Can Nationalism Be Democratic?

Abstract

Nationalism and democracy are often presented as natural allies: National self‐determination is best achieved through democratic institutions, while a shared national identity generates the trust and willingness to compromise that stable democracies need. This article, however, explores two possible points of conflict. The first concerns rival conceptions of ‘the people’ who are to be governed democratically. If democracy's fundamental principle is political equality rather than majority rule, as Dworkin argues, then a democratic state must limit the power of the national majority, with implications for the integration requirements placed on immigrants. The second arises from the role played by myths in the formation of national identity. These can bind people together, but they cannot be made into subjects for democratic deliberation. So national identities can never be fully transparent, and there may be no democratic way of deciding how significant people and events in the nation's history should be commemorated.