Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Communalism \Com"mu*nal*ism\, n.
   A French theory of government which holds that commune should
   be a kind of independent state, and the national government a
   confederation of such states, having only limited powers. It
   is advocated by advanced French republicans; but it should
   not be confounded with communism.

Source : WordNet®

communalism
     n 1: the practice of communal living and common ownership
     2: loyalty and commitment to the interests of your own minority
        or ethnic group rather than to society as a whole