ABSTRACT
This chapter connects geopolitics to national identity. It begins by defining the state, nation, and nation-state and argues that the misuse of the term nation-state is an important geopolitical representation. The politics of nationalism is introduced by looking at top-down and banal nationalism, on the one hand; and bottom-up or ethno-nationalism, on the other hand. The violent process of bottom-up nationalism, including the killing and expulsion of ethnic groups, is presented in abstract and exemplified through a discussion of the Syrian civil war. The concepts of militarism and militarization are introduced and explained through the perspective of feminist geopolitics, and exemplified through a discussion of Korean “comfort women” and the continued tensions with Japan. The example of Myanmar/Burma is used to suggest that national identity should not be thought of as a simple binary of insider/outsider. The chapter concludes by discussing nationalism within the processes of globalization.
