish who belongs to the nation and its homeland and who does not". p.31

Citations

Sources

External links

* {{Liberalism Anti-racism Communitarianism Cosmopolitanism Cultural politics Immigration activism Liberalism National liberalism Pluralism (philosophy) Political philosophy Political science terminology Rationalism Social ideologies de:Willensnation

History

Criticism

See also

Citations

Sources

External links