Ultranationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which devotion to one’s own nation is pushed far beyond ordinary patriotism. Ultranationalists believe that their nation or ethnic group is superior to all others and that its interests must be placed above everything else, including the rights of other groups and the rules of international law. Unlike regular nationalism, which simply promotes pride in one’s country, ultranationalism often leads to hostility toward foreign countries, discrimination against minority groups within the country, and the justification of aggression and violence in the name of national greatness. In fact, ultranationalism has been closely connected to some of the worst events in modern history, including the rise of fascism, the outbreak of World War II, and genocide.
ULTRANATIONALISM – MAIN PRINCIPLES
The main principles of ultranationalism center on the idea that the nation is the most important thing in the world and that all other values must be sacrificed in its service. There are several key features that most ultranationalist movements share.
The most fundamental is the belief in national superiority. Ultranationalists do not simply love their country. They believe that their nation or ethnic group is inherently better than others. This sense of superiority is often used to justify treating other groups as inferior or as enemies. For instance, Nazi Germany’s ultranationalist ideology claimed that the German people were a master race who deserved to rule over other peoples, a belief that led directly to the Holocaust.
A second key feature is the idea of national rebirth or renewal. Many ultranationalist movements are built around the idea that the nation was once great but has been weakened or humiliated by enemies, either foreign powers or internal groups such as minorities or political opponents. The promise to restore the nation to its former glory is a powerful tool for mobilizing people. As stated above, this was a central theme in the rise of fascism in both Italy and Germany after World War I.
A third key feature is extreme hostility toward outsiders. Ultranationalists typically view foreigners, immigrants, and ethnic or religious minorities as threats to the purity and strength of the nation. This hostility can range from discrimination and exclusion to violence and genocide. In fact, some of the worst examples of ethnic cleansing and mass murder in modern history have been carried out in the name of ultranationalist ideologies.
A fourth key feature is the rejection of international cooperation. Ultranationalists tend to be deeply suspicious of alliances, international organizations, and agreements that limit what their country can do. They argue that the nation should act solely in its own interest and not be bound by the rules of the international community. This attitude contributed significantly to the breakdown of international order that led to both World War I and World War II.
ULTRANATIONALISM – NATIONALISM VERSUS ULTRANATIONALISM
It is important to understand the difference between regular nationalism and ultranationalism, since the two ideas are related but very different in their consequences. Regular nationalism is simply the belief that people who share a common language, culture, and history should be able to govern themselves as an independent nation. Most people today would consider this a reasonable and positive idea. In fact, nationalism played an important role in helping colonized peoples win independence from foreign empires in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Ultranationalism, however, takes this idea to a dangerous extreme. Where regular nationalism promotes pride and self-governance, ultranationalism promotes superiority and aggression. Where regular nationalism allows for cooperation with other nations, ultranationalism tends to see other nations as rivals or enemies. The key difference is that ultranationalism places the interests of one nation so far above all others that it begins to justify harming other people in the name of national greatness. As a result, ultranationalism has historically been one of the most destructive political forces in the modern world.
ULTRANATIONALISM – HISTORY AND EXAMPLES
Ultranationalism has appeared in many different forms throughout modern history, but it reached its most extreme and dangerous expressions in the early 20th century, particularly in the years leading up to and during World War II.
One of the earliest major examples of ultranationalism contributing to a major conflict was World War I. In the years before the war, the major European powers were engaged in fierce competition for territory, resources, and global prestige, fueled by intense feelings of national superiority. Many governments encouraged their citizens to believe that their country was the greatest in the world and that war was a noble way to prove national strength. In the Balkans, ultranationalist movements in Serbia and elsewhere sought to unite all Slavic peoples into a single nation by driving out Austro-Hungarian rule, a goal that contributed directly to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914 and the outbreak of the war.
