Understanding Nationalism and Patriotism in the Vietnamese Context

Phạm Đoan Trang wrote this article in Vietnamese, which Luật Khoa Magazine published on January 25, 2018. It is an excerpt from her book Chính trị bình dân (Politics for the Mass).

Nationalism 

Nationalism is translated as Chủ nghĩa dân tộc in Vietnamese. This term has nuanced interpretations that merit exploration.

In Vietnamese, “dân tộc” is traditionally used to denote ethnic groups, such as the Kinh, Mường, or Ê-đê. Consequently, translating “nationalism” as “chủ nghĩa dân tộc” might lead to misunderstandings, as the concept pertains to nations rather than ethnicities. However, given the longstanding usage, “chủ nghĩa dân tộc” is retained in this context.

At its core, nationalism embodies the psychological attachment of individuals to a specific nation, grounded in shared history, language, literature, culture, and, critically, a collective aspiration to attain or maintain political independence.

This shared aspiration for political sovereignty is paramount; without it, the concept of a nation would lack substance in the hearts and minds of its people.

Language, while significant, is not the sole determinant of nationhood. Numerous multilingual countries exemplify this. Switzerland, for instance, recognizes four official languages—German, French, Italian, and Romansh—yet remains a unified nation because its citizens collectively aspire to uphold their political independence.

Historically, particularly before the 20th century and during feudal times, nationalism was esteemed as a noble virtue. Allegiance to one’s nation was regarded as the highest form of loyalty, surpassing ties to religion, family, race, or class.

Even during the tumultuous first half of the 20th century, marked by two devastating world wars, nationalism, rather than communism or liberal democracy, was the overarching ideology driving combatants. In these conflicts, nations, not religions, classes, or races, were the primary actors.

In Western liberal democracies, personal devotion to leaders is not typically celebrated. However, commitment and loyalty to one’s nation are universally recognized as virtues, irrespective of cultural context. This was the prevailing perspective of earlier times.

Nevertheless, from the late 20th century onward, with the advent of globalization, many nations began reevaluating the concept of nationalism.

Citizens in Western countries, who embraced globalization more readily than their Eastern counterparts, started perceiving nationalism as outdated, regressive, and detrimental in the modern world. A narrow nationalist mindset was seen as an impediment to a nation’s ability to integrate, coexist peacefully, and collaborate. Left unchecked, such a mindset could foster extremism and self-isolation and lead to conflicts and violence.

Conversely, in countries like China and Vietnam, nationalism continues to be esteemed and is considered a unifying force that galvanizes the populace toward common objectives.

Patriotism

As noted earlier, while nationalism may carry negative connotations in the U.S. and Europe, in countries like Vietnam and China, it is often equated with “patriotism” or “love for the homeland,” rather than termed explicitly as “nationalism.”

For instance, it is common to hear phrases like “paying taxes is patriotic,” rather than “paying taxes is nationalistic.” Similarly, during anti-China protests in Vietnam, demonstrators often assert that they are protesting out of patriotism, not nationalism.

This leads to a particular conflation and confusion between nationalism and patriotism.

For clarity, these concepts can be defined as follows:

• Patriotism is the psychological attachment of individuals to a specific nation, grounded in a shared history, language, literature, culture, and a collective aspiration to achieve and/or preserve political independence, which is, in fact, the original meaning of the concept of nationalism. In its moderate form, patriotism is a noble virtue.
• Nationalism is a form of patriotism taken to an extreme—becoming an excessive pride in and worship of one’s country, where the nation is viewed as the most important political community above all others. In this sense, the term carries a negative connotation. When nationalism evolves into the belief that one’s country is the center of the world and superior to all others, it becomes chauvinistic, arrogant, aggressive, and militaristic.

Ultimately, whether in the form of patriotism or nationalism, emotional attachment and loyalty to one’s country can be easily exploited by governments to rally the population around common goals—goals that are not always just or noble. History offers many examples of such manipulation, from mobilizing citizens for war to justifying violence and the loss of human life in the name of national unity. This reminds us that love for one’s country, while deeply human, must be tempered with critical thinking and moral discernment.