Paper 2 Non-core Political Ideology · Nationalism

Nationalism · Notes

Sub-topic lookup view of the walk-through.

About these notes. This is the sub-topic lookup version. For the narrative scrollytelling lesson with the strand, dimension and spec-idea figures, use the Walk-through. For active recall, use the MCQ Quiz. For comparison practice, use the Strand comparison exercise. The cards below open one at a time and cover everything Paper 2 expects you to know on nationalism: the four strands, the five named thinkers, the six core ideas and the exam method.

The one thing to hold on to. All nationalists agree the nation is the central unit of politics. They disagree about almost everything else - what a nation is, who deserves self-rule, whether the bond is civic or cultural, and whether nations should cooperate, dominate or break free. Most of those splits trace back to a single distinction: is the nation a political community you choose to join (civic), or a cultural community you are born into (cultural)?

1. What nationalism is - the civic-cultural split

Nationalism is the ideology built around the claim that the nation is the natural and proper unit of politics. A nation is a group of people who identify themselves as a cohesive community on the basis of shared values. The 9PL0 spec is open from the start: there are very different ways of defining a nation, and that is the question at the heart of the ideology.

The two definitions that run through everything

Civic nationalism. The nation is a political community of people who share political values and consent to common laws. Membership is voluntary, open and inclusive (Rousseau, Mazzini; also Garvey's anti-colonial reassertion of equal national dignity).
Cultural nationalism. The nation is bound by shared language, history, customs and traditions - the volksgeist or national spirit (von Herder). Membership is organic and inherited, slow to acquire. This carries the romantic and emotional weight of nationalism.

The exam frame. The Paper 2 question lands on one of the four dimensions (human nature, the state, society, the economy) or one of the six spec ideas. Whichever it is, the civic-versus-cultural split is the spine of almost every answer: run the strands across it, then judge which side weighs more.

2. Liberal nationalism

The civic strand. Rational, progressive and universal. Named thinkers: Rousseau, Mazzini.

Human nature: rational and progressive. Humans can choose their own governing authority through reason (Rousseau). The 2020 mark scheme calls this a more positive view of human nature and a more inclusive form of nationalism.
The state: the civic nation-state is the natural political unit. Self-determination is a universal right - every nation deserves a state (Mazzini). Sovereign nation-states cooperate as equals: liberal internationalism.
Society: inclusive and voluntary. Open to anyone who shares the civic values; cultural diversity tolerated provided the core political values are honoured (Rousseau).
The economy: free trade between sovereign nations, cooperation rather than protection. The economy is secondary to political self-determination.

3. Conservative nationalism

The cultural strand. Romantic and security-seeking. Named thinker: von Herder (volksgeist).

Human nature: pessimistic and security-seeking. Humans need cultural belonging to feel safe (von Herder). The 2020 mark scheme: conservative nationalists see humans as not rational and security seeking, driving a desire to belong to a nation built around a common culture.
The state: a romantic embodiment of the national culture. The state exists to reflect and protect the distinct national spirit and preserve cohesion. The 2021 mark scheme: a romantic view of the state to protect the nation and its culture.
Society: defined by shared culture, language and tradition. Membership is organic and slow to acquire; cohesion comes from cultural identity, not civic agreement.
The economy: protect national industries and traditional crafts. Inward-looking and preservationist rather than imperial.

The point of difference from liberal nationalism. Both want the state aligned with the nation - but liberal nationalism binds the nation civically, by chosen values, while conservative nationalism binds it culturally, by inherited belonging.

4. Expansionist (chauvinist) nationalism

The dominant strand. Integral and chauvinist - and the home of racialism. Named thinker: Maurras (integral nationalism).

Human nature: highly pessimistic toward outsiders. Chauvinist superiority feelings; the nation placed above the individual (Maurras). The 2020 mark scheme: based on chauvinism, the feeling of superiority to other nations.
The state: supreme and integral - the individual is subservient to it. Militaristic and imperial, used to dominate other peoples. The 2021 mark scheme: highly exclusive, seeking to use the might and power of the state in an oppressive way.
Society: exclusive, sometimes racially defined, hostile to outsiders. The 2019 mark scheme: a very exclusive form of patriotism (integral nationalism), often triumphant and claiming superiority over other groups or nations.
The economy: imperial economic dominance and exploitation of subject peoples, closely linked to colonialism.

