War and Nation Building in Latin America: Crash Course World History 225

They are citizens of a country fighting for a common cause. But Latin American armies were small, and the economic and social hierarchy between officers and soldiers was more pronounced than in, say, the United States or Europe. Another reason for the relative lack of

nation

alism in Latin America is the lack of an external enemy. If we look, for example, at European

nation

alism, we find that one of its most important characteristics is the presence of a clearly defined “other.” which is used to create nationalistic feelings and a sense of common identity. As for the Creole peoples of a Latin American country, for example, they see themselves as different from the indigenous peoples of their country, but not very different from the Creole elite of neighboring countries.

As Miguel Centeno wrote about Latin America: “The gap between whites, blacks and Indians in the same country is always greater than the differences between members of the same class in different countries.” This tells me that the relationship between war and the creation of a nation-state is not as simple as Tilly claims, and perhaps there is something more to learn. Compared to powerful European countries like Britain, France or Germany, Latin American countries like Argentina, Peru and Mexico often appear unstable and full of violence, failing to provide the basics that a successful state should provide for its citizens. : security.

But these European countries are also much richer, and one of the reasons for their wealth is colonialism. One of the most important reasons for Europe's advance on Latin America is that European countries were able to start their lives by extracting many valuable resources from Latin America, while most Latin American countries were forced to start their lives with very wars of independence. destructive. Because after the 19th century most European countries became more concerned with the well-being of their citizens than with using security forces against them, and because these countries achieved undoubted economic success as well as internal peace, History tends to regard them as the best examples of nation-states ever.

I want to clarify the idea that many European countries were very successful. People live long lives, crime rates are relatively low, and people say they feel safer and happier. However, the conditions for the emergence of European nation-states were limited. to that time and place, and it is not correct to generalize them as a model. It applies to the rest of the

world

. Latin America, for example, whose independent national states are mostly longer than Italy and Germany, reminds us of something that Miguel Centeno wrote: “The process that took place with great success in northeastern Europe, from the 16th century and increasing in the 19th century was the exception.” I also think it is worth noting the tremendous growth that has occurred in many Latin American countries in the last two decades, which means that when we try to classify the countries of

history

into losing and winning countries, we must remember that we are not in the same level. end of the story, but rather in the middle of it.

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