Transnationalism and ethnonationalism
Transnationalism and ethnonationalism are ideologies focused on uniting peoples with shared cultural, ethnic, or historical backgrounds across national borders. Transnationalism emphasizes common factors like religion while downplaying ethnic differences, making it less ethnocentric than ethnonationalism, which seeks to assert the identity and interests of specific ethnic groups. Examples of these movements can be found globally, such as in the Middle East and the Balkans, and they often advocate for political recognition or sovereignty for ethnic enclaves.
In North America, various expressions of transnationalism and ethnonationalism have emerged, notably among marginalized groups. For instance, Black nationalism in the United States encompasses a spectrum of movements advocating for racial solidarity, some of which have sought forms of separatism or emigration to Africa. Additionally, religious nationalism has surfaced among African Americans as a means to achieve cultural autonomy. The visibility of white ethnonationalism has also increased in recent years, particularly linked to political events, where it emphasizes the defense of a White national identity. Overall, both transnationalism and ethnonationalism reflect complex responses to issues of identity, belonging, and political power in a multicultural landscape.
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Transnationalism and ethnonationalism
Transnationalism and ethnonationalism are terms linked to ideologies promoting the unity of peoples of similar culture, ethnicity, or history in a manner that transcends national political boundaries. Transnationalism often overlooks some differences in ethnicity and places emphasis on other factors, such as religion, and is, thus, not always ethnocentric. Ethnonationalism is almost always transnational in nature.
Examples of transnational and ethnonational movements can be seen around the globe, including in the Middle East. There are also elements of such ideologies in the Balkan states. Zionism was an expression of transnationalism for the Jewish people that led to the foundation of the state of Israel. In many cases, ethnic enclaves in the late twentieth century have sought some form of recognition, home rule, or sovereignty.
In North America, distinct forms of transnationalism and ethnonationalism have emerged. The movement among French Canadians for some type of separatist homeland is one example. However, it is in the United States that a variety of expressions of ethnonationalism have occurred. The most important of these is known as Black nationalism.
Black nationalist movements have a long, eclectic history in the United States. Some movements have advocated forms of separatism, while others have called for emigration. The most transnational of all are those suggesting the unity, in whatever form, of all people of African descent. All types of Black nationalism share the belief that Black people are burdened with a subordinate, almost colonial role in relation to White Americans and that racial solidarity is the only possible solution.
Black nationalism of the emigrational variety dates back to the founding of the nation of Liberia in West Africa in the early nineteenth century. Although Liberia did become home to many freed, formerly enslaved African Americans, the emigrationalist movement’s main proponents came later, including such figures as Martin Delaney and Marcus Garvey. The crux of their movement was for Black people to go “back to Africa,” a phrase that became the name of the movement. The response among African Americans was mixed, and actual emigration was extremely limited.
Religious nationalism has played a role. A variety of movements have suggested that African Americans can achieve independence from broader American cultural and political life through religious unity. The Nation of Islam and the National Committee of Black Churchmen are noteworthy examples of this type of thought. Such movements are often viewed as extremist or unrealistic.
The most radical of all Black ethnonationalist movements are those that advocate the creation of separate, all-Black states in North America, with clearly demarcated borders and sovereignty. That form of movement shares some ideological links with what was known in the 1960s as revolutionary nationalism. This ideology maintained that liberation for Black Americans would come only with the overthrow of the entire US system.
More popular Black ethnonationalist movements are those that seek to maintain and celebrate African cultural and ethnic unity. Some of these cultural ethnonationalists also maintain the need for some type of separation. Whatever the form of American Black ethnonationalism or transnationalism, they are all unusual forms of nationalism with no easily definable link to a specific geographical center, yet bound by a recognizable dissatisfaction with certain aspects of American life.
White ethnonationalism became more visible in the United States with the presidential campaign and election of Donald Trump. White ethnonationalist organizations, such as the National Policy Institute which operated from 2005 to 2022, believe that the United States is a White nation and that White Americans should defend the country, White identity, and “traditional Western civilization” from Americans of color and immigrants. As a candidate and as president, Trump appealed to White ethnonationlists with his promises to build a wall on the border of Mexico and to institute a ban on Muslim immigration.
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