A nationalist is a person who advocates that the interests of the nation or country are primary and deserving preference over other individual interests. A nationalist is concerned mainly with promoting the concept of the nation in its various forms that may include any or all among the economic, cultural, religious, ethnic and territorial aspects of the country.
A nationalist strives to preserve the distinct identity of the nation and to protect its sovereignty against any influences direct or indirect that may undermine the independence of the people and the nation on the whole. Nationalism as an ideology has been present since ancient times; communities that settled in a place were more likely to develop sentiments that integrated the people in to a cohesive unit then those that were nomadic.
Nationalism at various times has come to denote different things at different periods; it has been associated with racial superiority as in Germany in Nazi times or it has meant the struggle for independence of African and Asian nations against colonial rule of European nations.
A nationalist strives to preserve the distinct identity of the nation and to protect its sovereignty against any influences direct or indirect that may undermine the independence of the people and the nation on the whole. Nationalism as an ideology has been present since ancient times; communities that settled in a place were more likely to develop sentiments that integrated the people in to a cohesive unit then those that were nomadic.
Nationalism at various times has come to denote different things at different periods; it has been associated with racial superiority as in Germany in Nazi times or it has meant the struggle for independence of African and Asian nations against colonial rule of European nations.