To what extent are groups or people justified in using conflict to attain their nationalist goals?

gr. 11 social

It really depends on the time period.

In modern day diplomacy, it's considered an act of inhumanity to push forward in the name of nationalism. Nationalism is looked at with the same disgust as communism is.

In the 20th century however, nationalism was running rampant. There are the obvious contenders, like Hitler and Mussolini, but nationalism was found in tens of countries at the time. Revolts across South America instilled nationalist regimes, and Japan conquered China in the name of ethnic superiority.

During the times of the French revolution, nationalism was a fetus in the scale of war justifications. Spanish colonies, like Venezuela, were just beginning to recognize themselves as a country instead of a Spanish colony. The United States was just born out of a pretty close war with Great Britain, and Haitian people were beginning to realize that they should not have to live their lives in slavery. The independence of many nations in the New World were justified by nationalism.