[zmgsabst]

But that would only be something nationalism signaled if the converse weren’t also true — eg, totalitarian states like the USSR, CCP, etc.

Those also had:

- grievance narratives;

- a tendency to divide the world into loyal citizens and enemies; and,

- use the above to justify authoritarian powers.

You haven’t shown that nationalism played a particular part in that cycle; just that it also happened in nationalist states. Almost like the problem is those factors, rather than nationalism.

[shakna]

The USSR absolutely used a nationalist view in their propaganda [0]

As did the CCP [1]:

> Ideals and convictions are the spiritual banners for the united struggle of a country, nation and party, wavering ideals and convictions are the most harmful form of wavering.

[0] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nationalities-papers...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology_of_the_Chinese_Commun...

[glenstein]

I actually considered listing them as additional examples, but I had to stop somewhere and they had their own distinct wrinkles.

I think the major difference in their respective cases pertain to the ideological dynamics of the particular strains of communism that manifested in those countries. What they lack is a fixation on the purity of national heritage as a primary source of moral truth and a foundation for a self conception. Instead they tended to regard themselves as part of universal, international struggle and understood conflict in economic and ideological terms. What they had in common was the sense that conflict with this chosen enemy necessitated authoritarianism.

There's more than one path to authoritarianism, and they overlap. Different mechanisms don't disprove one another, they exist side by side.