Manifestations of declining nationalism

The words "nation" and "nationalism" have a myriad of meanings, ranging from ideologically driven to politically defined, or colloquially stated. The word "nation" comes from the Latin term "natio," originally meaning "birth, "origin", or "breed," identifying a group of people born in the same place and sharing a common ancestry. Over centuries, the meaning of this term evolved into more complex political entities, signifying a group of people sharing common language, culture, territory, laws, and way of life.

Within this context, nationalism signifies the natural bond among these people, shared by their love for, pride in, and loyalty to the place where they were born, the culture that shaped their identity, and the territory that promises their safety and the future they create together.

Nationalism is a natural human feeling. A nation gives one an identity and a sense of belonging, shaped by the shared meaning of history, culture and reality. A series of symbols, actions, thoughts, and expressions, including flags, the national anthem, citizenship, voting rights, and other rights and responsibilities, reinforce this identity through education, formal and informal, participation and shared norms and values.

Here, we examine declining nationalism in its simplest definition, while focusing on its most concrete manifestations in three phenomena: a national flag, the body, and the home. It highlights how people are losing their national identity, pride, and heritage through the desecration of their national flag, the violence against their bodies, and the dispossession of their homes.

We communicate feelings, emotions, ideas, and ideologies through symbols. These symbols are not just mere objects; they carry the weight of our collective identity, serving as a reminder of our shared history, values and visions for the future. When the manifestation of national symbols is repressed, discouraged, and even punished, people lose these senses, without being able to actualise and externalise their unity.

A national flag is a crucial symbol – unifying, transforming, and a communicative power for people to live in a socially coherent, politically unified, and emotionally supportive environment. In Australia, there is a growing marginalisation or exclusion of the Australian National Flag by politicians, bureaucrats, corporations and activists.

For example, bureaucrats at Mornington local council in Victoria published council materials with the Aboriginal flag, Torres Strait Islander flag and the "progress pride" flag – but not the Australian flag in June 2025. Now they are in damage control after public backlash, responding to attempts to regulate the omission of the Australian National Flag in the "most prominent" position on council material by inserting a "cultural safety" loophole. The hypocrisy here is that they are creating divisions amongst Australians by prioritising the sensitivity of some groups while neglecting, disrespecting, and even violating the feelings of others, who see the Australian national flag as their national symbol.

Secondly, the body is more than just a corporeal entity, which Plato stipulates we are imprisoned within. It represents a unique dimension of our identity, encompassing physical integrity, the externalisation of our values, aspirations, and visions, a communicative space for socialisation, and a sanctuary for our mind, spirit, and soul. It is as sacred as the soil of the nation where we are born. Mysteriously, women and nation are intertwined in public perception, which is why we refer to our nation as "motherland." A nation is like a woman, our collective mother, taking care of our well-being, as if it gave birth to us all.

When this body is disrespected or violated and the perpetrators are not appropriately punished, it profoundly affects the self-perception, worth, and dignity of the victim. Furthermore, the social and emotional bond between people and their relationship with their nation becomes damaged. This is sadly a growing phenomenon in the West.

A nation ravaged by the rape of women is a nation of shame, humiliation and self-destruction. We need look no further than the destruction of South Sudan by rampant, unchecked sexual violence against women to see how these destructive behaviours, unchecked, lead to an anarchic nation. The crucial lesson is that when sexual violence against women is not taken seriously, then the consequences are far from being only social and psychological; it contributes to the destruction of a nation.

Thirdly, having a home is not merely a luxury of having a roof over one's head; it is a fundamental aspect of one's life, embodying national identity in a specific location. It is the figurative actualisation of belonging within a nation most concretely.

An increasing number of people are gradually becoming homeless in Australia, due to various reasons, including housing scarcity, increasing housing prices or an unmitigated influx of migrants. It generates common feelings of being strangers within their nation, feeling adrift, disconnected from their roots, land, and community, and eventually losing their national identity and pride. It feels like one's home is suddenly overwhelmed with the uninvited and continuing arrival of guests, who stay, and will not share it but will eventually claim it as their own.

In such a situation, some homeowners may either resist in vain or relocate to other parts of the nation or abroad to find a new home; however, they will ultimately face the same consequences, as seen in the case of Boiling Frog Syndrome. The result remains unchanged – wherever you go, you lose your piece of ownership of your nation, whether you accept the condition, challenge it, or try to escape.

These three key aspects of a nation, along with other more complex factors, are clear signs of the gradual decline of nationalism in the West, which does not die overnight; instead, it has a slow, agonising death over an extended time until it collapses suddenly.

It reminds us of what Hemingway said in his celebrated novel, "The Sun Also Rises," as follows: "How did you go bankrupt?" Bill asked. 'Two ways,' Mike said. 'Gradually and then suddenly.'

With the decline of nationalism in the West, nations may gradually disappear, resulting from a tendency that there will be no sense of united pride or motivation to defend them, or to perceive them as a foundation for their collective existence and continuation. Although they may not disappear simultaneously or on the exact timeframes, these are the current trends and patterns in most Western countries.

Some may argue a nation is a social construct, meaning it does not have inherent validity to exist across history. Even if we accept the death of nations as inevitable, it is disconcerting to fathom what follows this death-a new global nation overruling the disintegrated land of current nations into global anarchy.

Global anarchy is the last desired outcome for populations in the West, as they cannot function in the absence of order, yet they accept this inevitability. Moreover, suppose anarchy is a result of the decline of nationalism and the disappearance of nations. In that case, populations will look to an overarching ruling body to restore order, even if it means sacrificing autonomy and freedom for the sake of safety. Perhaps a global dictatorship can easily step in within this context, in the name of "liberation", "the common good", or "a shared future", among other "justifications."

In another scenario, a global corporation will be delighted to seize this opportunity to promise global governance through technocratic measures advanced with digital control mechanisms, including digital ID, currency and facial/emotion detection systems. This would provide us with an absolute and final "nation," where we will be made dependent and disposable.

It is frightening that nations may disappear, but what follows may be even more frightening: this may make us disappear gradually and then suddenly – all together.