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Civic nationalism

Form of nationalism

Civic nationalism, otherwise known as democratic nationalism, is a form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights, and is not based on ethnocentrism. Civic nationalists often defend the value of national identity by saying that individuals need it as a partial shared aspect of their identity (an upper identity) in order to lead meaningful, autonomous lives and that democratic polities need a national identity to function properly. Liberal nationalism is used in the same sense as 'civic nationalism', but liberal ethnonationalism also exists, and "state nationalism" is a branch of civic nationalism, but it can also be illiberal.

Civic nationhood is a political identity built around shared citizenship within the state. Thus, a "civic nation" defines itself not by culture but by political institutions and liberal principles, which its citizens pledge to uphold. Membership in the civic nation is open to every person by citizenship, regardless of culture or ethnicity. Those who share these values are considered members of the nation and, in theory, a civic nation or state does not aim to promote one culture over another. German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has argued that immigrants to a liberal-democratic state need not assimilate into the host culture but only accept the principles of the country's constitution (constitutional patriotism).

Civic nationalism is frequently contrasted with ethnic nationalism. According to Donald Ipperciel, civic nationalism historically was a determining factor in the development of modern constitutional and democratic forms of government, whereas ethnic nationalism has been more associated with authoritarian rule and even dictatorship. Indeed, the 20th-century revival of civic nationalism played a key role in the ideological war against racism. However, as Umut Özkırımlı states, "civic" nations can be as intolerant and cruel as the so-called "ethnic" nations, citing French Jacobin techniques of persecution that were utilized by 20th-century fascists. Some argue civic nationalism inevitably involves an underlying ethnic concept of national belonging because abstract values cannot be related to a specific place.

History

Civic nationalism lies within the traditions of rationalism and liberalism, but as a form of nationalism it is contrasted with ethnic nationalism. Ernest Renan is often thought to be an early civic nationalist. Philosopher Hans Kohn was one of the first to differentiate civic nationalism from ethnic nationalism in his 1944 publication The Idea of Nationalism: A Study in Its Origins and Background. Membership of the civic nation is considered voluntary, as in Renan's classical definition in "Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?" of the nation as a "daily referendum" characterized by the "will to live together". Some authors criticize that definition used by Renan, based on a "daily referendum", because of the ambiguity of the concept and its idealization. They argue that the arguments used by Renan at the conference "What is a Nation?" are not consistent with his thinking. Civic-national ideals influenced the development of representative democracy in countries such as the United States and France (see the United States Declaration of Independence of 1776, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789).

The Corsican nationalist movement organized around the FLNC is giving a civic definition of the Corsican nation ("destiny community") in the continuity of Pasquale Paoli and the ideas of the Lumières.

The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, which advocate independence of their respective nations from the United Kingdom, proclaim themselves to be civic nationalist parties, in which they advocate the independence and popular sovereignty of the people living in their nation's society, not individual ethnic groups.

The Republican Left of Catalonia supports a civic Catalan independentism and defends a Catalan Republic based on republicanism and civic values within a diverse society.

The Union of Cypriots define its ideology as Cypriot nationalism, a civic nationalism that focuses on the shared identity of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. It highlights both communities' common culture, heritage and traditions as well as economic, political, and social rights. It also supports the reunification of Cyprus and the end of foreign interference by Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Moldovan diplomat Mihai Gribincea described the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) as promoting a "civic Moldovan nation".

Outside Europe, it has also been used to describe the Republican Party in the United States during the Civil War Era.

Civic nationalism shares elements of the Swiss concept of **, which is German for "nation by will", coined by Carl Hilty, understood as shared experience and dedication by citizens.

Criticism

Former Israeli minister Yael Tamir has argued that the differences between ethnic and civic nationalism are blurred. She posits: "By waving the civic flag, Western democracies pretend to be more peaceful and inclusive than they really are, fostering a self-image that allows them to exonerate themselves, leaving them unprepared to deal with internal conflicts".

The distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism has also been criticized by scholars like Bernard Yack and Umut Özkırımlı. Yack rejects Renan's notion of "voluntary" civic nationality as an illusion, arguing this "misrepresents political reality as surely as the ethnonationalist myths it is designed to combat", going on to state how cultural memories form an inseparable part of every national political identity.

Quoting Rogers Brubaker, Özkırımlı argues:

Following Brubaker, John Etherington demonstrates how civic nationalism inevitably involves an underlying ethnic concept of national belonging. Because supposed civic values are abstract, universal and thus open to all, "they cannot be related to a specific place – the national homeland. Thus, any civic conception of the nation is dependent on a prior ethnic conception because of the need to establish who belongs to the nation and its homeland and who does not".

