How nationalism and identity politics define belonging

Nationalism and identity politics is an ideology or movement that holds that the nation should match the state, promotes its interests and sovereignty over its perceived homeland, and seeks a single national identity based on shared social characteristics. The lessons answer how identity defines belonging and help readers understand how national identity is shaped and contested.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 1 hr 43 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   nationalism and identity politics · Wikipedia · 60+ min read

   Civic nationalism defines belonging through shared political rights and allegiance to similar political procedures, rather than common ethnic ancestry. In his 1882 lecture "What is a Nation?", Ernest Renan defined the nation as a "daily referendum" dependent on the will of its people to continue living together. In anti-colonial nationalism, Mahatma Gandhi and his allies in the Indian independence movement argued for a composite nationalism, not believing that an independent Indian nation should be defined by its religious identity. Despite large-scale opposition by Indian National Congress supporters, the Muslim League's insistence resulted in the Indian subcontinent being partitioned into two states in 1947 along religious lines.

2. Read
   

   What defines Japan's national identity? · Noahpinion (Substack) · 9 min read

   Japan's national identity is being revisited as Japanese find new ways to co-exist and live alongside non-Japanese. The question is whether being Japanese depends on where someone was born or on how they participate in society.

3. Watch
   

   Patriotism vs Nationalism (Philosophical Distinction) · YouTube · 4 min watch

   Patriotism and nationalism differ in their targets and in kind. The video also notes the difference between countries and nations.

4. Book
   

   Americanah · Bookshop.org

   Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie traces Ifemelu's struggle to understand what it means to be black in America and the lovers' renewed passion for their homeland after they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria.

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