communalism

American  

[kuh-myoon-l-iz-uhm, kom-yuh-nl-] / kəˈmyun lˌɪz əm, ˈkɒm yə nl- /

noun

1. a theory or system of government according to which each commune is virtually an independent state and the nation is merely a federation of such states.

2. the principles or practices of communal ownership.

3. strong allegiance to one's own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole.

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communalism British  

/ ˈkɒmjʊnəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. a system or theory of government in which the state is seen as a loose federation of self-governing communities

2. an electoral system in which ethnic groups vote separately for their own representatives

3. loyalty to the interests of one's own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole

4. the practice or advocacy of communal living or ownership

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Other Word Forms

• communalist noun
• communalistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of communalism

First recorded in 1870–75; communal + -ism

Example Sentences

And while there are certainly also toxic forms of communalism, I more often see my clients blaming themselves for struggling to connect and needing to connect at all.

From Seattle Times

The practice of polygamy is the best known of these, but the church also experimented with economic communalism for decades.

From Washington Post

“From a feminist viewpoint the major achievement of most communitarian experiments was ending the isolation of the housewife,” wrote Dolores Hayden in her classic study of feminist communalism, “The Grand Domestic Revolution.”

From New York Times

Professor Catherine Liu, who recently taught a class at the University of California at Irvine on the history of selfies, likens young people and selfie-taking to the communalism movement of the 1960s.

From Salon

Mani Shankar Aiyar, a former minister, wrote in a pointed column on Monday that revoking Kashmir’s autonomy would bring “simmering communalism, rising political tensions, unending hit-and-run terrorism, asymmetric armed struggle, and guerrilla insurrection.”

From New York Times