State nationalism

State nationalism or state-led nationalism^[1] is a nationalism that equates 'state identity' with 'nation identity' or values state authority. 'State nationalism' is considered a form of 'civic nationalism' and there are similarities between the two, but state nationalism also has to do with illiberal, authoritarian and totalitarian politics.^[2]^[3]^[4]^{[n 1]}

Conceptual framework

State nationalism is a "top-down" process where the state apparatus creates and promotes a national identity to secure political legitimacy. Unlike ethnic nationalism, which typically emerges as a "bottom-up" movement from shared ancestry, state nationalism relies on the existing legal and political boundaries of the state. Scholars like Anthony D. Smith categorize this as a feature of "territorial nations," where the state exists before a coherent sense of national belonging is formed. In this model, the state uses institutions—such as public education, military service, and official language policies—to assimilate diverse populations into a single national body.^[2]^[4]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

While civic nationalism is broadly associated with political liberalism, state nationalism is more closely aligned with conservatism, emphasizing social cohesion and public order.^[11]^[12]

By countries

Asia

In the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, "state nationalism" and "statism" are both written as 國家主義,^{[n 2]} making the distinction between the two unclear.^[13]^[14] Also, in the East Asian cultural sphere, state nationalism is often contrasted with ethnic-based national liberation movements.^[15]^[16]^[17]

China

Republic of China (1912–1949)

Chiang Kai-shek promoted strong ROC-based Chinese nationalism throughout the territories under his control, as well the Tridemist ideal of a unified "Dang Guo" (Party-state), to solidify its rule and ideological supremacy.^[18] Mandarin Chinese became the sole official language, and standard education curriculums emphasized Chinese history with Confucianism culture.^[19]^[20]

People's Republic of China

Today, Chinese state nationalism is a civic nationalistic ideology.^[2] It reduces Hong Kong's autonomy and justifies the dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party.^[21]^[22]^[23]

Japan

Kokkashugi (国家主義), variously translated as "statism"^[24] and "nationalism",^[25] "state-nationalism"^[26] and "national socialism",^[27] was the ruling ideology of the Empire of Japan, particularly during the first decades of the Shōwa era. Japan's unique form of Kokkashugi is closer to religious nationalism centered on State Shinto than to Minzokushugi (民族主義), variously translated as "ethnic nationalism".^[28]

Japan's ultranationalism (e.g. Shōwa statism) is often described as "state ultranationalism"^[29] because it values state unity around the Emperor of Japan.^[29]

Another term in Japan that means "state nationalism" is Kokuminshugi (国民主義), which is used in a somewhat different context from Kokkashugi and carries a less authoritarian and more strongly civic-nationalistic connotation; Japanese liberal political scientist Masao Maruyama opposed Kokkashugi and Minzokushugi, and supported Kokuminshugi.^[30]

Korea

State-aligned nationalism (Korean: 국가주의; Hanja: 國家主義; MR: kukkajuŭi), state nationalism or "statism" is a nation building based on 'state/country' (국가) identity; it appears in North Korea as nationalism emphasizing the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" identity and in South Korea as nationalism emphasizing the "Republic of Korea" identity. These forms of nationalism are called "North Korean nationalism" and "South Korean nationalism", respectively, and are distinct from the general Korean nationalism (minjok).^[21]

North Korea

Early North Korean nationalism was socialist patriotism based on Marxism–Leninism, but it was replaced by Juche. This ideology has historically been closely related to Korean nationalism and reunification; beginning in 2023, North Korea abandoned the goal of reunification and stopped emphasizing national ties with South Korea, instead designating South as an hostile state.

South Korea

South Korean nationalism is a form of nationalism that stands out in the South Korea. In the 20th century, South Korean nationalism was hardly distinguished from anti-communist Korean nationalism, but South Korean nationalism in the 21st century has relatively weakened the ethno-nationalism of "Korean people" and the state identity of "Republic of Korea" is more prominent among the some youth. Today, South Korea–based state nationalism is advocated by some conservative forces, while left-leaning forces are more inclined to anti-imperialistic ethnic nationalism.^[31]^[32]^[33]

In 1945, Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule, the northern Korea was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the southern Korea was occupied by the United States. by the United States. Northern Korea was quickly taken over by the communists, with Kim Il Sung as the focal point, so from early in 1947, Rhee insisted on establishing a "separate government in South Korea" (남한 단독 정부), acknowledging the difficulties in establishing a unified Korean government. Rhee's stance faced opposition from many pan-Korean nationalists.^[34]^[35]^[36]^[37] Park Chung-hee, who became president in 1961, insisted on "development first, unification later" (선경제 후통일), as he began to place more emphasis on the South Korean economy than on Korean unification.^[38] Modern South Korean nationalist and patriotic sentiments are deeply related to Park's legacy.^[39]

Gukppong (국뽕) is a derogatory Korean word that is used to pejoratively describe a South Korean nationalist. The word is made up of the Korean word guk (국), which means country or state, and ppong (뽕) which is believed to have originated from the word philopon (覚醒剤), which is a Japanese slang for the drug methamphetamine. As a result, the word literally means "intoxicated with nationalism".^[40]

Mongolia

Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal during the People's Republic of Mongolia is an example of state nationalism.^[41]

