National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic.
The classic definition is by Miroslav Hroch, who wrote that national revivals take place within a "nondominant ethnic group" characterized by lack of "'its own' nobility or ruling classes," possessing no state and with a "literary tradition in its own language" that is "incomplete or interrupted."
A national revival begins when a group of educated members of such an "ethnic community" conclude that their group is a "nation" that needs to be "awakened, revived, and made aware," and to achieve recognition from other nations.
This educated group then initiates a "national movement" which entails, "purposeful activity aimed at achieving all the attributes of a fully formed nation.
"[1] In The Dynamics of Cultural Nationalism: The Gaelic Revival and the Creation of the Irish Nation State, (2003), John Hutchinson argues that a national revival can serve as a focus for nationalist activity in lieu of opportunities for political or military movement toward autonomy.