Nationalism is a strong feeling of pride in and loyalty to your country. When people feel nationalism, they believe their nation is special and want to support it and see it succeed. Nationalism can mean celebrating your country's culture, history, and achievements, like singing the national anthem with pride or feeling moved when your country's athletes win at the Olympics.

Throughout history, nationalism has played a complicated role. In the 1800s, nationalism helped groups of people who shared a language and culture unite into independent countries, like when Italy and Germany became unified nations. During colonial times, nationalism inspired people in places like India and many African nations to work for independence from foreign rule.

When nationalism becomes extreme, people can start believing their country is superior to all others and deserves special treatment. This kind of extreme nationalism has led to wars and conflicts when countries tried to expand their territory or refused to cooperate with other nations. Intense nationalism in Europe in the early 1900s was one factor that contributed to World War I.

Today, people debate what healthy nationalism looks like. Most agree that loving your country and wanting it to thrive is natural and good, but problems arise when that pride turns into disrespecting other nations or refusing to work together on shared challenges.