Nationalism today evokes reactionary if not fascist politics, racism, and hatred of the Other, who are variously defined according to the context. But for much of the twentieth century Nationalism meant something very different across the Global South. Nationalism was synonymous with national liberation, anti-colonialism, and anti-imperialism. In this panel, we revisit that earlier meaning and challenge the current assumption that nationalism equates with xenophobia, tightening the borders, and building walls. Instead, as the four panelists will discuss, it represented liberation from the oppressive bonds of foreign colonialism, the establishment of more equal relations with other peoples and nations, and designing new social, political, and economic structures and relations to meet the needs of the people.

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the circulation of ideas of national liberation was an undertaking of the internationalist left and nationalist forces. Exchanges of ideas, political support, and material resources underlined the commitments of many internationalists to the revolutionary nationalist projects sparked under different banners from San Juan to Hanoi, and from Kinshasa to Tehran. Support for nationalist endeavours not only extended across regions, but also much further beyond. However, within each local historical context, the production of nationalist views responded to a unique historical context and set of conditions. Likewise, the manifestations of these transnational connections would appear in a wide variety of projects, many of which would steer movements that would later shape post-colonial states and intraregional relationships.

This panel presents a set of case studies of revolutionary nationalism and its impact in particular contexts. It asks questions about the place of internationalist solidarity in shaping these movements and examines their long-term consequences and the significance of external and internal support from post-revolutionary governments such as Cuba and Iran. The panel also looks at the outgrowth of these forms of nationalism in various forms, such as internationalist schools, exile organizing, anti-war activism, solidarity movements, and nation building.