> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nationalism.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nationalism.io/cultural-nationalism/recommended-usage.md).

# Recommended usage

Cultural nationalism is most suitable for states that want to preserve a stable common culture and social cohesion while still allowing outsiders to join through assimilation.

Cultural nationalism is most suitable for nation-states that want to preserve a relatively stable national culture and maintain stronger social cohesion, but which do not view ancestry itself as the essential basis of nationhood. It is best suited to societies that are willing to accept outsiders into the nation on the condition that they assimilate into the host culture and adopt the political framework, while still attempting to preserve continuity with the nation’s historical customs, language, values and social norms.

However, the ability of cultural nationalism to protect culture is limited in practice. Culture is often complex, difficult to fully define and difficult for outsiders to perfectly assimilate into, especially when it involves deep social norms, implicit behaviours, historical memory and inherited ways of life rather than only language or formal customs. This means cultural nationalism is only realistically effective at preserving culture when immigration remains limited enough that newcomers can be absorbed without significantly reshaping the host society. If protecting the historical culture is a high priority, then only a relatively small amount of immigration is likely to be compatible with that goal.

At higher rates of immigration, even with formal expectations of assimilation, cultural change becomes much harder to avoid. In practice, migrants do not only adapt to the host culture; they also influence and reshape it. Over time, large inflows can alter language use, public norms, family patterns, religion, social expectations and the broader character of national life. As a result, cultural nationalism may slow cultural change compared with civic nationalism, but it cannot reliably prevent major cultural transformation if migration levels are high enough.

For this reason, cultural nationalism works best when the most important parts of the national culture can be defined with reasonable clarity and when immigration is kept at a level that gives assimilation a realistic chance of succeeding. It is therefore more suitable for societies that want some openness, but only under conditions where cultural continuity remains meaningfully protected. It is less suitable for states pursuing large-scale immigration while also expecting to preserve a historically distinct culture with only limited change.

Overall, cultural nationalism is best used where stable national culture, integration and social cohesion are prioritised, but where the nation is still willing to allow a limited number of outsiders to become full members through assimilation rather than descent alone.