Human bonds or relations can be classified into three main categories. One, the bonds of love among the people that make them sacrifice their egos for the loved ones. Two, relations of enmity which grow when the ego of people is hurt. Three, relation of sympathy, which is an expression of an in-between emotion based on mutual susceptibility. While former two exhibit extremes of emotions, bonds of love, enmity and sympathy take distinct form from those ones that we see among nations, communities and institutions. Nations and communities form basic narrative that set the rules, standards and even reasons to build relation including relation of enmity with their counterparts.

The idea of enemy doesn’t come naturally, unless nations have the notion of other nations as ‘their Others’. For example, a strong belief in being superior on the basis of caste, colour, language, culture or religion can create the Others. According to Umberto Eco this idea of Otherness is the paramount for creating the enemies. The word enemy has roots in Latin inimicus, first used in 13^th century, meaning the individual or group deemed to be threatening. However, it needs to be stressed that the Others aren’t always considered as the enemies unless they are reasoned as the potential threat to the authority or narrative of one community or state.

Umberto Eco has interpreted this idea of enemy as lying behind the identity of the nations. As he says, "Having an enemy is important not only to define our identity but also to provide us with an obstacle against which to measure our system of values and, in seeking our own worth. So, when there is no enemy, we have to invent one." This can be understood by quoting the example of the United States who was at the verge of losing its identity after the cold war. But, thanks to Osama bin Laden who helped them sustain their identity after 9/11.

It is true, that enemies are invented. Differences play vital role in this respect but not necessarily all the time. For example, in our textbooks India is portrayed as our enemy because of the basic national narrative that is based mainly on religion. But on the other side, China, who is also a non-Muslim country is considered Pakistan’s most reliable friend. It can be inferred that the religious difference cannot be taken all the time as the raison deter of inventing enemy. It is the politics of the elites of state that injects this hatred in the minds of citizens.

The conception of national identity based on religious difference is purposefully formed, which in turn keeps glorifying the identities of nations. Nations do disseminate a well-knit narrative and ideology against other nations or states in a bid to demean latter’s image.

We find imagery related to inventing enemy in politics and literature alike.

The differences among the individuals or groups within the same community or a nation can also cause the emotions of enmity. For instance, the Cuban Revolution, that took place between 1953 and 1959 against the dictator Batista, was led by Fidel Castro, who differed with dictator’s ideologies, proffering them as enemy of Cuban people and supported the cogitation of the democracy and socialism rather than capitalist dictatorship. It would have been almost impossible to mobilise Cuban people without having instilled in their mind an image of enemy residing among them.

Other political movements like nationalism which glorifies one nation and disparages other can also make its followers to reckon other nations as their enemies. For example, the nationalist movements in sub-continent in 20^th century bifurcated the Muslims and Hindus by glorifying one and demonising the other.

As the animus relations are embedded in the concept of Otherness, these can be prevented by infusing the ideas of the confederation in the minds of humans. This would make them to co-operate with each other and work as a unit in harmony and peace. We do not really need enemies to define our identities. Switzerland is one of the most peaceful nations in the world and is reckoned to have no enemies because of its 200 years long history of peace.

In literature too, we find examples that unfold how enemies are invented. Again quoting Umberto Eco, who refers to George Orwell’s 1984 in which continuous need of the enemy for our identity as beings, is illustrated by the example of a political personality of the state Oceana, Emmanuel Goldstein, who appears on the television and is giving a speech in which he announces that their country is no longer at war with Eurasia, now an ally, but instead they are at war with their former ally Eastasia, inventing new enemy. The idea of us (West) and them (Oriental) by Edward Said also points to how invented differences among nations taking extreme form also gives birth to enmity.

Nationalist poetry has contributed a lot on one side in glorification of one’s own nation and another relegating people belonging to other nations to enemy. An excerpt from Thomas Hardy’s poem The Man He Killed illustrates the point:

I shot him dead because --

Because he was my foe,

Just so: my foe of course he was;

That’s clear enough; although

One can note that when someone is believed to be enemy, his death leaves no room for mourning.

Anyone who takes a defiant position in the society is also reckoned as the enemy. When someone embraces moderate religious beliefs, he might be taken as the enemy by those who possess extremist religious ideas. The racist beliefs which aggrandize the whites and disparage coloured people also give rise to the emotions of hatred. The immigrants are usually under the radar of the natives’ cruelty.

To sum up we can say that enemies are creations of our mind, either for sustaining the identities of our nations, formed at some historical period or demonstration of our imagined superiority, wishful dominance of those who are thought to be differed from us. Our world needs not necessarily enemies. We can make this planet livable by promoting harmony and co-operation, suppressing aggression and looking for shared interests.