THE MYTH OF BENIGN GROUP IDENTITY - A CRITIQUE OF LIBERAL NATIONALISM

Some political theorists claim that a nationalism that acknowledges th e authority of liberal moral principles can avoid the violent excesses that have given nationalism a bad name. On this view, the cure for na tionalist violence is not a rejection of nationalism in all its forms, but the cultivation of liberal nationalism. Drawing on the insights o f Hobbes and Locke on the sources of violent conflict, I argue instead that any nationalism-liberal or otherwise-encourages the unjust use o f violence. Nationalism is dangerous in any form because it cannot be dissociated from certain attitudes that, even though not violent in th emselves, still make violence more likely.