Question

How can nationalism be both a unifying and a dividing force? I have to have three examples of each, and I only have three total right now ^_^

Answer 1

What do you have?

Answer 2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism

I think this might help you a bit.

Answer 3

@wwhitlock Currently, I have two cons and one pro (that were almost explicitly stated by my teacher, oops)
Cons:
ethnic cleansing of newly formed nation
forcible assimilation of minorities and minority cultures

Pros:
pride in nation -> kinship of the people

Answer 4

Nationalism can lead to imperialism, right? A country gets too prideful, they invade another one or seize land in the name of their country. That would be a con, wouldn't it?

Answer 5

National boundaries are usually arbitrarily set. This is easy to see in the Middle East where some European, (British) sat down and drew some lines and created Iraq, Jordan and Syria. Then the UN drew some lines and made the country of Israel.
Lots of other examples.
Another Con would be displaced people. That goes along with ethnic cleansing and forced assimilation. but it's not as violent. People don't feel that the place the live is their home anymore and try to go someplace where they fit in.

Pros would be a stable government. Often, leading up to becoming a nation, tribes or other groups were fighting for control. So you may live in a place that is controlled by one place and then another. Also foreign governments know who is in charge in your country so they can work out trade agreements and treaties.
Another pro is that people learn to get along. Yes the US killed a lot of Indians, that's only one bad thing we've done. But now we have pretty much figure how to live together. Contrast that with Japan. The Ainu people live on Hokkaido island and were ruled by Japanese from about 1100s. The Ainu rebelled from time to time. About 1850 the Japanese just sent lots and lots of settlers there until the Aino had married in or died out. No body talks much about the Ainu in Japan anymore.

Answer 6

Thanks guys! I think I have enough not only for me but to help my classmates too if needed x)

Answer 7

Good to know! Nicely done.

Answer 8

Thank you is the best reply to me