The Limits of the Nation State in Today’s World

Recently, we have seen how, especially in the global north, several governments have tightened their migration policies with xenophobic overtones, promoted economic policies to the detriment of other countries, threatened to annex sovereign territories, and even invaded some. All of this has one source: the resurgence of nationalism as a force that legitimizes exclusion and violence.

In this edition of the Global South Newsletter, we address the resurgence of nationalism in three articles, showing its current manifestations and warning of its destructive implications for democracy and the rule of law. In the first, Nationalism and Other Old Demons, we explain what nationalism is, its historical roots, and how, when combined with populism and digital technology, it has become a threat to human rights and global stability. In the second, The Tragedy of the Amazon, we examine the institutional fragility surrounding the Amazon, showing how the logic of national sovereignty prevents effective responses to the climate crisis. Finally, in National Sentiment on Santa Rosa Island, we focus on the current border dispute between Peru and Colombia, a case in which, although international law provides tools for resolving such conflicts, political leaders—especially on the Peruvian side—have prioritized patriotic rhetoric and electoral calculations over diplomacy, while neglecting the underlying problem: the environment.