Gylian nationalism

Gylian nationalism asserts that Gylias is composed of multiple nations which coexist and cooperate in a confederal framework, and promotes the common independence, self-governance, and well-being of Gylians. Gylian nationalism is notable for being predominantly civic, and has produced a form of patriotism which emphasises Gylias as a multicultural and cosmopolitan society.

History

Gylias' ethnocultural diversity is long-established, dating back to the Liúşai League.

Modern Gylian nationalism emerged during the Gylian ascendancy in the 19th century. The ascendancy brought together Gylic and non-Gylic peoples in opposition to the discriminatory rule of Xevden. Influenced by the recognition of common interests and the memory of the Liúşai League, the common Gylian identity that emerged was flexible and could accommodate the multiple ethnic groups involved.

Nationalism grew in strength due to the weakness of Xevden. With Gylians divided over whether to rely on constitutionalist or confrontationist approaches, a more extreme minority grew frustrated and began advocating more authoritarian forms of nationalism.

Alscia's creation as a result of the Cacerta-Xevden War raised Gylian hopes: under the aegis of the Cacertian Empire, it became the longest-lasting polity since the Liúşai League, and experienced rapid economic, social, and cultural development. Alscian politics came to be dominated by a fusion of Gylian nationalism and progressive liberalism. The identity of "lucky Gylians" had an impact on the province, and made it a key contributor to the dissemination and popularisation of radical ideas among Gylians.

The Liberation War resulted in multiple factions vying for dominance at first. The extremist minority took inspiration from Megelan's Futurist Political Party, coalescing around an emphasis on revenge against Xevden and agitation against universalist religions. Other small factions emphasised souverainism. The majority of nationalists continued to follow the accommodationist model of the Gylian ascendancy.

The Free Territories succeeded in fusing Gylian nationalism with anarchism. Direct democracy became the basis of governance. Gylian nationalism evolved towards a broadly subsidiarist and federalist identity. Notably, federalism was defined primarily in negative liberty terms.

A controversy over statism emerged in the last phase of the Liberation War. The disagreement pitted anarchists, who advocated immediate abolition of the state, against liberals and others who argued that a state or similar form of organisation would still be necessary for the post-war reconstruction. The argument shaped Gylian laws created during the transition from the Free Territories to Gylias, and was enshrined in the "miserable compromise" of the Constitution of Gylias, which preserved the core of much of the Free Territories but displeased ardent anarchists for creating a "halfway house" rather than a completely stateless society.

Gylian nationalism was incorporated into the Gylian consensus, providing support for the radical liberalisation of society by the Golden Revolution, the acceptance of community-based conceptions of human rights, and a fundamentally cosmopolitan and diverse identity for Gylias.

Significantly for public life, Gylian nationalism discourages and minimises banal nationalism. Due to the anarchist heritage of the Free Territories and diverse population, national symbols such as the flag, seal, and national anthem have a reduced presence in everyday contexts. As symbols of the federal Gylias, there is a taboo against over-emphasising them at the expense of local and regional symbols.

Characteristics

Gylian nationalism is predominantly a civic nationalism. It is conceived of in subsidiarist terms: the civic nationalism at the federal level brings together cultural and ethnic nationalisms that exist at the local and regional levels, without advantaging or disadvantaging any.

Gylian nationalism as a whole rejects chauvinism, jingoism and similar extremisms, and stresses the voluntary nature of belonging through direct democracy and popular sovereignty. The prevailing attitude is summed up in the saying, "A Gylian is someone who lives in Gylias" — without reference to ethnicity, language, culture, or religion. This is reflected in Gylian jurisprudence, with laws being written to apply to "residents" or similar neutral terms, and nationality law, which makes no distinction between citizens and resident non-citizens in terms of rights and responsibilities.

From an early stage, Gylian nationalism has been strongly correlated with social liberalism and progressivism. It has easily combined with feminism, radical changes to gender and sexuality norms, and openness to experimentation with drugs.

Various opinion surveys reveal that the Gylian public is generally uncomfortable with open displays of patriotism. It is extremely rare for Gylian politicians to express patriotism in state-glorifying terms. More common are references to Gylias' "strength in diversity" and its unique "historical path" in Tyran, as the successor of the Free Territories.

Religion

Due to historical struggles against monotheism, in the Quliyasi Jihad and Xevden's state religion, Gylian nationalism has a marked tendency of hostility towards universalist religions. Universalism is seen as totalitarian and a threat to the culture and identity of existing peoples.

The influence of this factor has led some foreign observers to characterise Gylian nationalism as "inward-looking" and ambivalent towards self-promotion on the whole.

Politics

While Gylian nationalism is common to most parties as a component of the Gylian consensus, some parties put greater emphasis on it. The National Bloc, as the main federal outlet of Gylian conservatism, notably prefers the terminology of "civic" and "national" for party names and discourse over "conservative", as this emphasises its moderate, liberal and progressive character.

The New People's Party is based on economic nationalism, and their discourse is strongly suspicious of free trade and globalisation, while accepting multiculturalism and peaceful engagement with the world outside of the economic sphere.

Gylicism

Gylicism or Pan-Gylicism is an ideology opposed to Gylian nationalism common among the Gylian far-right. It supports the ethnic and cultural unity of the Gylic peoples, condemning the delineation of multiple Gylic peoples and languages as artificial and a means to weaken them.

Gylicists believe that the Gylics are one people, and that the Gylic languages are a single language, with the others dismissed as "dialects".

Gylicism and palingenetic ultranationalism form the common ideological elements of the Front for Renewal of Order and Society. The ideology is strongly unpopular and has been a main factor in the FROS' marginalisation and lack of success in politics. Columnist Esua Nadel wrote, "Gylicists are people who stand up and yell that the Gylics are one people, and then start brawling over which people they are — Aréş, Aðunese, Rezakan…"