Nationalism and Liberalism in the 19th Century

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JUNE 28, 2020

Nationalism and Liberalism in the 19th Century

Nationalism is an ideology in political philosophy which advocates for the promotion of the interests of a particular group of people with a shared cultural identity. Generally, it describes advocacy for self-determination in national independence movements as well as pride of the citizens of a nation for their nationhood. The term is derived from the concept of a nation, which refers to a shared cultural origin and identity. It also encompasses the sovereignty of a nation in exercising control over its national and international affairs. On the other hand, liberalism is a political ideology which is anchored on the concept of individual liberty. Liberty can be defined as simply freedom from any form of control whether from a government or any other quarters. In respect to governance, liberalism advocates for a government by the consent of the governed as well as equity in application of the law. Both of these philosophies were very popular in 19th century Europe. Nationalism was widely accepted amongst city-states whose citizens had shared cultural origins and traditions who collectively grouped themselves to form one nation as in the cases of Germany and Italy. Others such as the Polish nationalism were about breaking away from the control of Austria-Hungarian rule to form a nation of Polish people, although it did not succeed. Liberalism was majorly embraced in Britain, France and Spain where liberal groups advocated for a progressive system of governance, that is, constitutional and representative democracy to replace the monarchical systems that was in vogue.

Although distinct by definition, nationalism and liberalism had an agreement on the matter of statehood and sovereignty. Both had an underlying believe in the freedom of each group of a people to form their own nation and self-govern. However, the two groups in certain instances disagreed on the preferable form of government for the people. While liberalists advocated for democracy and limited government in order to safeguard individual liberty, nationalist preferred monarchy since the royalty was a representation of the nation’s cultural identity. For instance, the Liberal Party of Britain advocated for liberty of individuals which led to abolishment of slave trade. Similarly, the French government under Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte abolished feudalism in France and expanded political rights for its citizens.