Exceptionalism

Exceptionalism is the implicit or explicit thesis that a human group (country, society, institution, collective, movement or historical period) is in some exceptional way, and therefore falls outside the norms, principles, rights or obligations considered "normal". Numerous countries at all times have considered themselves "exceptional" at some point in their history, such as the United States, the United Kingdom in the era of the British Empire, Imperial Japan, France, Spain, Israel, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The justifications for this supposed exceptionality vary in each case, and include arguments of a racial, cultural, historical and perceptual nature about the "spirit" or "destiny".

Exceptionalism may appear in human groups as a mechanism to exaggerate apparent differences or to obtain specific legal or behavioral privileges.

wiki