1.13 Contending Nationalist Loyalties

Should nation be the foundation of identity?

Big Ideas:

  • Individuals may have various perspectives about loyalty to nation and identity.

  • People with different nationalist loyalties may contend (conflict) with each other.

  • Reconciling contending nationalist loyalties is challenging.

What Are Nationalist Loyalties?

We know we have many nations to which we belong. Our nationalist loyalty might be to our country or state, or to an ethnic or cultural group. This is a nationalist loyalty — loyalty to your nation, the group to which you feel you belong. As a result of your sense of connection, your nationalist loyalties will greatly influence your decisions and actions. For instance, if you live in Canada but have strong connections to your Dutch heritage, you could feel strong loyalties to both your nations of Canada and Denmark. But the strength of these loyalties could be tested in the face of conflicting nationalist loyalties.

Nationalist loyalties may also cause conflict when people are faced with the different nationalist loyalties of people from another group. This is a very real problem when a country is a pluralistic society like Canada.

Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism, and read pages 64 to 69, and 72 to 73 to deepen your understanding of the concept of nationalist loyalties, contending loyalties, and the impact of these loyalties on people's choices.
Take notes using the 1.13 Notebook Organizer (Word, PDF, Google Doc). If you need help, refer to the tutorial How to Take Notes. When you are done, return here to continue.

Reconciling Contending Nationalist Loyalties

To reconcile means to "to make friendly or...to accept and come to an agreement". So, how do people reconcile their contending nationalist loyalties? How do people avoid the conflict that may occur between themselves and others because everyone has different perspectives? Reconciliation is important because if two opposing sides can not "make friends", violence may result.

As was previously mentioned, there is a need for civic nationalism. That is, a country's citizens should focus on the shared values and beliefs they have instead of the differences that may cause conflict.

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However, civic nationalism can be a difficult concept to put into practice. People typically stick with their own group, which can cause result in discrimination, exclusion, or prejudice. Getting along with others while reconciling nationalist loyalties in a pluralistic society is not always easy.
Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism , and read pages 77 to 79. These pages will further your understanding of the concept of reconciling contending nationalist loyalties.
Continue to take notes using the 1.13 Notebook Organizer. When you are done, return here to continue.