These theories interpret nationalism through the prism of warfare and geopolitics while largely neglecting the internal social dynamics of nationhood. The first part of the paper offers a review of the classical and contemporary bellicit theories of state formation. In this chapter, I explore how warfare shapes state formation and what role nationalism plays in this relationship. More often than not nationalism emerges as an indirect consequence of larger structural changes including the making, breaking, and reshuffling of states. However, nationalism is rarely if ever a direct cause of violence.
More recently the global rise of nativist and populist movements defined by pronounced hostility to immigrants has reinforced this image of nationalism as a force of darkness. The violent collapse of communist federations in 1990s and genocide in Rwanda firmly established the popular perception of nationalism as an extremist and violence-prone ideology. With the collapse of the imperial order in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the anti-colonial nationalisms were held responsible for the disarray and protracted brutal conflicts witnessed throughout Asia and Africa. Initially nationalist ideologies were blamed for the rise of fascist movements that brought about the most destructive war ever fought on this planet.
Since the end of the WWII, nationalism has mostly been associated with disorder and violence.
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