Where racialism lives. The 9PL0 spec describes racialism as the view held by a very small group of nationalists who believe nationhood is determined purely by biological factors. That group sits within expansionist nationalism. The other three strands reject racial definitions of the nation. Do not spread racialism across nationalism as a whole.

5. Anti / post-colonial nationalism

The liberatory strand. Rationalist and inclusive, often pan-national. Named thinker: Garvey (Black pride, pan-Africanism).

Human nature: rational and progressive, like liberal nationalism. Equal moral worth of all peoples, particularly those whose worth had been denied by colonial racism (Garvey). The 2020 mark scheme groups liberal and anti/post-colonial nationalism as the rational, progressive family.
The state: self-determination from colonial powers; the nation-state as a vehicle of liberation. Often cultural and economic decolonisation alongside political. The 2022 mark scheme: a rational view that nations have the right to govern themselves free from domination or oppression.
Society: inclusive on the basis of shared experience of colonialism rather than ethnic purity; reasserts the cultural identity colonialism suppressed; often pan-national (Garvey's pan-Africanism).
The economy: economic self-determination, often through nationalising resources previously controlled by colonial powers; critical of neo-colonial dependency.

The close cousin. Anti/post-colonial nationalism shares liberal nationalism's rational, civic, universal-self-determination base. The mark schemes repeatedly pair them as the progressive family against the conservative and expansionist strands.

6. The five Edexcel named thinkers

Thinker	Key idea	Strand	What to use them for
Rousseau (1712-1778)	General will; civic nationalism	Liberal (civic)	Government rests on the indivisible collective will of the community; the state is legitimate through the active participation of its citizens. The nation as a chosen political community.
von Herder (1744-1803)	Cultural nationalism; volksgeist	Conservative (cultural)	Every nation is different, with its own unique cultural character. The Volk (the people) are the root of national culture and special nature (volksgeist), which each nation should express.
Mazzini (1805-1872)	Nationhood; thought and action	Liberal (civic)	Humans can express themselves only through their nation; human freedom rests on creating one's own nation-state. Rejected pure intellectualism for thought and action.
Maurras (1868-1952)	Integral nationalism; militarism	Expansionist (chauvinist)	An intensely emotional nationalism where individuals submerge themselves into their nation; the nation above the individual; a strong military ethos. Sometimes blurs into racialism.
Garvey (1887-1940)	Black pride; pan-Africanism	Anti / post-colonial	African peoples should be proud of their race and heritage; African peoples everywhere are one people who must put aside cultural and ethnic differences. Equal worth of colonised peoples.

How to deploy them. Lead with the strands; the named thinkers are there to add value and meaning to the strands. Working minimum on a 24-marker: two named spec thinkers, and both sides of the question argued. Strong pairings: Rousseau's civic nation against von Herder's cultural volksgeist; Mazzini's universal self-determination against Maurras's rejection of it; Garvey's anti-racist liberation against Maurras's chauvinism.

7. The six core ideas and the strand map

Core idea	What it means	Which strands
Nations	People who identify as a cohesive group based on shared values; very different ways of defining a nation.	Civic definition: Liberal, Anti-colonial (Rousseau, Garvey). Cultural: Conservative (von Herder). Exclusive/racial: Expansionist (Maurras).
Self-determination	Nations should decide how they are governed; the nation as a community capable of self-government.	Universal right: Liberal, Anti-colonial (Mazzini, Garvey). For one's own nation only: Conservative. Rejected as universal: Expansionist (Maurras).
Nation-state	A nation that rules itself in its own state and controls its own economy; supported by most but not all nationalists.	Natural sovereign unit: Liberal (Mazzini). Embodiment of culture: Conservative. Supreme and imperial: Expansionist. Vehicle of liberation: Anti-colonial.
Culturalism	Nationalism based on shared cultural values; mystical and emotional ties; the darker side of nationalism.	The heart of Conservative nationalism (von Herder, volksgeist). Warm for Anti-colonial (reasserting suppressed heritage). Hostile extreme: Expansionist. Cool: Liberal.
Racialism	Humankind divided into separate races with different natures; nationhood by biology alone.	A minority view confined to Expansionist nationalism (Maurras). Rejected by Liberal, Conservative and Anti-colonial.
Internationalism	The world should unite across boundaries to advance common interests; some nationalists are internationalist, some internationalists reject nationalism.	Warm (liberal internationalism): Liberal (Mazzini). Pan-national solidarity: Anti-colonial (Garvey). Cool: Conservative. Hostile: Expansionist.

