War is radical conflict. Therefore the notion that it can become the root not just of one-sided identity (us against the enemy) but also of a common identity (us and the enemy) is apparently paradoxical. Yet this is not a new idea. In 1828 Goethe speculated that the Napoleonic wars, which had split Europe, might create a new basis for a common European spirit. Presumably, this common spirit would be created because of the war and not class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">despite the war.