Is Nationalism a Good Thing? It Depends.
From the United Kingdom to Spain to the Balkans, it has become common practice in Europe to refer to secessionist groups of various types as “nationalists.” Sometimes the term is employed as a pejorative term, and often not. Scottish nationalists, for example, often refer to themselves as nationalists. On the other hand, sometimes the term “nationalist” is employed to disparage separatist groups. It was easy to get this impression during the height of the most recent conflict over Catalan separatism in Spain.