Civic Nationalism vs Ethnonationalism: Key Differences Explained
How Civic Nationalism and Ethnonationalism differ, using sourced definitions and each model’s estimated position on the Atlas’s nine political dimensions.
Definitions
Civic Nationalism
Nationalism is an ideology based on the idea that an individual's loyalty and devotion to the nation-state should surpass other individual or group interests. Although often assumed to be very old, it became a decisive force in history only at the end of the 18th century.
Source: Britannica: Nationalism
Ethnonationalism
Nationalism is an ideology based on the idea that an individual's loyalty and devotion to the nation-state should surpass other individual or group interests. Although often assumed to be very old, it became a decisive force in history only at the end of the 18th century.
Source: Britannica: Nationalism
Side by side on the Atlas maps
| Dimension | Civic Nationalism | Ethnonationalism | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 43 | 43 | 0 |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 79 | 79 | 0 |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 62 | 62 | 0 |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 95 | 95 | 0 |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 48 | 48 | 0 |
Civic Nationalism is shown as the average of the 19 socialist-family ideologies on the Atlas (including communism itself), because the Atlas has no single “socialism” model.
Map scores are estimates on the Atlas’s scale and can be debated. Read the full pages for Civic Nationalism and Ethnonationalism.