ABSTRACT
Since its advent, the phenomenon of nationalism has elicited a diverse array of responses that have defied consensus. Over the years people have viewed and experienced nationalism from very different perspectives. Nationalism’s founding fathers, Johann Gottfried Herder and Giuseppe Mazzini, saw nationalism as a divinely ordained, historical force of liberation, destined to lead humanity to universal justice and global peace (Alter 1994). Others interpreted it as a functional, sociocultural phenomenon that unifies people, sustains the cohesion of the national community, defines and clarifies collective values and generates loyalty to the larger whole (Smith 1993). Recently, nationalism is viewed as a legitimate moral and political force securing the rights and independence of people from the onslaught of globalization.
