Why Nationalism?

Abstract

The burning problems of our times - such as the growing gap between the South and the North, the need for general disarmament, the world capitalist crisis, the threat of ecological catastrophe - are obviously of an international character. They can hardly be solved on a local, regional or national scale. However. at the same time as the world economy is becoming more and more unified by multinational capitalism, a spectacular tide of nationalism is rising, in Europe and on a world scale, submerging everything on its way. While some national movements are emancipatory and progressive, nationalism is very often a 'false solution' to the economic, social, political and ecological challenges of our times. Why then has it become so popular in so many countries and areas of the world?