A country needs enemies, real or imagined, in order to maintain its identity.

A country needs enemies, real or imagined, in order to maintain its identity.

10:30-11

Since the beginnings of human inhabitance there have been many instances of rivalry between various societies, empires and even countries. A country strives to be unique from another country because it has different cultures and values that have been part of their heritage or roots. In some cases, it is indispensable to have some form of opposition or enemy to maintain a unique identity and in others it is not.

Consider a situation in which a country needs an enemy to maintain unique identity. For example, the United States was formed in response to the colonization from the British. During the American colonial period the British monarchy set up a number of colonies in North America and held sovereignty over them. As the colonies grew and thrived from the abundance of natural resources, the British monarchy created unrest amongst the colonists by taxing them on usage of natural resources and imports from Britain. The colonists were taxed by the British without a fair representative body in the British legislative assembly. As a result, the colonists viewed themselves as separate entity and an ocean away. Also many colonists questioned how the Parliament could support them if they did not have fair representation in Parliament. Eventually, revolutionists gained control of the 13 colonies and rejected the unfair authority by the British monarchy. The British labeled the colonists as traitors and soon colonists declared war for independence. The 13 colonies started out as self governing states, however when war broke out ,and British officially became the enemy. Thus a common enemy brought unity amongst the colonies for a common purpose and gave birth to a new identity, the USA.

On the other hand, a country may not need an enemy to maintain unique identity. A nation that adopts a treaty or policy has set of responsibilities or rights to fulfill. A neutral nation does not participate in foreign affairs and other countries may not invade another country. For example, Switzerland is a neutral country that does not hold any allegiance to any other country. Given neutrality, Switzerland often acts as a mediator between parties. In Geneva, Switzerland many peace talks for treaties have taken place between many conflicting countries. Therefore it is evident that Switzerland maintains an identity without enemies on the world stage. So in the case of Switzerland, enemies are not necessary to distinguish or maintain identity.

All in all, a country needing enemies to maintaining an identity is circumstantial. New identities often require enemies to distinguish themselves from the enemy and maintain their uniqueness. This is especially true in the case of the formation of the USA from British oppression. On the other hand, older and more established countries that are neutral such as Switzerland don’t need enemies but have own culture, customs and history to maintain unique identity.