Skip to main content

Patriotism and Its Critics

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Patriotism
  • 883 Accesses

Abstract

Both historically and conceptually, patriotism has been one of the foundational characteristics that defines the very essence of one’s attachment, identification, and loyalty to a political community and a basic virtue associated with citizenship as a political conception of the person. Despite its centrality in the pantheon of political ideals, it remains a contested concept and an elusive virtue. Not surprisingly, patriotism has been faced by considerable ambivalence and continues to divide its proponents and its critics on some basic questions associated with this area of scholarly research. In fact, this partisanship over the value, status, and the justification of patriotism remains one of the most distinctive characteristics of these discussions. This introductory chapter presents some of the distinguishing aspects of the contemporary discussion on patriotism and its “conceptual cartography.”

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 649.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Appiah KA (1997) Cosmopolitan Patriots. Crit Inq 23(3):617–639

    Google Scholar 

  • Archard D (1999) Should we teach patriotism? Stud Philos Educ 18(3):157–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Archard D (2016) The ethics of patriotism. Contemp Polit Theory 15(2):1–3

    Google Scholar 

  • Arneson RJ (2004) Do patriotic ties limit global justice duties? J Ethics 9(1/2):127–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Blum L (2007) Best traditions patriotism: a commentary on Miller, Wingo and Ben-Porath. Theory Res Educ 5(1):61–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Cafaro P (2010) Patriotism as an environmental virtue. J Agric Environ Ethics 23(1–2):185–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Callan E (2002) Democratic patriotism and multicultural education. Stud Philos Educ 21(6):465–477

    Google Scholar 

  • Callan E (2006) Love, idolatry and patriotism. Soc Theory Pract 32(4):525–546

    Google Scholar 

  • Callan E (2010) The better angels of our nature: patriotism and dirty hands. J Polit Philos 18(3):249–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Canovan M (2000) Patriotism is not enough. Brit J Polit Sci 30(3):413–432

    Google Scholar 

  • Clift B, Woll C (2012) Economic patriotism: re-inventing control over open markets. J Eur Public Policy 19(3):307–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen GA (1989) On the currency of egalitarian justice. Ethics 99(4):906–944

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen J (ed) (1996) For love of country: debating the limits of patriotism. Beacon Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Curren R, Dorn C (2018) Patriotic education in a global age. Chicago University Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Duina F (2017) Broke and patriotic: why poor americans love their country. Stanford University Press, Stanford

    Google Scholar 

  • Flowerdew J, Leong S (2003) Metaphors in the discursive construction of patriotism: the case of Hong Kong’s constitutional reform debate. Discourse Soc 18(3):273–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankel C (1971) Equality of opportunity. Ethics 81(3):191–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Galston WA (1991) Liberal purposes: goods, virtues and diversity in the liberal state. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerőcs T, Szanyi M (eds) (2019) Market liberalism and economic patriotism in the capitalist world-system. Springer, Cham

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomberg P (1990) Patriotism is like racism, Ethics 101(1):144–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas J (1990) Citizenship and national identity. In: Habermas J (1998) Between facts and norms: contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 491–516

    Google Scholar 

  • Hand M (2011) Patriotism in schools [Impact no. 19]. PESGB, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath Wellman C (2001) Friends, compatriots and special political obligations. Polit Theory 29(2):217–236

    Google Scholar 

  • Holborow M (2015) Language and neoliberalism. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ignatieff M (2009) True patriot love. Penguin Books, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivison D (2015) Patriotism, diversity and belonging. In: Kwak J-H, Matsuda K (eds) Patriotism in East Asia. Routledge, Oxford, pp 13–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones C, Vernon R (2018) Patriotism. Polity Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kateb G (2008) Patriotism and other mistakes. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller S (2007) The limits of loyalty. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleinig J, Keller S, Primoratz I (2015) The ethics of patriotism: a debate. Wiley, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwak J-H, Matsuda K (eds) (2015) Patriotism in East Asia. Routledge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kymlicka W (1995) Multicultural citizenship: a liberal theory of minority rights. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Laborde C (2002) From constitutional to civic patriotism. Brit J Polit Sci 32(4):591–612

    Google Scholar 

  • Lukec K (2016) “Za jedne on je heroj, a drugima je zločinac”–Gavrilo Princip u popularnoj kulturi 100 godina nakon Sarajevskog atentata. Studia ethnologica Croatica (28):315–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Macedo S (1990) Liberal virtues: citizenship, virtue and community in liberal constitutionalism. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Macedo S (2011) Just patriotism? Philos Soc Crit 37(4):413–423

    Google Scholar 

  • MacIntyre A (1995 [1984]). Is patriotism a virtue? In: Beiner R (ed) Theorizing citizenship. SUNY, New York, pp 209–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Magnani L (2011) Understanding violence: the intertwining of morality, religion and violence: a philosophical stance. Springer, Cham

    Google Scholar 

  • Marzęcki R (2019) Constructive emotions? Patriotism as a predictor of civic activity in Poland. Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica, pp 1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Merry MS (2009) Patriotism, history and the legitimate aims of american education. Educ Philos Theory 41(4):378–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Mestyan A (2017) Arab patriotism: the ideology and culture of power in late Ottoman Egypt. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller D (1995) On nationality. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, David (2000) Citizenship and national identity. Polity Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Montez de Oca J, Suh SC (2019) Ethics of patriotism: NFL players’ protests against police violence. Int Rev Sociol Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690218825210

  • Morgan F (2005) Women and patriotism in Jim Crow America. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller J-W (2007) Constitutional patriotism. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Nathanson S (1989) In defense of ‘moderate patriotism’. Ethics 99(3):535–552

    Google Scholar 

  • Nathanson S (2010) Terrorism and the ethics of war. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum MC (2013) Political emotions: why love matters for justice. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavkovic A (2007) Killing for one’s country. In: Primoratz I, Pavković A (eds) Patriotism: philosophical and political perspectives. Ashgate, Aldershot, pp 219–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennock JR, Chapman JW (eds) (1967) Equality. Atherton Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrović T (ed) (2011) Abducted love. ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana

    Google Scholar 

  • Prebilič V, Juvan J (2019) The Slovenian Armed Forces and patriotism. Diplomacy Statecraft 30(1):99–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Primoratz I (ed) (2002a) Patriotism. Humanity Books, Amherst/New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Primoratz I (ed) (2002b) Introduction. In: Patriotism. Humanity Books, Amherst/New York, pp 9–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Primoratz I, Pavković A (eds) (2007) Patriotism: philosophical and political perspectives. Ashgate, Aldershot

    Google Scholar 

  • Sardoč M (2017) The anatomy of patriotism. Anthropol Notebooks 23(1):43–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaar JH 1997 [1967]. Equality of opportunity, and beyond. In: Pennock JR, Chapman JW (eds) Equality. Atherton Books, New York, pp 228–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Schatz RT, Staub E, Lavine H (1999) On the varieties of national attachment: blind versus constructive patriotism. Polit Psychol 20(1):151–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamir Y (1993) Liberal nationalism. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Viroli M (1995) For love of country: an essay on patriotism and nationalism. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Yack B (2012) Nationalism and the moral psychology of community. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Yormirzoev M, Teuber R, Li T (2019) Food quality vs food patriotism: Russian consumers’ preferences for cheese after the food import ban. Brit Food J 121(2):371–385

    Google Scholar 

  • Young I (1990) Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Sardoč, M. (2020). Patriotism and Its Critics. In: Sardoč, M. (eds) Handbook of Patriotism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54484-7_29

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics