1. exclusive attention to or concern with one's own group, party, sect, or nation
2. a political theory that each political group has a right to promote its own interests and especially to govern itself without outside interference
Usage: political theory
3. exclusive or special devotion to a particular interest

Examples

• The rise of particularism in the region led to increased tensions between ethnic groups.
• Critics argued that the policy reflected dangerous particularism rather than national unity.
• Religious particularism prevented cooperation between the different denominations.
• The professor's particularism made him an expert in medieval poetry but ignorant of other literature.
• Political particularism threatened to fragment the newly formed coalition government.
• Her particularism toward local issues sometimes blinded her to broader concerns.