Nationalism is a form of tribalism

The argument

A nation can be defined as a body of people united by common descent and culture, often inhabiting one specific area. Loyalty to this body or group is often seen as inherent: people like to be with others who have the same religion, language and cultural practices, leading them to seek to live together, thus forming the nation state out of nationalism. In prehistoric societies this led to conflicts between different nations who believed that their practices were superior, indicating that nation states were formed to resolve these conflicts so people could live within their own national group. Additionally, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy suggests that modern nationalism is particularly prominent amongst groups who do not yet have their own state, such as Palestinians and Kurds, indicating that nationalism must predate the formation of a nation state because otherwise, nation states would not develop.

Context

Tribalism has existed for millennia and can be traced back through history as existing before what we would consider a nation state or even a proto-nation state.

Premises

Counter-arguments

What creates these loyalties? They are often a result of similar groups living together in proto-nation states like Greek city states, so nationalism is developed by this proximity, which is increased when formal nation states are developed. Without this proximity, tribal groups would not feel the same loyalties to each other, suggesting that states and geographical closeness create the conditions for nationalism.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Defining a nation by common descent and culture builds the conclusion into the definition; loyalty to kin, village or faith is not the same as loyalty to a nation, and the premise treats the two as one thing without argument. [Rejecting P2] Palestinian and Kurdish nationalism are modern movements that arose within and against existing states, so they show nationalism without a state of one's own rather than nationalism before states existed — and the counter's point that proximity within polities generates such loyalties reverses the direction of the claim.

Framing

Tribalism is a prehistoric phenomenon which predates anything resembling a modern nation state, providing strong evidence, with a significant precedent, that nationalism existed before nation states, which are formed as a result of nationalist feeling.