Nationalism In Europe Nationalism can be defined as having a sense of belonging and loyalty to ones country or nation state. It is the belief that people derive their identity from their nation and therefore owe their nation their primary loyalty. Nationhood can include a common language, religion, political authority, as well as common traditions and shared history. Of all the European nations, France was the first to sport the idea of nationalism. Many countries became influenced by the French's ideas of nationalism, as a result nationalism had spread throughout Europe by the nineteenth and twentieth century. One result that nationalism had on Europe was the wanting of unification