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Pan-nationalism is a specific term, used mainly in social sciences as a designation for those forms of nationalism that are trying to transcend traditional boundaries of basic national identities, in order to create a "higher" pan-national identity, based on various common denominators. Pan-nationalism can occur as a specific variant of all common forms of nationalism. In relation to classical state nationalism, pan-nationalism manifests itself through various political movements that are advocating the creation of "higher" forms of political identity, based on a regional or continental grouping of national states. In terms of ethnic nationalism, pan-nationalism can also manifest itself through specific ethnic movements that are advocating the creation of "higher" forms of common identity that is based on ethnic grouping. Other forms of nationalism also have their pan-national variants.
Some forms of pan-nationalism, such as Pan-Germanism, manifest themselves on two levels: wider - relating to the unity of all Germanic peoples - and narrower - relating to the unity of all ethnic Germans, also including German-speaking Austrians and German-speaking Swiss people, many of who may not identify as strictly "German", while still belonging to the wider family of Germanic peoples.