Zelenkov M.Yu. Nationalism as a Source of Inter-Ethnic (Ethnic) Conflicts

Abstract: The object of the research in this article is nationalism. The analysis of the results of various methodological approaches to nationalism demonstarte the main vectors of its impact on international relations, factors of the emergence and settlement of inter-ethnic (ethnic) conflicts. The aim of the article is to analyse the nature of "nationalism" as an ambiguous phenomenon in national public relations and to define its role as the main source of modern inter-ethnic (ethnic) conflicts. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the duality of nationalism in inter-ethnic (ethnic) relations.The study involves system-integrated, cultural, historical and political scientific methodological approaches, as well as classification of nationalism by various grounds. The main conclusion of the conducted research was the fact that in modern conditions the nationalism serves as a primary source of inter-ethnic (ethnic) conflicts in the first place, not as a cultural factor (which is its nature), but as a political factor, as an instrument in the hands of ethnocracy. Examples of individual countries show that nationalism in its manifestation in society can play both a constructive role, acquiring patriotic orientation, and also a deconstructivist role, working as a catalyst of inter-ethnic tensions.

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