States wrongly assume adversaries will mirror their own weapon doctrines

Evidence

Hegel uses the verb erzeugen again when claiming, in the Philosophy of Right, that “the state is an individual and individuality essentially implies negation” (Hegel, Philosophy of Right, §324). “Hence,” Hegel continues, “even if a number of states make themselves into a family, this group as an individual must engender an opposite and create an enemy,” einen Gegensatz kreieren und einen Feind erzeugen. The state must produce and reproduce-an enemy. — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 1046 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: States copy rival force structures even when matches make little strategic sense; States must engender an opposite and create an enemy. — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab: A History of the…, 1046; No realist theory explains why states perceive some powers but not others as threats — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 61 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• States must engender an opposite and create an enemy. #complicates (0.78) — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 1046