Many political scientists do not even see those two terms as even being compatible. The difference is important, not just to scholars but citizens too.
Trump is now running for president again. When he announced his candidacy, he stated that he “need[s] every patriot on board because this is not just a campaign, this is a quest to save our country.”
One week later he dined in Mar-a-Lago with Nick Fuentes, a self-described nationalist who’s been banned from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms for using racist and anti-semitic language.
Devotion to people
To understand what nationalism is, it’s useful to understand what a nation is – and isn’t.
Nationalism is, per one dictionary definition, “loyalty and devotion to a nation”. It is a person’s strong affinity for those who share the same history, culture, language or religion. Scholars understand nationalism as exclusive, boosting one identity group over – and at times in direct opposition to – others.
The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys – 10 of whom were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol – are both examples of white nationalist groups, which believe that immigrants and people of color are a threat to their ideals of civilization.
Trump has described the events that took place on January 6, 2021, as having occurred “Peacefully & Patrioticly”. He has described those who have been imprisoned as “great patriots” and has said that he would pardon “a large portion of them” if elected in 2024.
Nationalism vs patriotism
Adolf Hitler’s rise in Germany was accomplished by perverting patriotism and embracing nationalism.
The tragedy of the Holocaust was rooted in the nationalistic belief that certain groups of people were inferior. While Hitler is a particularly extreme example, in my own research as a human rights scholar, I have found that even in contemporary times, countries with nationalist leaders are more likely to have bad human rights records.