Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific interests. Ultranationalist entities have been associated with the engagement of political violence even during peacetime. In ideological terms, scholars such as British political theorist

Roger Griffin Roger David Griffin (born 31 January 1948) is a British professor of modern history and political theorist at Oxford Brookes University, England. His principal interest is the socio-historical and ideological dynamics of fascism, as well as ...

have found that ultranationalism arises from seeing

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

nation-states A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than " country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, m ...

as living

organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells ( cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fu ...

s directly akin to physical people such that they can decay, grow, die, and additionally experience rebirth.

Political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

campaigners have divided societies in stark mythological ways between those perceived as degenerately inferior and those perceived as a part of a great cultural destiny. Ultranationalism is an aspect of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...

, with historic governments such as the regime of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

building on ultranationalist foundations using specific plans of supposed widespread national renewal.

Background concepts and broader context

According to Janusz Bugajski, "in its most extreme or developed forms, ultra-nationalism resembles fascism, marked by a xenophobic disdain of other nations, support for authoritarian political arrangements verging on totalitarianism, and a mythical emphasis on the 'organic unity' between a charismatic leader, an organizationally amorphous movement-type party, and the nation". British political theorist

has stated that ultranationalism is essentially founded on xenophobia in a way that finds supposed legitimacy "through deeply mythicized narratives of past cultural or political periods of historical greatness or of old scores to settle against alleged enemies". It can also draw on "vulgarized forms" of different aspects of the natural sciences such as

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar work ...

, eugenics specifically playing a role, in order "to rationalize ideas of national superiority and destiny, of degeneracy and subhumanness" in Griffin's opinion. Ultranationalists view the

nation-state as, according to Griffin, a living

directly akin to a physical person such that it can decay, grow, die, and additionally experience rebirth. He has highlighted

as a regime founded on ultranationalism.

Historical movements and analysis

U.S. historian Walter Skya has written in ''Japan’s Holy War: The Ideology of Radical Shinto Ultranationalism'' that ultranationalism in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

drew upon traditional

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

spiritual beliefs and militaristic attitudes regarding the nation's

racial identity A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

. By the early twentieth century, fanaticism arising from this combination of ethnic nationalism and religious nationalism caused opposition to

democratic governance Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gove ...

and support for Japanese territorial expansion. Skya particularly noted in his work the connection between ultranationalism and political violence by citing how, between 1921 and 1936, three serving and two former Prime Ministers of Japan were assassinated. The totalitarian Japanese government of the 1930s and 1940s relied not just on encouragement by the country's military but additionally enjoyed widespread popular support. Israeli political journalist

Gideon Levy Gideon Levy ( he, גדעון לוי; born 2 June 1953) is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper ''Haaretz'' that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. ...

wrote in late 2015 that the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים‎, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the Israeli citizenship law, citizens and nationals of the Israel, State of Israel. The country's popul ...

has led to a decay in the civil society within

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, with an ultranationalist movement that "bases its power on incitement to hatred" using "folkloric religion" gaining ground over decades such that: Russian irredentism in which a militant imperial state is proposed that stretches across both

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

without regard for current international borders has been described as ultranationalism by the U.S. publication ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', with the aggressive actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin being credited as an evolution of political arguments by multiple figures from the past. Examples include Nikolai Berdyaev, Aleksandr Dugin (the author of 1997's '' The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia''), Lev Gumilyov, and Ivan Ilyin. The newspaper highlighted the justifications given in support of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, quoting Putin's declaration that he must militarily combat an "empire of lies" created by the U.S. to suffocate Russia. The absolute dictatorship of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

leader Nicolae Ceausescu has been described as an example of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

taking an ultranationalist approach by '' Haaretz''. The Israeli publication cited the

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

of the dictator in terms of actions such as his

historical denialism Historical negationism, also called denialism, is falsification or distortion of the historical record. It should not be conflated with ''historical revisionism'', a broader term that extends to newly evidenced, fairly reasoned academic reinterp ...

about

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

. Ceausescu additionally took efforts to purge those of Jewish background from political authority. '' Haaretz'' has also labeled Hungarian

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Viktor Orban as an ultranationalist given that leader's views on autocratic rule and racial identity, particularly Orban's public condemnation of "race-mixing". He's also been called as such as by NPR, an American news agency, with the politician's inherent opposition to democratic liberalism as a concept being cited. The business-centered publication

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...

stated in a 2021 story that the rise of ultranationalist viewpoints in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, particularly in terms of those who advocate for

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

, presents a direct challenge to the current government of the nation, with General Secretary Xi Jinping facing opposition in his attempts to set forth climate change related

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

reforms about greenhouse gases. Chinese political activists have asserted, according to the publication, a conspiracy theory that said reforms represent some kind of capitulation to foreign interests at the expense of China's citizens. Enviromentalist policies have come into being in a complex fashion inside China, facing complicated opinions among many.

Ultranationalist political parties

Currently represented in national legislatures

The following political parties have been characterised as ultranationalist. *:

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON or ONP), also known as One Nation or One Nation Party, is a right-wing populist political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. One Nation had electoral success in the late 1990s, before sufferin ...

