A New or Different Model of Nationalism? Nations of the Confucian Cultural Sphere: A Comparative Study

Lech Buczek

doi:10.18290/rh26743.5

Published : 2026-06-01

Vol. 74 No. 3 (2026)

A New or Different Model of Nationalism? Nations of the Confucian Cultural Sphere: A Comparative Study

Lech Buczek

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8446-4029

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh26743.5

Abstract

This paper focuses on Asian nationalism, which is hard to define and ambiguous. Analyzing the example of Japan, two Koreas and Mainland China, I try to answer several questions: Does Asian nationalism differ from Western nationalism, or perhaps we call it Asian because it occurs in Asia? Is it one unified Asian nationalism, or, for instance, are Korean and Japanese nationalisms totally different? Although nationalisms in specific Asian countries are different and often mutually conflicting (e.g. Korean is anti-Japanese), they share some features. Asian nationalisms are vibrant like no other and play an important role in the current internal and international politics of these countries.

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Asian nationalism, China, Japan, Koreas

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