. Thus when Smith defines nationalism as such, he focuses on it as a concept, not as a fact. He sees it as an "ideological movement for attaining and maintaining the autonomy, unity, and identity of an existing or potential 'nation'" (108). The ideology factor is very important, and it is a part of the definition of nationalism by Renan, who describes the idea of a nation in terms of concepts -- as a spiritual principle, a feeling, a community with a rich legacy of shared memories and a history and heritage that are recognized as important, to which present-day individuals can relate.
According to Renan, the individual who is nationalistic feels significant because of the inheritance of community feeling of solidarity. Also important about nationalism is what it is not. Nationalism does not come about only because of race, ethnic identity, language, religion, or mountains and rivers, even though these elements may have a role in creating a sense of community. Renan also discounts the idea that nationalism is a matter of royal houses and conquests that impose boundaries and provinces on the mass of people. Also, the sense of community and culture are not necessarily enclosed inside territorial boundaries or shared by all people who are inside that boundary. The way to prove that, according to Renan, is to look at all the disputes between peoples over the same territories. In that regard, Smith cites the "alien" feeling of peoples who are enclosed in one nation but do not feel a part of it; he gives the example of the Jews' alienation from the nation of France at the time of the Dreyfus treason affair.
Smith develops the view that nationalism is a modern phenomenon. Like Renan, he discounts the power of language, ethnicity, and so on as the sole features of nationalism, even though there may be an
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