ABSTRACT
Nationalism has been a powerful force in modern history. It arouses strong feelings – for some, nationalism is tantamount to racism, but for others nationalist sentiment creates solidarity and stability, which are preconditions for freedom. These two perspectives are informed by history: in its most extreme form nationalism has been, it is claimed, at the root of genocidal policies, and yet it has also been the basis of liberation movements in such regions as Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. The challenge for political theorists is to explain how the ‘nation’ can be a source of value and an object of allegiance. This is indeed a challenge: most liberals – and liberalism is the dominant ideology of our time – hold that the individual human being is the ultimate source of value, and the individual has claims against collective entities, such as the nation; many socialists are collectivists, but for them it is class, or humanity as a whole, that is the proper object of concern.
