Nationalism has taken an ugly and violent turn

Once again Nation readers are treated to a piece of British provincialism. The rise of nationalism in Western Europe was very much bound up with classical liberalism. The middle classes saw their emancipation with the growth of civil liberties and democracy. The ideas of the enlightenment very much influenced the young United States of America.
It is these liberal values which provide the tolerance and the rule of law upon which the foundations of democracy depend.
Modern nationalism is certainly no guarantee of peace. Look at the break-up of the old Yugoslavia. Look even at the United Kingdom itself, where in one part of it there are two competing nationalisms – republicanism (Irish nationalism) and unionism (British nationalism). There is the likelihood of a return to violence there due to the breakdown of the Good Friday Agreement.
Note also the various ethnic nationalisms in Thailand’s neighbour Myanmar, which have resulted in years of conflict as well as the recent Rohingya tragedy.
Few countries are made up of a single ethnic group. Indeed much of the world is made up of big multi-ethnic countries – the US, Russia, India, Brazil and China – that act and behave more like empires.
Ian Martin