Nationalism has been closely associated with the most destructive wars of human history; the revisionist states responsible for initiating both the First and the Second World Wars have historically been examined as the epitome of the dangers of nationalism. However, it must be noted that whilst there is a great deal of academic literature surrounding nationalism as a social and political phenomenon, there is little concerning the causal link between nationalism and war, scholars often taking the ‘war-causing character of nationalism for granted’. A nationalist group can be defined as a set of individuals holding their most important loyalty to their ethnic or national group, with this superseding other loyalties (such as political ideology, religious ideology, etc), although these additional influences may contribute to their cultural identity, which in turn may be central to their nationalist identity. It is also important to note that these individuals can share an identity despite never having met; hence leading to literature, such as that of Anderson, arguing that such mutual cultural identity central to nationalist groups is simply fictional and is invoked by political leaders in order to precipitate a desired political response. A key characteristic shared by those within a nationalist grouping is a shared cultural identity; this can be language, history, customs or religion, as well as myriad other influences. There are several key attributes that can help determine a nationalist group’s predisposition towards the use of violence (including war), as well as direct and indirect causality between nationalism and war. Using this framework an argument is drawn, stating that nationalism can provide the conditions needed for war; however it is incorrect to assume that all nationalist groups or states are more inclined to wage war than others.
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