This paper focuses on the exclusionary practices of nationalism. In particular, it focuses on Iraqi nationalistic practices and policies such as the Simele Massacre of 1933, the Al-Anfal Campaign (1986-1989), and most recently, the driving out and killing of Assyrians and Yazidis by the Islamic State. In this paper, I argue that nationalism is inherently violent and intrinsically exclusionary by defining its nationalist identity against its ‘Others’ who do not share the same interests or values (Chatterjee 1999, Biswas 2002, Chowdhry and Nair 2002, Krishna 2002). The aim of this paper is twofold. First, I analyze the policies and practices of the Ba’ath period that strived to establish a predominately Arab Iraq. Second, I examine the implications of this on the Assyrian indigenous peoples and the exclusion of their nationality from Iraq’s political structure. Through this, Assyrians, similar to other ethnic-religious minorities, must negotiate, relinquish, or resist the nation-building project in order to maintain their identity. In analyzing the violence associated with nationalism, I draw on Postcolonial literature, (Bhabha 1994), (Chatterjee 1993), and (Fanon 1963) to demonstrate how nationalism is embedded within practices that erase other identities, reducing the plurality of a state to one homogenous nationality. Furthermore, this paper contributes to the literature by elaborating on this critique and arguing that nationalism is exclusionary and violent whether it is neoliberal nationalism or Third World nationalism.