Afrikaner nationalism (Afrikaans: Afrikaner Volkseenheid) is a political ideology that was born in the late nineteenth century around the idea that Afrikaners in South Africa were a "chosen people"; it was also strongly influenced by anti-British sentiments that grew strong among the Afrikaners, especially because of the Boer Wars. Afrikaner nationalism emphasized the unity of all Afrikaans speaking white people, the Volk (nation), against such "foreign" elements as Blacks, Jews and English-speaking South Africans.
According to historian T. Dunbar Moodie, Afrikaner nationalism could be described as a kind of civil religion that combined the history of the Afrikaners, their language and the Afrikaner Calvinism as key symbols. A major proponent of the ideology was the secret Broederbond organization and the National Party that ruled the country from 1948 to 1994. Other organisations aligned with the Afrikaner nationalistic ideology were the Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Organisations (Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge, FAK), the Institute for Christian National Education and the White Workers' Protection Association.
Read more about Afrikaner Nationalism: Formulating The Ideology, Afrikaner Nationalistic Politics
Famous quotes containing the words afrikaner and/or nationalism:
“There is only one element that can break the Afrikaner, and that is the Afrikaner himself. It is when the Afrikaner, like a baboon shot in the stomach, pulls out his own intestines. We must guard against that.”
—P.W. (Pieter Willem)
“The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war.”
—Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986)