What Is Right-Wing Nationalism?
Right-wing nationalism stresses national identity, sovereignty, tradition and often restrictive immigration, combined with conservative social views. Part of the Nationalist family.
Definition
Right-wing nationalism stresses national identity, sovereignty, tradition and often restrictive immigration, combined with conservative social views.
Atlas definition: written by The Ideology Atlas. Writers and movements define ideologies in different ways; this is a short working definition.
Core ideas
- National identity and sovereignty.
- Restrictive immigration.
- Traditional values.
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Right-Wing Nationalism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 64 | near the center | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 85 | toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 61 | near the center | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 97 | strongly toward nationalist | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 35 | near the center |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 75 | toward private ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 58 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 97 | strongly toward nationalist |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 93 | strongly toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 65 | near the center |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 80 | toward hierarchical |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 51 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 35 | near the center |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 66 | toward religious authority |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A naturalized citizen can belong to the nation as fully as someone born there. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Class distinctions should gradually disappear. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Foreign students should be deported for taking part in protests the government considers supportive of terrorism. | Agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A more equal distribution of social power is desirable. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Nativism, Right-Wing Nationalism sits 9 points further toward authoritarian on the authority dimension.
- Compared with National Populism, Right-Wing Nationalism sits 10 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
- Compared with Ethnonationalism, Right-Wing Nationalism sits 13 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Right-Wing Nationalism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Right-Wing Nationalism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Nationalism
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.