New Nationalism
Since ancient times people were ruled by kings & dynasties. The subjects were loyal to their emperors. Religion, also, had a stronghold on believers. For the past couple of centuries, things got changed. Kingdoms were replaced by democracies and political parties. Common people came to power through ballots or by revolution. Catholic Church and its supreme power, Pope also faced challenges to their supremacy. In the Sixteenth century, Reformation leaders questioned the Pope’s temporal and spiritual authority. Many loyalists left the Catholic Church and formed Protestant churches.
Because of such a decline in the power of religion and hierarchy rule, people looked for a new identity and a new set of belief systems. That gave rise to a new era of Self-determination and ultimately Nationalism. People of the common language, religion, color, etc, live in a region bond together, and formed a community. They shared a common history and culture and were loyal to their common destiny. Together they believed that their nation is better than all other nations. They became more competitive, challenged other nations, and became intolerant to others who look, speak differently.
White Nationalism in the USA, Islamic State in Muslim countries, Zionism, upper-caste Hindu nationalist of India were products of the polarization of different people groups. For the past two decades, every nation has become more and more strong in their convictions that they are superior to any other. Supporters of such a mentality claim they are patriots but in reality it is merely a chauvinistic attitude. Discrimination and contempt crept into societies and communities. Its effects were felt in the mainstream and scores were settled in the streets. Nationalism is more strong in rural communities where people are reluctant to changes, like to keep their cultural and religious traditions. Their sentiments were successfully exploited by some and as a result, populist leaders were elected to power. Then came ISIS and other terrorist groups followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. People felt powerless and they want to make sense of what is happening. Conspiracy theories started and many were dragged into it. A lot of utterly non-sense theories were spread among mainly, the uneducated rural folks. New Nationalism coupled with conspiracy theories is a great threat to nations and threatens the very existence of a healthy society.
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