--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The closer one gets to either the eastern…" description: "\"The closer one gets to either the eastern or the southern fringe of the German-speaking world-the closer one gets, in other words, to the threatening a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/robert-d-kaplan-12644_dangerous_the-closer-one-gets-to-either-the-easter_719365.png" --- # The closer one gets to either the eastern or the southern… ![“The closer one gets to either the eastern or the southern fringe of the German-speaking world-the closer one gets, in other words, to the threatening and more numerous Slavs-the more insecure and dangerous nationalism becomes.” quote by Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/robert-d-kaplan-12644_dangerous_the-closer-one-gets-to-either-the-easter_719365.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/robert-d-kaplan-12644_dangerous_the-closer-one-gets-to-either-the-easter_719365.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/robert-d-kaplan-12644_dangerous_the-closer-one-gets-to-either-the-easter_719365.png) > “The closer one gets to either the eastern or the southern fringe of the German-speaking world-the closer one gets, in other words, to the threatening and more numerous Slavs-the more insecure and dangerous nationalism becomes.” [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nationalism intensifies when a region feels threatened by larger neighboring groups, leading to insecurity and aggression. **In simple terms:** Threatened regions fuel stronger nationalism. Key Takeaway Recognize and address underlying insecurities. Themes nationalism security identity geopolitics Mood anxious critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - border disputes - political campaigns - immigrant integration Key Concepts threat perception group dynamics historical memory Questions to Reflect On - How do external threats shape national identity? - What internal factors can fuel nationalism? A Different Perspective Nationalism can also arise from internal economic or cultural factors, not just external threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fringe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fringe/) [Nationalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nationalism/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Those who dare to interpret God's will must never claim Him as an asset for one nation or group rather than another. 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Blacks, soldiers, and Jews are a menace to the race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/slavs-latin-and-hebrew-immigrants-are-human-weeds-a-deadweight-of/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [“Disappointment for Slavs is always more poetic and profound, as well as more frequent, than it is for Americans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-rojstaczer/disappointment-for-slavs-is-always-more-poetic-and-profound-as-well/) [Stuart Rojstaczer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-rojstaczer/) > [Russia is a name usurped by the Muscovites. They are not Slavs; they do not belong to the Indo-Germanic race at all, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/russia-is-a-name-usurped-by-the-muscovites-they-are-not-slavs-they-do/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“So many of the seized captives were “Slavs” that the ethnic term became the root word for “slave” in most Western European languages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/so-many-of-the-seized-captives-were-slavs-that-the-ethnic-term-became/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“not Rom. They’re Russian. Slavs, I believe.” “But she does fortune-telling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/not-rom-they-re-russian-slavs-i-believe-but-she-does-fortune-telling/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I’ve always been a sort of self-imposed outsider, not a geeky outsider or a snobby outsider but, I just have a natural desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-quin/i-ve-always-been-a-sort-of-self-imposed-outsider-not-a-geeky-outsider/) [Sara Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-quin/) > [I was in a really crummy pop-punk band. I think we did a whole bunch of Blink-182 covers, and we were on the fringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-ruess/i-was-in-a-really-crummy-pop-punk-band-i-think-we-did-a-whole-bunch/) [Nate Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-ruess/) > [As evangelical Christians we have tended to relegate art to the very fringe of life. The rest of human life we feel is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/as-evangelical-christians-we-have-tended-to-relegate-art-to-the-very/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/every-reform-movement-has-a-lunatic-fringe/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The lunatic fringe wags the underdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-lunatic-fringe-wags-the-underdog/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [The Fringe is by far my favorite time of year; I like everything about it. But there are people I know who are much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-horne/the-fringe-is-by-far-my-favorite-time-of-year-i-like-everything-about/) [Alex Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-horne/) ## More by Robert D. Kaplan > [“And so this is where the post Cold War has brought us: to the recognition that the very totalitarism that we fought against in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/and-so-this-is-where-the-post-cold-war-has-brought-us-to-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Or take the opportunity offered to the United States following the attacks of September 11, 2001, when both Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mohammed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/or-take-the-opportunity-offered-to-the-united-states-following-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [When you talk about aiding this country against that country or about fighting terrorism, when you actually take that decision and strip it down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/when-you-talk-about-aiding-this-country-against-that-country-or-about/) [Robert D. 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Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The masses cannot ultimately be free: only the individual can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-masses-cannot-ultimately-be-free-only-the-individual-can-be/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“The South China Sea functions as the throat of the Western Pacific and Indian oceans—the mass of connective economic tissue where global sea routes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-south-china-sea-functions-as-the-throat-of-the-western-pacific/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“A better age would have to follow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/a-better-age-would-have-to-follow/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Europe's era of internal cohesion may already be past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/europe-s-era-of-internal-cohesion-may-already-be-past/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) [Explore all 54 Robert D. Kaplan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) ## More Dangerous quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. 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