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It's no secret that anarchists

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don't like states.

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In fact, we anarchists

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are generally defined by our rejection of,

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and opposition to state institutions,

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such as governments, police, and prisons.

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But while opposing these

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physical manifestations of the state

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is certainly an important part 


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of anarchist practice,

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anarchist critiques of the state

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go much further, and include

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the underlying social relationships

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and ideologies that have historically

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been used to create states,

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and to uphold their authority.

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One of the most important


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of these concepts is nationalism.

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So what is it, exactly?

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And what do anarchists have against it?

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Well... basically

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nationalism is a kind of social glue

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that holds together people

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of different ethnic, tribal, linguistic,

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religious and cultural groupings

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into a single defined population


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linked to a specific geographic territory.

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The problem with nationalism is not

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necessarily that it it’s a glue -

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there are plenty of examples

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of organic nationalism, based on

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shared culture, language and history,

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and in fact, many anarchists have been

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heavily influenced by,

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and have even participated in

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struggles motivated by nationalism,

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such as the resistance waged

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by Indigenous nations

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against their colonial oppressors,

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or the establishment, in 1929,

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of the Shinmin Autonomous Zone

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by Chinese, Korean and Japanese anarchists

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fighting against Japanese imperialism.

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The problem with nationalism lies in its

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tendency to mask social contradictions

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among a population,

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thereby allowing for the reproduction

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of hierarchies,

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which in turn end up producing

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a new state structure.

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Which is another way of saying that

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nationalism is a force

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that groups people together in a way

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that tends to maintain the division

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of the human race into competing states.

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In countries with strong

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state institutions,

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nationalism is more commonly referred to

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as patriotism

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and everyone is conditioned

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from a young age to believe

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that loving your country is one of the

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most important, natural things you can do.

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In school we are forced to stand

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every morning for the national anthem

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and taught a heavily sanitized version

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of our nation's history. 


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We even celebrate its birthday every year.

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...with fireworks, no less.

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Because nationalism is so ingrained

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into our lives, customs and beliefs,

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many people would be surprised to learn

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that it is a relatively new thing.

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While some countries, such as China,

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have existed as a more or less

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unified territory for thousands of years,

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others, such as Italy,

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have been around for less than 150.

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And lots of states are even younger

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than that.


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For most of human history

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nation states simply did not exist.

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Instead, the world was split up

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into city-states, ruled by kingdoms

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and empires, whose borders

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were in a constant state of flux.

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Back then, most people lived simple lives

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as farmers, and had very little contact

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with what we now understand as the state.

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And because languages were mostly

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passed on orally,

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many different dialects flourished

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and existed side by side.


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Although nationalism emerged

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in different parts of the world

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at different times,

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the development of the modern nation-state

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is often associated with

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the early development of capitalism

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and European colonial expansion

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beginning in the 16th century.

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The race to plunder the world of its land

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and resources kicked off

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an intense competition between

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kingdoms in Europe,

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leading to the proliferation

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and gradual consolidation of states

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with clearly defined borders.


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In the so-called “New World”, settlers

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from a variety of European nations

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forged new collective national identities

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born of the shared experience

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of racial domination over

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Indigenous nations

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and enslaved Africans.


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During the mid-19th century

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many states first began introducing

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centralized education systems,

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further facilitating nationalist

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indoctrination, and helping to

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eliminate remaining linguistic

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and cultural differences.

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In extreme cases


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such as the Residential Schools system

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in so-called Canada,

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this practice amounted to

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full fledged genocide.

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Not content with their pillage

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of the Americas,

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European colonialists carved up Africa

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and the former Ottoman Empire

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into arbitrarily defined states,

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which in turn produced

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nationalist strong-men

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who brutally massacred linguistic

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and ethnic minorities, such as

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the Armenians and the Kurds

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in the Middle East.

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Nationalism relies on grand, unifying

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narratives to bind populations together

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in pursuit of a common destiny.

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Whether this assumes the form

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of the individualistic pursuit

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of the so-called American Dream,

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or the Nazis' pursuit of the Third Reich;


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whether the heavily militarized

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ethno-religious protectionism of Israel,

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or the totalitarian self-reliance

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of North Korea's Juche,

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nationalism provides

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an ideological framework

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for the manipulation and social control

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of large groups of people.

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It provides a sense of

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collective belonging

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and unity of purpose,

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while simultaneously helping to justify

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the massive application of state violence

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towards perceived “others”.

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Human history is awash in blood

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justified in the name of nationalism,

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from ethnic cleansing and genocide,

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to aggressive wars

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launched in defense of abstract,

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emotion-laden concepts

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such as freedom

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or the glory of the fatherland.

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Rather than limiting ourselves

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to the narrow perspective of nationalism,

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anarchists put forward

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the competing concept of internationalism.

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This flows from the realization that

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borders and nations

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are artificial constructs

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meant to divide us

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and that struggles for freedom and dignity

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waged anywhere in the world

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are deserving of our solidarity

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and support.

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That rather than fighting

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and dying in wars for the sake

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of the rich and powerful,

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oppressed people should unite

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to wage war against our common oppressors.

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And finally, that for

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humanity to reach its full potential

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and come together to confront the problems

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that we face as a species

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...we require nothing less

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than a global revolution.