Mexican Spaniards sought to deny their Spanish origins by identifying themselves with an idealized Indian past and creating the myth of “Our Lady of Guadalupe” as an independent source of religious authority for the Mexican Church.
identity politics constitutes a powerful domestic constraint on foreign policy options. The government would face less of a challenge to implementing a coherent foreign policy if the external Others were on good terms with one another; but if their relationship took a turn for the worse, it would greatly energize domestic identity disputes and in turn tie the hands of the government in handling diplomacy.
… most Taiwanese people wish to maintain a peaceful relationship with the mainland, not because they embrace a Chinese identity, but because of their fear of turbulence that would result from cross‐strait conflict.
