Preface: In order to understand a phenomenon well and become familiar with all its dimensions and aspects, it is necessary to examine the types and varieties of that phenomenon according to the classifications of experts in that sector. Writers and experts on political schools and imported ideas regarding nationalism have mentioned many types and varieties. In this part of our research, we aim to express the most important and well-known types of nationalism from the perspective of researchers and writers.
The most famous types that the authors of books on political schools regarding nationalism have identified are three, which we will discuss in detail below:
1. Economic Nationalism
Economic nationalism is defined as a foreign economic policy whose goal is the welfare of a national state. The hallmark of economic nationalism is the creation of an independent national economy, rather than relying on an international division of labor regulated by personal profit, even if it comes at the expense of other nations and states. The most common means of economic nationalism over the past four hundred years have included the imposition of tariffs on foreign goods, the removal of barriers to domestic trade, the subsidization of essential industries, and the establishment of legal, monetary systems, and transportation networks to integrate the markets of the nation-state. While tariff protection is considered the most prominent instrument of nationalist economic policy, it has also been the least effective.
This concept of economic nationalism was mainly popularized in the years following World War I, in response to the challenging economic conditions of the time. In the interwar years, the international economy faced pressures that were the legacy of the conditions of previous decades, especially the devastation caused by the war. The tendency toward isolation among states was strong because it was believed that interaction with the outside world was risky. States preferred to create barriers against foreign economic forces and rely on their own capabilities to meet domestic needs. In the 1930s, with the rise of extreme right-wing governments in Italy and Germany, which also leaned toward nationalism in the economic arena, the concept of economic nationalism became more widespread.
Economic nationalism is the expression of autarky or economic independence—where a nation provides for its own needs without the need to import foreign goods.
Now that we are familiar with economic nationalism and understand its purpose, let us examine how this concept gained popularity and spread to other countries.
After the revival of liberal international economics in the post-World War II period, the term “economic nationalism” was more frequently used to refer to developing states that based their economic development on protectionist and nationalist economic policies. The rise of neoliberalism since the late 1970s made it more difficult to pursue nationalist policies in developing economies. Although economic nationalism was severely weakened during the era of globalization, events such as the 2008 global financial crisis created a favorable environment for its resurgence, leading to the term becoming popular again.
While economic nationalism once had many supporters and gained traction among countries with strong economies, it later encountered significant challenges and a decrease in support. This decline is primarily because implementing economic nationalism can isolate countries and lead them to face numerous problems. The author of the book “Political Schools” writes in this regard: “Economic nationalism has suffered a decisive defeat since World War II, and it has been proven that no nation, regardless of its size and extent (such as America and Russia), can operate without interaction with other nations, especially for raw materials (which no nation possesses in entirety); at a minimum, they need a market to sell their goods. Otherwise, they would have to produce less, resulting in unemployment, hunger, civil unrest, and social disintegration. Many raw materials, food, and industrial products today are subject to international regulations and treaties, such as the distribution of oil and wheat.”
According to this author, it becomes clear that economic nationalism, like its other forms, is not beneficial to nations and countries, particularly small countries that might find it impossible to provide for their basic needs with barriers erected by larger countries, or for countries that have endured oppression from larger nations for years and have only recently achieved partial independence.
The author of the book “Contemporary Intellectual Trends and the Position of Islam Towards Them” writes about the consequences and destructive effects of economic nationalism on countries that have adopted this phenomenon: “What is regrettable is that economic nationalism has regressed in many countries that consistently chanted the slogan of nationalism, yet none of them have attained the desired economic outcomes in terms of production volume and quality enhancement. Instead, imports from Western and Eastern countries continue to be abundant, leading them to experience financial issues and economic difficulties due to budget shortages, to the point where the budgets of some of these countries have occasionally reached zero, and their economies have failed to progress.”
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