Primordialism is the argument - put forward by both scholars and activists - which contends that nations are ancient, natural phenomena; that one has a nation as obviously as one has a measure of height. This stance is, of course, the stance of most nationalists.

Primordialism can be traced philosophically to the ideas of German Romanticism, particularly in the works of Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Johann Gottfried Herder. For Herder, the nation was synonymous with language group. In Herder's thinking, language was synonymous with thought, and as each language was learnt in community, then each community must think differently. This also suggests that the community would hold a fixed nature over time. In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant cultural movement of much of the nineteenth century. ... Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (May 19, 1762 - January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher, who has significance in the history of Western philosophy as one of the leading progenitors of German idealism and as a follower of Immanuel Kant. ... Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder (August 25, 1744 – December 18, 1803), German poet, critic, theologian, and philosopher, is best known for his influence on authors such as Goethe and the role he played in the development of the larger cultural movement known as romanticism. ...

Primordialism encountered enormous criticism after the Second World War, with many scholars of nationalism coming to treat the nation as a community constructed by the technologies and politics of modernity. Though largely discredited, some of its ideas have found parallel in ethnosymbolism.