*: Freedom Party of Austria *: Vlaams Belang *:

Patriota Patriota (, ), abbreviated PATRI and formerly known as the National Ecological Party ( pt, Partido Ecológico Nacional, abbreviated PEN), is a right-wing to far-right political party in Brazil. It was registered in the Superior Electoral Court ...

*: Revival *: Homeland Movement *: ELAM *: Freedom and Direct Democracy *: Danish People's Party *: Conservative People's Party of Estonia *: National Rally,

Reconquête Reconquête (; en, Reconquest), styled as Reconquête! (R!), is a nationalist political party in France founded in late 2021 by Éric Zemmour, who has since served as its leader. He was a far-right candidate in the 2022 presidential election, ...

*: Finns Party *: Alternative for Germany *: Greek Solution *:

Our Homeland Movement Our Homeland Movement ( Hungarian: ''Mi Hazánk Mozgalom,'' MHM) is a Hungarian far-right political party founded by Ásotthalom mayor and former Jobbik Vice-President László Toroczkai and other Jobbik dissidents that left the organization aft ...

*: Shiv Sena *: Religious Zionist Party *:

Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...

*: Liberal Democratic Party (faction) *:

Pakistan Muslim League (Z) Pakistan Muslim League (Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed) ( ur, ) is a political party in Pakistan formed in 2002. It is named after General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan's president from 1978 to 1988. With the general elections of 2002, Ijaz-ul-Haq won the National ...

*: National Movement *:

Alliance for the Union of Romanians The Alliance for the Union of Romanians ( ro, Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor, AUR) is a right-wing populist and nationalist political party currently active in Romania and Moldova. It was founded on 19 September 2019. This was done with the ...

*: Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Rodina *:

Serbian Party Oathkeepers The Serbian Party Oathkeepers ( sr-cyrl, Српска странка Заветници, Srpska stranka Zavetnici, SSZ) is a far-right political party in Serbia. The party's previous name was Serbian Movement Oathkeepers ( sr-cyrl, Српск� ...

*: Economic Freedom Fighters *: People's Party Our Slovakia *: Vox *: Sweden Democrats *:

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (german: Schweizerische Volkspartei, SVP; rm, Partida populara Svizra, PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (french: Union démocratique du centre, UDC; it, Unione Democratica di Centro, UDC), is a nati ...

*: Nationalist Movement Party, Great Union Party *: Svoboda

Represented parties with former ultranationalist tendencies or factions

The following political parties historically had ultranationalist tendencies or factions. * : Serb Democratic Party * : Croatian Democratic Union * : Jobbik * :

Golkar ) , foundation = , youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force) , women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps) , newspaper = ''Suara Karya'' (1971–2016) , headquarters = Jakarta , ideology ...

* : VMRO-DPMNE * : Dveri, Serbian Renewal Movement

Formerly represented in national legislatures

*: Attack, VMRO,

National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria The National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria ( bg, Национален фронт за спасение на България, Natsionalen front za spasenie na Bŭlgariya, NFSB), is an ultranationalist political party in Bulgaria. History T ...

* : Communist Party of Kampuchea * : Croatian Party of Rights,

Croatian Pure Party of Rights Croatian Pure Party of Rights ( hr, Hrvatska čista stranka prava or HČSP) is a far-right political party in Croatia founded in 1992. The party claims to be an ideological descendant of the identically named right-wing Serbophobic historical ...

* :

Golden Dawn Golden Dawn or The Golden Dawn may refer to: Organizations * Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a nineteenth century magical order based in Britain ** The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc., a modern revival founded in 1977 ** Open Source ...

* : Kach *: Imperial Rule Assistance Association * : Union Solidarity and Development Party * : Kilusang Bagong Lipunan * : Serbian Radical Party, Party of Serbian Unity * : Slovak National Party * : National Party *:

National Youth National Youth ( sv, Nationell ungdom) was a Sweden, Swedish neofascist and openly racism, racist organisation. National Youth was closely linked with the Swedish Resistance Movement. SÄPO classified it as a white power organisation and Expo (maga ...

* :

FET y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

Right Sector Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right, Ukrainian nationalist organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical nationalist orga ...

Ultranationalist political organizations

Pancasila Youth The Pancasila Youth ( id, Pemuda Pancasila, ''PP'') is an Indonesian far-right paramilitary organization established in 1959. The organisation's name refers to ''Pancasila'', the official "five principles" of the Indonesian state. Pemuda Pancas ...

*: Army Comrades Association *:

Nippon Kaigi The Right side up ...

, Zaitokukai *: Perkasa *:

Nationalist Front of Mexico The Nationalist Front of Mexico ( es, Frente Nacionalista de México), formerly known as the Organization for the National Will ( es, Organización por la Voluntad Nacional) and the Mexicanist Nationalist Front ( es, Frente Nacional Mexicanista), ...

, National Synarchist Union *: Patriotic Association of Myanmar *: Russian Imperial Movement, Wagner Group *: Bodu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya *: Grey Wolves *:

English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...

, Siol nan Gaidheal

References

{{Nationalism Fascism Far-right politics Nationalism Neo-fascism Political extremism Political science terminology Sectarianism Xenophobia