Foreign Policy
June 4, 2019
Abstract
Way back in 2011, I wrote a column for Foreign Policy on “the most powerful force in the world.” The powerful force I had in mind wasn’t nuclear deterrence, the Internet, God, Lady Gaga, or even the bond market; it was nationalism. The idea that humans form distinct tribes based on a common language, culture, ethnicity, and self-awareness, and that such groups ought to be able to govern themselves, has shaped the history of the past 500 years in ways that many people still do not fully appreciate.
Citation
Walt, Stephen. "You Can’t Defeat Nationalism, So Stop Trying." Foreign Policy, June 4, 2019.