Ethnic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from historical cultural or hereditary groupings (ethnicities); the underlying assumption is that ethnicities should be politically distinct. This was developed by Johann Gottfried von Herder, who introduced the concept of the Volk (German for Folk).

Romantic nationalism is a form of ethnic nationalism infused with Romanticism.

Ethnic nationalism is often simply referred to as "nationalism".

Fascism is usually marked by virulent ethnic nationalism, the most extreme example being Nazism in Nazi Germany.

The concepts homeland, fatherland, and motherland are notorious for having sometimes been used as an ethnic nationalist concept, sometimes with fascist or war-mongering connotations.

See also

• nationalism for ethnic nationalism conflicts and ethnic nationalist organizations.
• territorial dispute for a list of territorial disputes, many of which involve ethnic nationalism.
• irredentism, revanchism
• racism for concepts of ethnic/racial distinction, segregation, supremacism