# nationalism was useful because it broke up feudal empires

In the early modern period, [[nationalism]] (outside of the European world) could have been seen as progressive because it served as a way to break up remaining feudal empires. The nationalism of Africa in [[decolonization]] could have been seen as progressive for this reason. Today, I’m not so convinced that there is much room for the progressiveness of nationalism, except perhaps in the case of [[Palestine]].