Citations

Sources

References

(2004). "Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe". Routledge.
Tamir, Yael. 1993. ''Liberal Nationalism.'' Princeton University Press. {{ISBN. 0-691-07893-9{{Page needed. (June 2016; [[Will Kymlicka]]. 1995. ''Multicultural Citizenship.'' Oxford University Press. {{ISBN). 0-19-827949-3{{Page needed. (June 2016; David Miller. 1995. [http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-829356-9 ''On Nationality.''] {{Webarchive). link. (1 June 2000 Oxford University Press. {{ISBN). 0-19-828047-5.
Beiner, Ronald. (2003). "Liberalism, Nationalism, Citizenship: Essays on the Problem of Political Community". UBC Press.
Kymlicka, Will. 1995. ''Multicultural Citizenship''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN. 0-19-827949-3. For criticism, see: Patten, Alan. 1999. [https://www.doi.org/10.1111/j.1354-5078.1999.00001.x "The Autonomy Argument for Liberal Nationalism."] ''[[Nations and Nationalism (journal). Nations and Nationalism]].'' 5(1): 1-17.
Miller, David. 1995. On Nationality. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN. 0-19-828047-5. For criticism, see: [[Arash Abizadeh. Abizadeh, Arash]]. 2002. [http://abizadeh.wix.com/arash#!Article-Does-Liberal-Democracy-Presuppose-a-Cultural-Nation/c22zv/558da7580cf298ff2bcbdc82 "Does Liberal Democracy Presuppose a Cultural Nation? Four Arguments."] ''American Political Science Review'' 96 (3): 495-509; Abizadeh, Arash. 2004. "[http://abizadeh.wix.com/arash#!Article-Liberal-Nationalist-vs-Postnational-Social-Integration/c22zv/558eaf0b0cf20d45521f9542 Liberal Nationalist versus Postnational Social Integration]." ''[[Nations and Nationalism (journal). Nations and Nationalism]]'' 10(3): 231-250.
(2001). "Regionalism and Subregionalism in East Asia: The Dynamics of China". Nova Science.
(2001). "What Is a Nation?; Europe 1789-1914". OUP Oxford.
ANNA STILZ. "Civic Nationalism and Language Policy". Philosophy & Public Affairs.
Ipperciel, Donald. (2007). "Constitutional democracy and civic nationalism". [[Wiley-Blackwell]] on behalf of the [[Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism]].
(2015). "Fear, Anxiety, and National Identity Immigration and Belonging in North America and Western Europe". [[Russell Sage Foundation]].
Özkırımlı, Umut. (2005). "Contemporary Debates on Nationalism: A Critical Introduction". [[Red Globe Press]].
(2007). "Nationalism, Exclusion and Violence: A Territorial Approach". [[Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism]].
Ernest Renan. "[[What is a Nation?]]", 1882; cf. Chaim Gans, ''The Limits of Nationalism'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 11.
Tamir, Yael (Yuli). (2019-05-11). "Not So Civic: Is There a Difference Between Ethnic and Civic Nationalism?". Annual Review of Political Science.
Renan, Ernest. (March 11, 1882). "What Is A Nation".
[[Joxe Azurmendi. Azurmendi, Joxe]] (2014): ''Historia, arraza, nazioa ''. Donostia, Elkar. {{ISBN. 978-84-9027-297-8
[[Michael Keating (political scientist). (1996). "Nations Against the State The New Politics of Nationalism in Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland". [[Palgrave Macmillan]].
(6 June 2008). "Issues In International Relations". Taylor & Francis.
Brubaker, Rogers. (2004). "Ethnicity Without Groups". Harvard University Press.
"Els valors republicans com a pilar de la nostra societat".
Aldrich, Alan. (17 August 2018). "Cypriotism in the Twenty-First Century".
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(2025-06-06). ""Națiunea civică moldovenească" – între vis european și amnezie identitară". Podul.ro.
Snay, Mitchell. (2007). "Fenians, Freedmen, and Southern Whites: Race and Nationality in the Era of Reconstruction". Louisiana State University Press.
Tamir, Yael (Yuli). (2019). "Not So Civic: Is There a Difference Between Ethnic and Civic Nationalism?". Annual Review of Political Science.
(1996). "The myth of the civic nation". Critical Review.
Özkırımlı, Umut. (2005). Contemporary Debates on Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
(2007). "Nationalism, Exclusion and Violence: A Territorial Approach". Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism.

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