Ultranationalism

Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific interests. Ultranationalist entities have been associated with the engagement of political violence even during peacetime.

In ideological terms the British political theorist Roger Griffin said that ultranationalism arises from seeing modern nation states as living organisms, and that in stark mythological ways, political campaigners have divided societies into those that are perceived as being degenerately inferior and those perceived as having great cultural destinies. Ultranationalism has been an aspect of fascism, with historic governments such as the regimes of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany building on ultranationalist foundations by using specific plans for supposed widespread national renewal. Another major example was the Khmer Rouge regime in Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) that promoted ultranationalism.

British political theorist Roger Griffin argued that ultranationalism is essentially founded on xenophobia in a way that finds supposed legitimacy "through deeply mythicized narratives of past cultural or political periods of historical greatness or of old scores to settle against alleged enemies". It can also draw on "vulgarized forms" of different aspects of the natural sciences such as anthropology and genetics, eugenics specifically playing a role, in order "to rationalize ideas of national superiority and destiny, of degeneracy and subhumanness" in Griffin's opinion. According to Griffin, ultranationalists view the modern nation state as a living organism directly akin to a physical person such that it can decay, grow, die, and additionally can experience rebirth. He highlighted Nazi Germany as a regime founded on ultranationalism.

Ultranationalist activism can adopt varying attitudes towards historical traditions within the populace. For instance, the British Union of Fascists adopted a secularist-minded platform centered on perceived technological progress. In contrast, the Iron Guard in the Kingdom of Romania utilized a hardline form of mysticism-driven religion to encourage determination among the nation's ultranationalists. Nonetheless, obsessive views on ethnicity and other divisions as well as connecting politics to motifs of sacrifice generally constitute the psychological framework behind these movements.

According to American scholar Janusz Bugajski, summing up the doctrine in practical terms, "in its most extreme or developed forms, ultra-nationalism resembles fascism, marked by a xenophobic disdain of other nations, support for authoritarian political arrangements verging on totalitarianism, and a mythical emphasis on the 'organic unity' between a charismatic leader, an organizationally amorphous movement-type party, and the nation." Bugajski believes that civic nationalism and the related concept of patriotism both can contain significantly positive elements, contributing to the common social good at times such as during national calamities. In his view, these doctrines stand in contrast to the extreme approach of certain ideologies with more irrational actions.

American historian Walter Skya wrote in Japan's Holy War: The Ideology of Radical Shinto Ultranationalism that ultranationalism in Japan drew upon traditional Shinto spiritual beliefs and militaristic attitudes regarding the nation's racial identity. By the early 20th century, fanaticism arising from this combination of ethnic nationalism and religious nationalism caused opposition to democratic governance and support for Japanese territorial expansion. Skya particularly observed in his work the connection between ultranationalism and political violence by citing how between 1921 and 1936 three serving and two former Prime Ministers of Japan were assassinated. The totalitarian Japanese government of the 1930s and 1940s (Shōwa Japan) did not just rely on encouragement by the country's military. It additionally received widespread popular support.

Cambodian historian Sambo Manara found that the belief system sets forth a vision of supremacism in terms of international relations whereby xenophobia or hatred of foreigners to the point of extremism leads to policies of social separation and segregation. He argued that the Cambodian genocide is a specific example of this ideology when it is applied in practice. He stated, "Obviously, it was ultranationalism, combined with the notion of class struggle in communism and a group of politicians, which lead to the establishment of Democratic Kampuchea, a ruthless regime which claimed approximately three million lives", with militant leaders finally deciding to "cut all diplomatic and economic ties with almost all countries" due to a "narrow-minded doctrine without taking into account all the losses they would face". In Manara's opinion, "this effectively destroyed the nation."

The totalitarian dictatorship of the Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu has been described as an example of Communism taking an ultranationalist approach by Haaretz, which cited the antisemitism of Ceaușescu in terms of actions such as his historical denialism of the Holocaust. He also made efforts to purge Romanians who had Jewish backgrounds from positions of political authority. Haaretz has also labeled the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán an ultranationalist due to his views on autocratic rule and racial identity, particularly Orbán's public condemnation of "race-mixing". He has also been called an ultranationalist by NPR, an American news agency, citing his opposition to democratic liberalism.