The sources provide a detailed analysis of Yuval Noah Harari’s views on the internal fragmentation of modern nations, the historical artificiality of their borders, and the necessity of shifting towards global cooperation to survive 21st-century threats.
Existing Divisions of the Nation-State
Harari observes that the modern nation-state is currently suffering from both internal “tribal” divisions and external geopolitical misalignment.
Internal Tribalism: Harari argues that many countries are currently “divided against itself,” a phenomenon he describes as a global trend. He identifies a destructive shift from nationalism to tribalism, where leaders maintain power by dividing the population into hostile camps rather than uniting the nation as a whole. He critiques politicians who, when seeing a national “scar” or wound, “poke the finger into it and try to enlarge it” for political gain.
Haphazard and Artificial Borders: The sources state that many existing divisions between countries are the result of “haphazard borders drawn in the sand” by distant bureaucrats. A primary example provided is the Berlin Conference of 1884, where European diplomats unrolled a map and divided Africa “as if it were a pie,” often ignoring the geographic, economic, and ethnic realities of the people living there.
Imagined Communities: Harari defines the nation as an “imagined community”. While these communities allow millions of strangers to cooperate by believing in shared myths, they are “intersubjective realities” that only exist in our collective imagination and are subject to unraveling as myths change.
Desired Shift and Global Governance
Harari suggests that while the nation-state was a successful model for the industrial era, it is becoming a “hindrance” in the face of modern global challenges.
Healthy Nationalism: As an antidote to current internal divisions, Harari advocates for a “healthy kind of nationalism”. This desired form of nationalism is based on “love and care for one’s compatriots” rather than “hate for foreigners and minorities”. He suggests that a true patriot focuses on celebrating national achievements and healing social wounds rather than creating division.
A “Modern Mandate of Heaven”: Harari argues that the most pressing problems of the 21st century—global warming, the disruption of biotechnology, and the threat of nuclear war—cannot be solved by 200 independent states. He suggests that the “legitimate source of political authority” should shift from a particular nationality to humankind as a whole.
Global Empire: He envisions a shift towards a “Global Empire” or a single global government to safeguard human rights and the interests of the entire species. He notes that no sovereign state can overcome global warming alone, and thus a global political authority is needed to solve the “problems of heaven,” such as the hole in the ozone layer.
To understand the inadequacy of current national divisions for future threats, consider the analogy of 200 people on a single boat where each person refuses to help plug a leak because the hole is under someone else’s seat; Harari suggests that unless we recognise the boat as a single unit, the individual seats will eventually become irrelevant as the entire vessel sinks.