No. of Recommendations: 3
I’m not retired, so my time to dedicate to this discussion is limited.
No worries. I've enjoyed the conversation.
Let me conclude by saying that ideology is a powerful thing.
I completely agree. Where I disagree is the implicit assumption that nationalism is responsible for, or is the source of, the ideology that causes all of the legitimate issues (and horrors) you identify. I submit that it is not. The world has been filled with those horrors since recorded history, long before and irrespective of the existence of the modern nation-state. Whether nation-state, kingdom, empire, feudal fiefdoms, church-state, or just a "people." The horrors that stem from "us vs. them" are not in any way contingent on having a Westphalian nation-state.
I suspect you cling to the idea that ethnic cleansing was a reasonable solution to the problems created by the British decolonization process on the Indian subcontinent because you cling to the same idea for the Palestinian question for Zionism.
That's grossly unfair of you. I do not believe that ethnic cleansing was a reasonable solution to decolonization of India. The ethnic cleansing was horrible. It should never have happened. But I believe that creating two political entities - two states - was a reasonable way to keep that from being worse. Had they not partitioned India, the ethnic cleansing still would have happened. Just many, many times worse. The country still would have split, but instead of the horrors of Partition there would have been the even worse horrors of a full-out civil war.
The ethnic cleansing wasn't caused by the fact that the immediate post-colonial structure was two states rather than one - it was caused by the fact that people in the Muslim regions considered themselves to be a separate people from the rest of the Raj. The Partition did not create that belief. It prevented that belief from expressing itself in a horrific civil war.
I believe the same was true within the Mandate area of Palestine. With two peoples, having two states would have been much more stable and avoided many of the horrors that we have seen over the years.
There can be no solutions within a nationalist framework.
The nationalist framework has nothing to do with it. Whether the two peoples are to be structured (or desire to be structured) as nation-states, kingdoms, quasi-religious theocracies, or any other system of organizing their society will have no impact on the conflict. The two peoples want autonomy and independence from the control of the other. That's why the Palestinians were fighting against the Jordanians when Jordan had control over the West Bank, even though the Palestinians were given full citizenship and seats in the Jordanian parliament and everything. They didn't only want rights (though certainly that) - they wanted independence and autonomy. Their own country (whether a nation-state or any other type of country). That desire will out, regardless of the shape of the government or societal order.
