Nationalism was beneficial to 19th and 20th century Europeans.

For readers purposes and so our definition is clear, I posted the definition. naï¿½tionï¿½alï¿½ism /ˈnï¿½ʃənlˌɪzəm, ˈnï¿½ʃnəˌlɪz-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[nash-uh-nl-iz-uhm, nash-nuh-liz-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1. national spirit or aspirations. 2. devotion and loyalty to one's own nation; patriotism. 3. excessive patriotism; chauvinism. 4. the desire for national advancement or independence. 5. the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations. 6. an idiom or trait peculiar to a nation. 7. a movement, as in the arts, based upon the folk idioms, history, aspirations, etc., of a nation. Nationalism has done wonders for Europe! Nationalism has never been a bad thing. It has incouraged the unifications of people, lead the the growth of nations, and it has caused to properity of industy and economies. Before nationalism swept through europe, the whole europe was on the verge of the dark ages part II. Rulers were poorly equipt to rule their subjects, every single european economy was hitting rock bottom, and conflicts and tensions were building. Nationalism allowed for the subjects themselves to come together and overthrow old governments and reinstate new ones. It allowed them to come together as a people and create success as a nation. Instead of being subjects of King _____, they became Citizens of a nation. They became germans, french, serbian, spanish, english. They became nations instead of kingdoms. I have a hard time seeing how that is a bad thing. In fact, it was those very circumstances that lead to the explosion of democracy in Europe after WWII and throughout the cold war. You argue that nationalism ignited WWI. Nationalism was hardly a cause. Militarism contributed HUGELY. Imperialism is what started all of the tension in the first place, and alliances ultimately set off the fuse. In fact, they way I see it, nationalism only contributed by allowing nations to become united enough to be a threat, and uniting people is not a bad thing. WWII was the result of Fascism, not nationalism. People desperate for relief submitted to their governments, giving all of the power to dictators. It was these dictators and their imperialistic and militaristic fantasies and started WWII, not nationalism. In fact, by WWII the nationalistic revolutions were coming to an end. If you want further argument that Nationalism is not a bad thing, then check out the hub of nationalism, the United States. Aside from France... there is probably no nation on earth that can reach the level of nationalism the the United States has reached, yet we have been incredibly successful. No nation on earth has been able to match our military strength (though they are catching up...), the people are united in great causes such as charities and disaster relief programs, the government is devoted to democracy, and (generally speaking of course) the united states is arguably the most tolerant nation on Earth (dont let the europeans critisisms fool you. If their people were so tolerant then why are their minorities setting cars on fire???). The point is, nationalism is only guilty of bringing success to nations and even equality to all citizens.