What is a Nation?
In the United States, over the past few years, events such as the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer and movements such as Black Lives Matter have been putting into question how committed the United States of America is to treating its black citizens fairly. One major point of criticism is the “systemic racism” that permeates public life in the country, putting black people at a disadvantage in the job market, education, academia and politics. On the other hand, many of the most ardent supporters of former president Donald Trump display confederate flags, suggesting nostalgic memories of the pre-civil war period. In Russia, president Vladimir Putin is accusing Ukraine of being a stooge of Western powers bent on destroying Russian society and threatening the nation’s very existence. He seems to claim that Ukraine is a part of Russian national identity which the west is trying to take away. In Europe, during the 2010s a series of anti-EU movements emerged in various