Jingoism isnationalism in the form of aggressive and proactiveforeign policy, such as a country'sadvocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as itsnational interests.[1] Colloquially, jingoism is excessivebias in judging one's own country as superior to others – an extreme type of nationalism (seechauvinism andultranationalism).
The chorus of a song by the songwriterG. W. Hunt, popularized by the singerG. H. MacDermott – which was commonly sung in Britishpubs andmusic halls around the time of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 – gave birth to the term.[2][3][4] The lyrics included this chorus:[4]
We don't want to fight, butby Jingo if we do,
We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too.
TheRooshun bear we've thrashed before, and while we're Britons true,
The Rooshuns shall not haveConstantinople.
The capture of Constantinople was a long-standingRussian strategic aim, since it would have given the Russian Navy, based in theBlack Sea, unfettered access to theMediterranean Sea through theBosphorus and theDardanelles (known as the "Turkish Straits"); conversely, the British were determined to block the Russians, in order to protect their own access to trade routes. At the time when the above song was composed and sung, the Russians were nearing their goal, through theTreaty of San Stefano; eventually, the British were able to push the Russians back by means of diplomatic pressure and the threat of war.
The phrase "by Jingo" was aminced oath, scarcely documented in writing, used in place of "byJesus". The term may derive from the BasqueJinkoa "God".[5]
Use of the specific term "jingoism" stems from its coinage by prominent British radicalGeorge Holyoake, as a political label, in a letter to theDaily News on 13 March 1878.[6][7][8]
In the 1880s,Henry Hyndman, leader of theSocial Democratic Federation, turned against internationalism and promoted a version of socialism mixed withnationalism andantisemitism,[9]: 363 even to the point of attacking fellow socialistEleanor Marx in antisemitic terms, noting that she had "inherited in her nose and mouth the Jewish type fromKarl Marx himself". When taking part in the breakaway group which founded theSocialist League, Eleanor Marx wrote polemics in which she characterized Hyndman and his followers as "The Jingo Party".[10]
British artillery major-generalThomas Bland Strange, one of the founders of theCanadian Army and one of the divisional commanders during the 1885North-West Rebellion, was an eccentric and temperamental soldier who gained the nickname "Jingo Strange" and titled his 1893 autobiographyGunner Jingo's Jubilee.[11][12]
Probably the first uses of the term in the U.S. press occurred in connection with the proposedannexation of Hawaii in 1893, aftera coup led by foreign residents, mostly Americans, and assisted by theU.S. minister in Hawaii, overthrew theconstitutional monarchy and declareda republic. Republican presidentBenjamin Harrison and Republicans in the U.S. Senate were frequently accused of jingoism in the Democratic press for supporting annexation.[13]
Theodore Roosevelt was frequently accused of jingoism. In an article on 23 October 1895 inThe New York Times, Roosevelt stated: "There is much talk about 'jingoism'. If by 'jingoism' they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are 'jingoes'."[14]Donald Trump's speeches are also often described as jingoist.[15][16][17]
InHomage to Catalonia,George Orwell decries the tactics of political journalists and wishes for the introduction of aeroplanes into war in order to finally see "a jingo with a bullet hole in him".[18]
The policy ofappeasement towardHitler led to satirical references to the disappearance of such jingoistic attitudes when facing German aggression. A cartoon byE. H. Shepard titled "The Old-Fashioned Customer" appeared on the 28 March 1938 issue ofPunch. Set in a record shop,John Bull asks the record seller (Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain): "I wonder if you've got a song I remember about not wanting to fight, but if we do ... something, something, something ... we've got the money too?". On the wall is a portrait ofLord Salisbury.[19]
The rhetoric ofNorth Korea has been described as jingoist.[20][21][22]
Quotations related toJingoism at Wikiquote
The dictionary definition ofjingoism at Wiktionary