Answer

Vermeylen tells us two important things about the mindset of most Flamingants: (1) they saw the Flemish people as an enclosed, clearly defined, uniform group of people bound together by common descent and origin; (2) given that speaking about ‘the Flemings’ always implies speaking about their differences with others, Flamingants tended allot other peoples an inferior position (barring those which they believed were closely related to the Flemings: e.g. “our Germanic brothers”) and often perceived France in particular as an enemy. With this, Vermeylen sums up two features of etnic nationalism: (1) it is generally inward-looking, emphasizing ethnic markers (language, descent), culture, religion or customs as unifying factors rather than national frontiers or state or official institutions; (2) implying a belief in the specialness and uniqueness of a people, ethnic nationalism often turns into feelings of superiority and an antagonistic perception of other cultures and other peoples.

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