Negatives Of Nationalism

Before we can contemplate the political psychology of a typical nationalist, we must define what nationalism is. I define nationalism as a sense of attachment to a nation, and according to Cottam et al., a nation-state exists “when the average citizen of a country is a nationalist.” (Cottam et al. 294) The United States is in itself, a nation-state. Nationalism leads to a variety of effects including the reduction of cooperation, and the increased production and motivation of the citizenry. There are strong arguments both ways as to whether nationalism is a benefit or a problem. I believe that nationalism cannot fall into either category as nationalism provides both positives and negatives to the individual, the country, and domestic and foreign …show more content…
First, nationalists “tend to be more sensitive than non-nationalists to threats to the nation-state, and the image through which they view the threatener is extreme.” (294) Second, nationalists are always open to expanding the influence of their nation. An example of this is the Chinese expansion into the South China Sea which is seen as China increasing their military influence on the region. Third, “there will be a greater tendency among the public of nation-states to be deeply concerned with the objective of gathering together communities existing outside the borders of the state whom they regard as a part of their national community.” (295) Recent Russian actions fit the third tendency suitably. For example, Russia is a country that is highly nationalistic. Crimea, a portion of Ukraine, belonged to Russia until 1954. Crimea speaks Russian and is mostly ethnic …show more content…
This is seen by the way in which nationalists see others under image theory. There are seven different possible images of others. When an enemy is present, the best approach is containment in which “preventing them from becoming more powerful or achieving its desired goals, may be all you can do.” (69) Containment policies were seen during the Cold War which lead to conservative foreign policies and ramped up military production on the domestic side. The second image is the barbarian. When this image is present, the foreign and domestic policy strategy is to search for allies and contain the barbarian. An example of the barbarian image was the Mongols. The third possible image is the imperialist. An example of the imperialist image is the way in which Mexico views the United States. The policy strategy for the imperialist image is to “maintain the relationship as it is currently conducted, with the imperial group making major decisions and allowing symbolic concessions to the colonial subject group.” (71) The fourth image is the rouge. In the current standing of international politics, North Korea could be seen in the rouge image. North Korea has altered our foreign policy and will continue to do so in the future. When dealing with the rouge image, one must teach the rouge a lesson, and “that lesson is taught with force.” (72) While I would agree that one must not be afraid of the use of force in this situation, a combination