Singapore

Singaporean nationalism is regarded as an example of 'authoritarian civic nationalism' or 'state nationalism'; Singapore establishes English as its official language, enforces an Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP), defends state authority through strict law enforcement, and instills the identity of being Singaporean people. In Singapore's state nationalist discourses, the "Pioneer Generation" is emphasized; these are those born before December 31, 1949, who led the independence and early growth of the Republic of Singapore, and those who acquired Singaporean citizenship before December 31, 1986; their diligence and adherence to the national strategy formulated by the state are deeply connected to Singapore's flourishing and rise.^[42]^[43]^[44]

Lee Kuan Yew was the first Singaporean leader to emphasize a nation which created a national interest amongst the splintered cultures of Singapore. This was done as a transformative approach to the national hegemony at the time which was eroding due to a lapse in time from the historical conditions that led to the original underlying Marxist ideology of the PAP, among other things.^[45] Although it may have been the pragmatic approach to Marxism that was the catalyst of a First World Singapore, it was also Lee Kuan Yew's national interest approach which allowed the success of Singapore to grow. The weakening hold of pragmatism acted as a Petri dish allowing for new concepts such as communitarianism to implant itself in the national consciousness. Recent global political trends tend to fill pragmatic voids with liberal democracy such as after the fall of the Soviet Union and most of its satellite nations. However, due to Singapore's majority ethnic Chinese (coupled with a sense of retaliatory ethnic pride against the then recent Malaysian expulsion) and its Confucian mentality, formal democratic processes were framed within a communitarian ideology. This ideological communitarian veil over Singaporean democracy includes such actions as the PAP's attempt to redirect cultural and political development towards traditional values. This redirection was perceived as way of resisting the "corrupting influences of an incipient Westernisation", or in other words a way to Confucianise society.^[46]

Turkey

Kemalism can also be referred to as Turkish state nationalism.^[47]

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the expression chủ nghĩa quốc gia, dating back to the 1930s, came to refer to anti-communist nationalism, particularly in the Republic of Vietnam during the height of the Cold War.^[48]

Europe

Belarus

The Belaya Rus has been described as a political party, a state nationalist, pro-Russian–Belarusian integration, and as a party whose purpose is to promote the interests of Alexander Lukashenko.^[49]

Italy

In Italian fascism, state nationalist sentiment appears in the slogan Benito Mussolini: "Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato" ("Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State"); this illustrates the fascist principle of statolatry, where the state is elevated to a spiritual entity that absorbs all aspects of private and national life.^[50]^[51]^[52]

Russia

Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian nationalism, due to its imperialist character, is closer to a multi-ethnic, corporatist, cult of personality and fascistic state-nationalism than to a single ethno-nationalism; since the early 2010s, the Putin regime has been suppressing ethnic nationalism in Russia (whether ethno-Russian chauvinism or ethnic separatism).^[53] Putin’s discourse on state nationalism speaks of a linear development toward a bright future, emphasizing only the bright side of life while ignoring the dark side; it was influenced by Soviet nationalism.^[54]

Former Soviet Union

Spain

Francoism is marked by 'state nationalism' based on authoritarianism.^[4]

North America

United States

In the United States, "state nationalism" refers to two distinct but related concepts: state-level nationalism (loyalty to certain U.S. states rather than the federal government) and structural state nationalism (promoting the U.S. identity of the federal government); this section covers structural nationalism.

Scholars describe structural state nationalism in the United States as an inherent property of the modern federal apparatus, where the state acts as a top-down mechanism to secure and define the boundaries of the national identity.^[9] This top-down framework relies on federal institutional authority to construct a unified "state-nation" out of a politically and regionally diverse population, a process that historically contrasts with bottom-up ethnic nationalism.^[10]

Historically, this structural nationalism has manifested through federal policies designed to standardize citizenship and enforce unified political loyalty. The federal government utilizes legal and rational frameworks—such as post–Civil War constitutional amendments, centralized immigration restrictions, and institutionalized civic rituals—to assimilate competing regional identities into a singular, overarching American civic identity, grounding national belonging firmly within the legal framework of the federal state.^[9]^[10]

South America

Argentina

In Argentina's politics, Peronism is regarded as an example of state nationalism.^[55] It promotes an inclusive form of nationalism that embraces all ethnicities and races as integral parts of the nation, distinguishing it from racial or chauvinistic ethno-nationalism that prioritizes a single ethnic group.^[56]

Venezuela

Venezuela’s "socialism of the 21st century" is associated with socialist patriotism and left-wing nationalism, and has been described as a form of state nationalism that uses oil revenue to achieve economic development and wealth redistribution under state control.^[57]

Opposition

Authority ("top-down") aspect of state nationalism is criticized by "bottom-up" ethnic nationalists (especially secessionists): they speak of "state nationalism" to discredit the legitimacy of the larger state, since state nationalism is perceived as less authentic and less democratic; Flemish separatists speak of Belgian nationalism as a state nationalism; Basque separatists and Corsican separatists refer to Spain and France, respectively, in this way; South Korean state nationalism is strongly rejected by left-wing Korean nationalists because it is partly influenced by Japan's para-fascist kokkashugi; Hong Kong nationalists oppose Chinese state nationalism because of its connection to authoritarianism in the CCP.^[58]^[59]

In Latin America, there is criticism that non-indigenous-led civic (liberal) or state nationalism has paradoxically alienated indigenous communities; as an alternative, Indigenism (or Indigenismo) has emerged as a form of ethnic nationalism based on indigenous identity.^[60]