Nacionalizam i demokracija
Nationalism and Democracy

Summary/Abstract: Nationalism is sometimes said to be too varied a phenomenon to be easily defined, let alone reduced to the generalizations of political theory. One analyst, after studying the subject over a lifetime without geing able to pin it down, threw up his hands and observed that a nation is any group of people who think themselves to be one. Democrac too is a controversial term, differing in ancient ans modern usage and all the more ambiguous because of its cynical misappropriation by autocratic regimes. Despite these difficulties, both concepts denote forces too important to modern history to be excluded from theorethical scrutiny. The presen inquiry will propose a framework for analysis, focus on the United States as a leading protagonist of both forces, and conclude by considering their interaction in a changing world order – marked, paradoxically, by the conflicting pressures of “globalization” and demands for the preservation of separate spheres of identity. Thematically, it will suggest that civic or political nationalism, as distinct from other potentially more malevolen forms, is compatible with democracy and a useful instrument of collective action, domestic and interstate, but that all forms of nationalism can pose serious dangers if taken to an extreme.

• Details
• Contents