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"nationalism - the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations."
As with many things on the surface nationalism doesn't appear to be innocuous. Placing one's own national interests frist seems to be a good idea but the problems arise when one's own national interests are detrimental to the interests of other nations. We have seen this in US foreign policies where interventionism based upon nationalism has lead to the support of tyrannical dictators (the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" philiosophy), support for terrorist rebel groups (when we disapprove of another nation's government), and the outright invasions of other nations to acquire their national assets (e.g. the Iraq War).
The US is often cited for its hypocracy when dealing with other nations because of its nationalistic policies. For example, we endorse the rights and liberties of Americans but do not extend those same rights and liberties to others. We lock up people without trial or even criminal charges because "they are foreigners" and not Americans. We authorize extra-judical executions. It is okay to torture "foreigners" because they aren't Americans.
Of course such actions are rightfully condemned by others.
A nation, any nation, must consider its actions within the context of the world. No nation stands alone and nationalism denies this fact. It places one's own national interests beyond considerations of the impacts of national actions.
By way of analogy let us consider a business deal. In a good business deal both parties benefit. Using the criteria of nationalism one side would benefit and the other would suffer
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