Patriotism and Human Rights

Abstract

The paper focuses on the question as to whether patriotism can be reconciled with human rights. It lays out the more conventional arguments which perceive them as incommensurable concepts. A central aspect of this incommensurability relates to the close historical tie between patriotism and the state. One further dimension of this argument is then articulated, namely, the contention that patriotism is an explicitly political concept. The implicit antagonism between, on the one hand, the state, politics, and patriotism, and, on the other hand, human rights, is illustrated via the work of Carl Schmitt. However, in the last few decades, particularly there has been a resurgence of interest in patriotism and an attempt to formulate a more moderated form, which tries to reconcile itself with universal ethical themes. Some of these arguments are briefly summarized; the discussion then focuses on Jürgen Habermas’s understanding of constitutional patriotism. This is seen to provide an effective response to Schmitt’s arguments. However, there are weaknesses in the constitutional patriotic argument which relate to its limited understanding of both the state and politics. This leads me to formulate an argument on “unpatriotic patriotism.” The discussion then examines and responds to certain potential criticisms and weaknesses in the unpatriotic patriotism argument.