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What was liberal nationalism?

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Liberal Nationalism

Levels: AS, A Level, IBExam boards: AQA, Edexcel, IB

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Liberal nationalism is the most established form of nationalism – dating back to the French Revolution and its incendiary slogan of ‘liberty, fraternity and equality.’

The most important aspect of liberal nationalism is the right of all nations to self-determination. The right to self-determination is entrenched as a norm within the governance of any liberal democracy, and the desire to determine one’s own territorial boundaries remains an immensely powerful driving force within international relations. There are now over two hundred sovereign nations, a statistic which graphically underlines the extent to which notions of imperialism and colonialism have been marginalised by the concept of national self-determination. Moreover, the cause of those nations that lack a territorial state of their own is awarded greater legitimacy due to the right to self-determination (notably the Quebecois and the Catalans).