Sacralized territorial rhetoric travels across unrelated national conflicts

Evidence

Perica explains that modern Serbian nationalism claimed Kosovo as a sort of “holy land” to justify its “liberation.” This is why, since the Balkan War of 1912, and later in post-Tito Yugoslavia, the claim to Kosovo was justified on the basis of religious sacredness to Serb culture and national identity. The author shows how the comparison with Israeli religiously based territorial claims helped Serb nationalists to justify their own expansionist policies. In this context, Perica explicitly examines what the Balkan nationalists borrow from Israel and Zionism as “Israel appears as a role model to follow in the nationalist struggles for land.” — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 184 (#expands, via linked claim)

The JVP initially sympathized with the Tamils’ plight and even argued that its cadres and Tamil rebels were fighting against the same oppressive regime, but the party changed its position and embraced nationalistic rhetoric when doing so suited its purposes. The JVP turned especially nationalistic after the July 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord was signed. The accord was exceedingly unpopular in the mostly Sinhalese south, and the banned JVP Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology 25 vilified the Indian presence and conducted a murderous campaign seeking to topple the government. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 159 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

The “clash of civilizations” rhetoric therefore became dominant in the aftermath of 9/11 and was the ideological basis for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well domestic attacks on Muslims and Arabs. For a while it appeared that the neocons were unstoppable—but they overplayed their hand. During its first term, the Bush administration built a “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq, rejecting criticisms from allies it derogatorily labeled “old Europe.” The war on Iraq, however, did not go the way the neocons wanted it to. Instead of greeting US forces as liberators, the Iraqi people resisted and rejected US hegemony. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 421 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Clash-of-civilizations rhetoric ideologically legitimized both foreign wars and domestic attacks — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 421; Nationalists borrow others’ sacralized land narratives as strategic templates — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 184; Political groups adopt nationalist rhetoric opportunistically — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 159 (+4 more)

Related

• Nationalists borrow others’ sacralized land narratives as strategic templates (similarity 0.86)
• Nationalists borrow another movement’s sacred-claims template to justify land conquest (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Nationalists borrow others’ sacralized land narratives as strategic templates #expands (0.85) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 184
• Political groups adopt nationalist rhetoric opportunistically #exemplifies (0.80) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 159
• Clash-of-civilizations rhetoric ideologically legitimized both foreign wars and domestic attacks #exemplifies (0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 421