Whether it takes the form of the American Indians of the Frontier, the British during the American Revolution, the immigrants in the early 20 th century, the Nazis, the Communists, and more recently the terrorists, this Other has three constant characteristics: it is always deemed a threat, somewhat uncivilized and evil, and serves to define national identity by demarcating an "inside" from an "outside," a "self" from an "other," a "domestic" from a "foreign", "civilization" from "savagery" and "good" from "evil" (Butler Campbell Ivie Slotkin). In this respect, the American identity is probably the best example of a "self" understood through "otherness." Research in various disciplines has shown that Americans have long defined themselves through a binary narrative of "us" versus "them" (Butler Coe-Neuman Campbell Edwards Schlesinger). This constructive perspective is all the more useful if we consider nations to be "imagined communities" (Anderson). If identity is developed in relation to the Other, as researchers in the social sciences claim, then a nation's sense of self must also be, to some degree, contingent on its understanding of what constitutes the Other.
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