Context

• Recently the Indian Prime Minister made an appeal encouraging citizens to adopt restraint, self-reliance, and responsible consumption.
• It reflects a growing trend in modern governance where governments increasingly depend on behavioural messaging during crises.
• These appeals were welcomed by some as practical nationalism capable of strengthening India’s economic resilience and reducing dependence on external systems and others viewed them as realistic responses to a fragile global economy.
• While responsible citizenship and support for domestic industries are important, behavioural appeals alone cannot resolve structural economic and institutional problems.

The Shift from State Responsibility to Citizen Responsibility

• Weakening of the Social Contract
  • Modern democracies function through a social contract in which citizens pay taxes, obey laws, and participate in democratic processes, while governments provide public goods, health care, education, infrastructure, and economic stability.
  • Governments are expected not merely to advise citizens during crises, but to create resilient systems capable of protecting society from economic and geopolitical shocks.
  • A serious concern arises when governments respond to structural crises mainly through symbolic appeals for sacrifice and patriotism without implementing equivalent institutional reforms.
  • Such an approach gradually shifts responsibility from the state to individuals.
• A Global Trend in Governance
  • This phenomenon is not limited to India. Across the world, governments facing inflation, climate change, energy insecurity, or economic slowdown often urge citizens to reduce consumption, recycle more, or conserve electricity.
  • While individual behaviour matters, such appeals frequently obscure the larger role of governments, corporations, and global systems in shaping outcomes.
  • Structural crises ultimately require structural solutions.

Limits of Behavioural Nationalism

• Interconnected Global Economy
  • The modern global economy is deeply interconnected through trade, technology, finance, and energy systems.
  • No country can achieve complete insulation through behavioural nationalism alone.
  • Patriotism may inspire social unity, but it cannot replace long-term economic planning, scientific investment, and policy coherence.
  • True national resilience depends on capable institutions and sustained public investment.
• The Asymmetry in Expectations
  • Citizens are repeatedly advised to conserve resources, become self-reliant, and adapt to uncertainty.
  • However, governments rarely issue equivalent commitments regarding transparency, public accountability, or institutional reform.
  • During periods of instability, a more important democratic question emerges: what should governments do for citizens?

Responsibilities of the Government

• Strengthening Social Protection
  • The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that resilient societies depend on strong public institutions rather than merely disciplined citizens.
  • Greater investment is needed in primary health care, emergency preparedness, nutrition, education, and mental health services.
• Addressing Economic Inequality
  • Governments must confront rising economic inequality and labour insecurity.
  • Economic resilience cannot emerge solely through patriotic appeals when millions remain unemployed or trapped within the informal economy and gig work without adequate social security.
• Investing in Education and Innovation
  • Long-term investment in scientific research, public universities, and innovation ecosystems is essential for genuine self-reliance.
  • National strength is built through laboratories, manufacturing capacity, and scientific temper rather than slogans alone.
• Building Public Trust
  • Governments must strengthen public trust through honest communication and democratic openness, for, during crises, trust becomes a strategic national asset.
  • Citizens cooperate more effectively when governments acknowledge uncertainties and allow independent institutions, experts, and media to function freely.
• Promoting Climate Resilience
  • Greater investment in climate resilience and sustainable urbanisation is necessary.
  • Asking citizens to conserve electricity while cities continue to suffer from poor planning, shrinking green spaces, and inadequate public transport addresses symptoms rather than root causes.
• Ensuring Regulatory Stability
  • National resilience also depends on regulatory stability and predictable governance for businesses, workers, researchers, and entrepreneurs.
  • Institutional consistency is essential for long-term economic growth.
• Protecting Democratic Dialogue
  • Governments must safeguard democratic dialogue rather than labelling criticism as anti-national.
  • Democracies grow stronger through open debate, intellectual diversity, and institutional criticism.

The Path Forward: The Need for Strong Institutions

• Environmental awareness, social solidarity, and support for domestic industries are valuable civic duties.
• However, these cannot substitute for governance itself. Democracies cannot function effectively if governments merely offer behavioural advice while citizens bear the consequences of structural vulnerabilities.
• India’s aspiration to become a major economic and geopolitical power requires strong institutions, evidence-based policymaking, investment in human capital, and a renewed social contract where governments accept greater responsibility for national resilience. 

Conclusion

• Behavioural nationalism may encourage unity and responsible citizenship during uncertain times, but it cannot replace institutional strength and accountable governance.
• National resilience is built not only through citizen discipline, but through accountability, foresight, public investment, and policy seriousness.
• The true test of leadership lies in creating systems capable of protecting citizens during crises while preserving democratic values and institutional trust.