The Anatomy of Nationalism

“America First!” We’ve all heard this saying. The Trump era has brought about a resurgence of American nationalism.

Or has it? Is nationalism the same as “statism” and “patriotism”? What does nationalism today really look like? In a new article published in Libertarian Papers, Dr. Jamin Hübner (General Editor of The Christian Libertarian Review) offers a penetrating look at this social phenomenon. He critically reviews three essays from the Neo-conservative publication Imprimis, followed by an analysis of the inaugural speeches by both Trump and Obama. Jamin is no stranger to us at LCI, obviously, and we congratulate him on his new peer-reviewed paper!

Here is the abstract for “The Anatomy of Nationalism”:

Meaningfully defining “nationalism” is particularly challenging in a twenty-first-century context. Combined with overlap with related concepts, such as “statism” and “patriotism,” there exists an ever-present risk of losing the ability to effectively identify the main features of nationalism, and therefore a risk of losing our awareness of its influence. However, the resurgence of nationalism under the Trump administration provides a unique opportunity to reassess this powerful cultural phenomenon. In the spirit of Rothbard’s “Anatomy of the State,” this article seeks to provide a fresh, critical, and contemporary description of nationalism based on (a) three recent essays published in Hillsdale College’s Imprimis, and (b) a critical comparison of the inaugural speeches of Presidents Obama and Trump. After this analysis, the article concludes by listing eight features of contemporary nationalism.

Once again, check out Jamin’s new paper here.