Nationalism masquerades as patriotism by claiming defensive aims

Evidence

First, white Christian nationalism is not “Christian patriotism.” White Christian nationalism idealizes the power of white Christian Americans. It is rooted in white supremacist assumptions and empowered by anger and fear. This is nationalism, not patriotism. Patriotism, as the political philosopher Steven Smith explains, is first and foremost “loyalty … to one’s constitution or political regime.” Nationalism is loyalty to one’s tribe “but always at the expense of an outgroup, who are deemed un-American, traitors, and enemies of the people.” One reason the two sometimes get confused, as historian Jill Lepore explains, is that nationalism often disguises itself as patriotism: “Because it’s difficult to convince people to pursue a course of aggression, violence, and domination … nationalists pretend their aims are instead protection and unity and that their motivation is patriotism. This is a lie. Patriotism is animated by love, nationalism by hatred. To confuse the one for the other is to pretend that hate is love and fear is courage.” — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 51

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes loyalty-to-regime patriotism from loyalty-to-tribe nationalism via Smith and Lepore.
• XREF: connects to: White Christian nationalism drives right-wing populism in America — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian…, 178; Patriotism as love of tradition makes racial-justice protest read as unpatriotic — Wendy Brown, In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise…, 30; Nativism is nationalism in a defensive posture. — John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of…, 1012 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Nativism is nationalism in a defensive posture. #exemplifies (0.90) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 1012
• Nativism is a distinct phenomenon, a defensive nationalism of perceived national crisis #exemplifies (0.82) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 971
• Coercive Americanization backfired, driving minorities into their own defensive nationalisms #complicates (0.75) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 1531