Internationalism cuts two ways. Liberal internationalism means cooperation between sovereign nation-states - nationalists can be internationalist. Socialist internationalism, by contrast, looks past the nation toward class solidarity, and rejects nationalism. The spec wants you to know both readings.

8. The four dimensions - agreement and disagreement

Human nature

Agreement: all four strands see the nation as central to human identity. Disagreement: rational and progressive (Liberal, Anti-colonial - Rousseau, Garvey) versus pessimistic and security-seeking (Conservative - von Herder) versus chauvinist superiority (Expansionist - Maurras). The 2020 mark scheme frames this as the progressive-versus-regressive divide.

The state

Agreement: all four want the state aligned with the nation. Disagreement: a civic state all can join (Liberal - Mazzini), a romantic embodiment of culture (Conservative - von Herder), a supreme imperial state (Expansionist - Maurras), or a vehicle of liberation (Anti-colonial - Garvey). The 2021 mark scheme: the state can be a realm of freedom for some nationalists and a force of oppression for others.

Society

Agreement: all four believe society is held together by national identity. Disagreement: inclusive civic (Liberal, Anti-colonial - Rousseau) versus exclusive cultural (Conservative - von Herder) versus aggressive and sometimes racially defined (Expansionist - Maurras). The 2023 mark scheme treats the inclusive-versus-exclusive split as the central social divide.

The economy

Agreement: all four see the economy as something with national meaning, not a purely global system. Disagreement: free trade between sovereigns (Liberal), protection of national industries (Conservative), imperial dominance (Expansionist), economic self-determination (Anti-colonial). The economy is the least heavily tested dimension - the centre of gravity is the state, society and self-determination.

The pattern to reuse. On most dimensions the agreement is between Liberal and Anti-colonial, with Conservative one step toward exclusivity and Expansionist at the far end. Civic-progressive versus cultural-exclusive-regressive is the spine of nearly every nationalism 24-marker.

9. Exam method - how the 24-marker is scored

Marks: Paper 2 non-core ideology questions are 24 marks, split AO1 8 / AO2 8 / AO3 8.
'To what extent' is a question of degree - judge how much, not yes or no. Weigh whether agreement or disagreement is more significant.
Structure by theme, not by strand. Run the strands across each theme together rather than describing one strand fully and then the next. The marks live in integrated comparison.
Lead with strands; thinkers in support. The named thinkers add value and meaning to the strands, not the other way round.
Cover the strands the question needs. Most questions reward holding all four positions clearly. Leaving a strand out on a whole-ideology question is a structural weakness.
Two named spec thinkers minimum. No spec thinkers, or only one side argued, caps the answer at Level 2.
Judge as you go. Interim judgements through the essay score better than a single line at the end.
Strands and thinkers only. Keep real-world parties and current events out - nationalism essays are about the strands and the named thinkers.

Plan from the spine. Whatever the dimension or spec idea, the strongest structure runs the four strands across it, anchors each to a named thinker, and lands an interim judgement on whether the civic-progressive or cultural-exclusive side weighs more. A worked answer is at the end of the walk-through.

📜 Walk-throughThe narrative scrollytelling lesson with figures and the worked essay. 🧠 MCQ quiz15 questions across the strands, thinkers and core ideas. 📊 Strand comparisonDraw a pair of strands and write the comparison; model answers from the Pearson mark schemes.