The most extreme examples of ultranationalism in history came in the interwar period between 1918 and 1939. The defeat and humiliation of Germany in World War I, combined with the severe economic hardship of the Great Depression, created conditions in which an extreme ultranationalist movement was able to take power. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party built their entire ideology on ultranationalist foundations. They claimed that the German people were a superior race who had been stabbed in the back by internal enemies, particularly Jewish people, and that Germany’s destiny was to dominate Europe. This ideology led directly to the Holocaust, the systematic murder of six million Jewish people and millions of others, and to the aggressive territorial expansion that caused World War II.
In Italy, Benito Mussolini built the fascist movement on a similar ultranationalist foundation. He promised to restore Italy to the greatness of ancient Rome and promoted a vision of Italian superiority that justified aggressive expansion into Africa and the Balkans. In Japan, an extreme form of ultranationalism based on the belief in the divine mission of the Japanese emperor and the superiority of the Japanese people drove the country’s aggressive expansion across Asia and the Pacific, contributing to the wider conflict of World War II.
ULTRANATIONALISM – ULTRANATIONALISM AND FASCISM
Ultranationalism and fascism are closely connected ideologies, and it is important to understand the relationship between them. Fascism, which rose to prominence in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, was built on ultranationalist foundations. Most historians define ultranationalism as one of the core ingredients of fascism, alongside authoritarianism, the cult of the leader, militarism, and the rejection of democracy.
For instance, fascist movements in Germany and Italy both used ultranationalist ideas to mobilize mass support. They promised to restore national greatness after the humiliation of World War I, identified internal and external enemies as the cause of national weakness, and used state power to enforce conformity and crush opposition. In this way, ultranationalism provided the emotional fuel that made fascism so powerful and so dangerous.
However, it is important to note that not all forms of ultranationalism are fascist. Ultranationalist ideas have appeared in many different political contexts throughout history, including in democratic countries, in communist regimes, and in postcolonial independence movements. The connection between ultranationalism and fascism is strong, but ultranationalism is a broader phenomenon that goes beyond any single political movement.
ULTRANATIONALISM – HOW ULTRANATIONALISM SPREADS
Ultranationalist movements typically spread by exploiting periods of national crisis, economic hardship, or political instability. When people feel that their country has been humiliated, that their jobs and security are threatened, or that their traditional way of life is under attack from foreign influences, ultranationalist leaders can step in with simple and powerful answers that place the blame on a specific enemy.
Propaganda plays a central role in spreading ultranationalist ideas. Ultranationalist governments and movements invest heavily in controlling what people read, hear, and believe. They use newspapers, radio, film, and mass rallies to promote a vision of national greatness and to portray other groups as threats. For instance, Nazi Germany produced enormous quantities of propaganda portraying Jewish people as enemies of the German nation and promoting the idea of German racial superiority as scientific fact.
Education is also a key tool. Ultranationalist governments typically redesign school curricula to teach children from a young age that their nation is exceptional, that its enemies are dangerous, and that loyalty to the nation is the highest virtue. In Japan during the 1930s and 1940s, children were taught that the emperor was divine and that dying for the nation was the greatest honor a person could achieve.
ULTRANATIONALISM – SIGNIFICANCE
The significance of ultranationalism in the history of the modern world is considerable. It was one of the primary forces behind both World War I and World War II, two of the most destructive conflicts in human history. The ultranationalist ideologies that drove Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan caused tens of millions of deaths, including those of the Holocaust and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Understanding ultranationalism matters for several important reasons. First, history shows that ultranationalism tends to grow strongest in periods of economic hardship and political instability, which means that the conditions that produce it can arise in any society. Second, the consequences of allowing ultranationalist movements to gain power can be catastrophic, as the history of the 20th century clearly demonstrates. Third, recognizing the signs of ultranationalist thinking, including claims of national superiority, the identification of internal and external enemies, and the rejection of international cooperation, is an important skill for citizens in any democratic society.
As such, ultranationalism remains one of the most important and sobering topics in the history and politics of the modern world, a reminder of how dangerous extreme versions of political ideas can become when they are allowed to take hold.
