National Cultures & Nationalism Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering foundational concepts of nationalism, state systems, political geography, and post-Soviet territorial politics.

Nation

A social community defined by shared identity, which can be either ethnic or civic in nature.

State

A distinct political entity or country possessing sovereign government over a territorial area.

Nationalism (as a culture)

A cultural practice and set of storylines that celebrate the nation and the state.

Nationalism (as a doctrine)

An ideological doctrine asserting that the national unit and political state unit should be congruent.

Nationalism (as a discourse)

An ensemble of statements, symbols, understandings, tropes, metaphors, images, and material actions through which national identity and territory are constructed.

Nation-State Myth

The misconception that states and nations are naturally congruent, when in reality no state exists made up solely of one single nation.

Imagined Community

Benedict Anderson's concept that a nation is socially constructed because its members feel connected despite never meeting or knowing most of their fellow members.

Banal Nationalism

Michael Billig's concept referring to the routine, everyday, and subconscious representations of nationhood (such as unwaved flags, currency, and everyday language) that continuously remind citizens of their nation.

Civic Nationalism

A form of nationalism that defines the nation as a legal-political community bound by shared values associated with the territorial state.

Ethnic Nationalism

A form of nationalism that defines the nation through ethnic bonds, shared ancestry, language, genealogy, or religion.

Jus Soli

The 'law of the soil'; a citizenship regime granting birthright citizenship to individuals born within a state's sovereign territory.

Jus Sanguinis

The 'law of blood'; a citizenship regime granting citizenship based on family ancestry and parental lineage rather than place of birth.

Identity Entrepreneurs

Political figures or leaders who utilize national or group identity storylines to market themselves or advance a political agenda.

State System

The international political system organized around territorial states as the primary units of authority.

Homeland

A specific territory claimed by a particular cultural or national group that is imbued with affective and symbolic emotional significance.

Sovereignty

The claim and recognized right of a state to exercise the highest political authority within a given area or over a particular group.

Korenizatsiia

An early Soviet nationalities policy ('indigenization') aimed at making Soviet power feel native by promoting local indigenous languages, cadres, and republic boundaries.

Beached Diaspora

The population of ethnic Russians left residing outside the Russian Federation as national minorities in newly independent states following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Imperialism

A system of power in which a dominant central political authority rules over distant territories and populations.

Heartland Thesis

Halford Mackinder's geopolitical theory proposing that control of the interior landmass of Eurasia (the Heartland) is key to controlling global power.

Enclave

A distinct cultural or ethnic territory situated completely within the borders of another country or dominant culture group.

Exclave

A portion of a sovereign state's territory that is geographically separated from the main landmass by surrounding alien territory.

Separatism

A political movement in which a distinct regional or cultural group seeks to secede from an existing state to establish its own independent state.

Irredentism

A policy or movement advocating for the annexation of a region in a neighboring state based on common ethnic, linguistic, or historical ties.

Centripetal Forces

Factors within a state that unite people and reinforce political and social cohesion, such as economic prosperity or shared national values.

Centrifugal Forces

Factors within a state that divide populations and weaken political cohesion, such as civil war, political corruption, or ethnic conflict.