The Imperial Origins of Nation‐States: Revisiting Hannah Arendt's Genealogy of Totalitarianism¹.

Against the backdrop of World War II, Hannah Arendt explores the origins of totalitarian rule, arguing that they date back to as early as the late nineteenth century. Alongside anti‐Semitism, overseas colonialism and pan‐nationalism paved the way for the totalitarian regimes that crystallized a few decades later by weakening the system of nation‐states from within. Using the example of Germany, I will argue in this article that we need to revise Arendt's narrative. It focuses too narrowly on how nationalism turned into its categorical opposite, imperialism, neglecting the complementary dynamics of how empire facilitated the nation‐state. Only then can we acknowledge the deep rupture that World War I brought about when it created in its wake a dynamic that culminated in the destruction of European nation‐states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]