Abstract
The concept of national identity was emphasized from the beginning of the 1990s as a crucial unit of analysis for scholars of international relations. Indeed, the post-bipolar era is characterized by two opposite trends dealing with the identity issue. First, the resurgence of nationalist conflicts expresses the desire of the states to strengthen national identity. Second, identities are undergoing decisive changes and homogenization with the acceleration of globalization. Thus, a national identity is a highly contradicted concept without any fixed definition. In reality, defining national identity depends on the chosen unit of analysis; be it the State, the Nation, the Region, Society or individuals. In this text, the author's main unit of analysis is the State and, and as a constructivist, he concentrates on perceptions. Thus, Paul Kowert emphasizes on the States' perception of themselves and of other States. According to him, the population upon which the State is sovereign is perceived, in the international system, as a Nation, that is to say a united and coherent human group aspiring to live together. Therefore, coherent Nation-States are reality in the eyes of States and thus he postulates the existence of an internal and an external identity to Nation-States.
