THE surge in ethnonationalism owes its existence to the failure of nation-building theories. Nationalist theories are the frameworks that define features and characteristics of nations.

In fact, in their true form, these are the building blocks of nations. These theories are imperative for cohesion and unity of nations.

The dearth of nationalist theories in Pakistan has provided a window for different ethnocultural nationalists to propagate their misplaced ideas unbridled. There has been no theory put forward in the last over seven decades to strengthen the bond between people of different ethnicities in Pakistan.

An example from history pertinent to our case is the unification of Italy in 1861 after the nationalist theory that was put forward by Giuseppe Mazzini.

The vacuum in Pakistan needs to be filled, or, else, ethnic groups empowered by various foreign actors will continue to jeopardise the interests of the state.

Hamza Hassan
Faisalabad

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024