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- All Subjects: Social Media
- All Subjects: nationalism
- Creators: School of Politics and Global Studies
- Resource Type: Text
As opposed to colloquial understanding, there is no standard scholarly definition of nationalism, but it is widely seen as zeal over an identity that strives to manifest into an organized state. Despite this minimal consensus, nationalism is usually equated with an ethnocentric conception of the nation-state, what I recognize to be ethnocentric nationalism, the commitment to a linguistically, racially, and culturally likeminded nation. I argue that this traditional, ethnocentric understanding of nationalism is only one interpretation of nationalism. Ethnocentric nationalism has and continues to be in tension with a more recently established interpretation of the nation, which I call multicultural nationalism: the commitment to a country’s principles rather than to its racial, cultural, and religious ties.
A common acceptance of difference is growing in the United States as shown by Kaepernick’s public support in the face of patriotic conformity. This perspective draws from the United States’ ideological roots that argue for one nation made up of many, e pluribus unum, so that foreign backgrounds should not just be accepted but also embraced to form a more diverse nation. The passion for a progressive, multicultural America can be translated into its own movement of multicultural nationalism. In this context, the support for Kaepernick’s actions no longer appears to represent increased dissent from the United States, but instead seems to be an attempt to challenge ethnocentric nationalism’s claim to the nation.
This paper will begin by contrasting the reactions to Kaepernick’s protest and to protests before him in order to contend that nationalism is no longer characterized by only ethnocentric tradition. I will analyze theoretical studies on nationalism to dispute this common understanding that nationalism is solely ethnocentric. I will argue that nationalism, rather, is the intense manifestation of a community’s identity within a political state; the identity of which can be either ethnocentric or multicultural. The Kaepernick ordeal will be used to signify the greater division in the American public over whether a multicultural or ethnocentric conception of the nation should be supported in the United States. Lastly, this paper will observe how the Kaepernick protest suggests multicultural nationalism’s viability in today’s politically progressive environment, and how multiculturalism should embrace nationalism to advance its platform.
Czechoslovakia failed to implement democracy and nationalism in an equal and fair manner to the Czechs and Slovaks. As Masaryk mirrored Czechoslovakia off of the United States and his close friend President Wilson, the founding Czechoslovakian documents created an unequal version of the basic democratic principles. The domestic geopolitical culture of nationalism and nationalism abroad influenced ethnic identification between the new borders for the Czechs and Slovaks. Without the shared social language of Czechoslovakian nationalism the Czechs and Slovaks did not unite politically, ethnically, or at all. This allowed for the Czechs to take over and create their idealist democracy, otherwise known as an ethnocracy.
This paper examines the possible ties between social media influencers and their potential impact on the rise in affective polarization in the United States. With the growth of social media, its transition into a primary source of news, and with the open political atmosphere, one is left to wonder about the potential impact social media and its influencers may have on American affective polarization. The survey presented within the paper was designed in hopes of drawing a connection between the two, and to what extent it might be happening.